iSight Autumn 2022

Supporting

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Dear Supporter

Personal connections between us are so important. Having someone to talk to can make such a difference in people’s lives. When people are impacted by sight loss, they are often unsure how to adapt to this major change, and who to turn to.

Our Support Line (0800 024 8973) is here to provide that information. Our passionate team provide advice, and the emotional support that so many individuals across Scotland have come to rely on. On page 6, we feature one of our Community Workers, Laura McDonald. Laura supports people affected by sight loss who live in the west of Scotland, and helps individuals adapt to their life with sight loss.

Supporting people to adapt and tackle the impact of sight loss is crucial. Former Royal Blind School pupil Angus Dixon focused on learning a number of specialist skills with us and is now using those skills in the next stage of his life. You can read about Angus on page 8. Discussing the big issues is important for our pupils at the Royal Blind School, too. Samantha Gough recently discussed her human rights with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner of Scotland. You can read more about this on page 12.

Did you know?

You can help support people with sight loss in many ways. Our brand new weekly lottery, where you can win up to £25,000, is one of the ways you can make a difference. Page 17 has details on how to get involved.

Thank you, I hope you enjoy reading your iSight magazine.

Davina Shiell Director of Marketing and Communications

Support Line

Talk to us on 0800 024 8973

Now open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday

There are currently more than 285 million people with visual impairment in the world, a number that is expected to triple in the next 30 years.

iSight in alternative formats To receive iSight in large print, braille or audio CD please contact us on 0131 229 1456 or email fundraising@sightscotland.org.uk

Sight Scotland is the operating name of The Royal Blind Asylum and School. Scottish Charity Number SC017167

Sight Scotland Veterans is the operating name of Scottish War Blinded, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, charity number SC047192

Address: Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans, 2A Robertson Avenue, Edinburgh EH11 1PZ

Our deepest sympathies

We were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Her Majesty, The Queen. We offer our sincere and profound condolences to the Royal Family, and to everyone who joins them in mourning this loss.

Our charity has a long association with the monarchy throughout the decades, with our current Patron being the Duke of Gloucester. When we moved the Royal Blind School to Morningside, Edinburgh, the Duke of Gloucester officially opened the new campus with a great deal of warmth (pictured on the left of the image below, shaking hands with our former Chief Executive). We extend our deepest sympathies to him and his family, and to all affected by The Queen’s passing.

Summer fun at the Royal Blind School!

Royal Blind School pupils, families, and Clown Doctors all had a blast at our annual Family Fun Day recently! The celebration day had bouncy castle fun, football, plant potting, Clown Doctor performances, and a ‘Guess the Object’ display from the SSPCA. Pupils also got the chance to throw wet sponges at their teachers – an activity that ended in the tipping of an icy bucket!

Supporting people in the west

People calling our Support Line from the west of Scotland may be familiar with Laura McDonald.

Laura is our Community Worker based in Paisley. As part of our Community team, Laura has been helping residents of Glasgow City, Renfrewshire and North and South Lanarkshire since April 2021.

“I receive many calls from people who are newly diagnosed who don’t know much about their vision impairment,” Laura said.

“They’re seeking information, and they want to know who they can contact and what support they can receive.”

Findings solutions in people’s homes

From Paisley, Laura can visit people at their homes and offer face-to-face advice and support.

Laura says: “A face-to-face visit is often so much better because the people I’m visiting can relax in their environment – their home.

“I can share information with them relating to their vision impairment and how this may affect their daily lives and make sure they’ve got everything they need to try to maintain their independence,” she said.

Often people are struggling to adjust to life with their vision impairment, Laura says. Daily tasks become so much harder, and frustration can set in.

“Sometimes though, we can find quite a straightforward fix, for example, introducing equipment that will help, that people may not be aware of. It could be a magnifier which they use to read labels, or a one-cup kettle, which pours just enough water for a mug, so it’s never going to spill. Or, for people wanting to read, we can recommend overhead lamps to increase the lighting level, and that can make such a difference,” Laura said.

The importance of independence

Helping people regain their independence after a sight loss diagnosis is especially rewarding, Laura says.

“When you’re talking to someone, you can often sense the difference it’s making for them. It’s rewarding for them and for me. Sometimes, when people are isolated and not getting out, we may be the only person they’re talking to.

“It is really important that I help people with a vision impairment preserve their dignity and help them to retain their independence. It could be as simple as just listening to someone that makes the difference to them.”

When you’re talking to someone, you can often sense the difference it’s making for them.” - Laura McDonald, Community Worker in the West of Scotland

If you live in the West of Scotland, you can turn to us

You can call our Support Line for information about sight loss and support.

We welcome calls from family members, friends and carers of anyone affected by sight loss, no matter where you live in Scotland. We are here to help.

You can email supportline@sightscotland.org.uk if you prefer.

Support Line Call 0800 024 8973 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday

Angus’s story

Former Royal Blind School pupil Angus Dixon is now on work experience, utilising skills he learned in the school’s specialist classes.

Angus split his last two years of secondary school between his high school in East Lothian and specialist classes at the Royal Blind School.

Angus said: “At the Royal Blind School, I learnt how to better use screen-reader software, which I use with Microsoft Office programmes.

“I learned all the keyboard shortcuts, which take a lot of practice. I’m much better at using Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint.

“Now, I’m doing work experience at the City of Edinburgh Council for five days a week. I’m working as an Administration Assistant, doing telephone calls.”

The work experience Angus is doing is through a programme called Edinburgh Project SEARCH, which supports young people with a disability into employment. Over the next year, Angus will take part in three full-time work placements, with each placement lasting around 10 weeks.

Being able to travel to work alone is a requirement of the work experience programme. Angus, who lives in East Lothian, focused on improving this skill at his Royal Blind School classes.

I’m doing work experience at the City of Edinburgh Council for five days a week.”

Now, Angus is taking public transport to work and using his Long Cane to navigate.

Angus said: “The lessons I had at the Royal Blind School have given me the confidence to take a bus across town, as well as to cross roads. I’ve been going on buses for a while now, and I go all by myself.”

A keen musician, Angus said that when he’s not working, he will continue to play his favourite instruments.

“I’m a drummer and I also play the trumpet and the recorder, and I sing. And I’m planning to start piano,” Angus said.

“I’m mainly into rock and heavy metal, really anything from the 1960s to now, including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin and E.L.O.”

We wish Angus the best of luck with his work experience and his music, and hope to hear his piano rendition of a classic from The Beatles or Pink Floyd sometime soon!

The lessons I had at the Royal Blind School have given me the confidence to take a bus across town, as well as to cross roads.”

Striding out to make a difference

A huge thank you to all our walkers who took part in the Edinburgh Kiltwalk on Sunday the 18th of September. We were thrilled to see so many supporters from the Royal Blind School taking part, which helped raise funds for our Innowalk Appeal. Thanks to this amazing group of walkers, and to supporting donors and trusts, we have now reached our target for a new Innowalk machine (pictured). The new training equipment will make a big difference for the pupils at the school.

Staff members in our Community Team also put their best foot forward. The team donned their kilts and raised money for specialist equipment, which will help the people the team supports to live independently. Thank you to everyone who took part and collectively raised over £7,000!

Adapting education to the needs of children and young people

At Sight Scotland and especially at our Royal Blind School, children and young people are at the centre of our approach.

We believe all children have a right to high quality education. We believe every child should be supported to learn in a way that is appropriate for them. To do this, our specialist teachers customise learning to each child’s unique abilities.

In June, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner of Scotland visited the Royal Blind School. The Commissioner, Bruce Adamson, met with our pupils and teachers to discuss the rights of children.

Together, they talked about why specialist education is so important. They talked about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and how our specialist education was fulfilling children’s rights. School pupils discussed several of the UNCRC rights with the commissioner. They discussed how the Royal Blind School has set out to uphold

their rights – such as their right to education and the rights they have as a child with a disability.

At the end of the meeting, pupils discussed actions they could take to advocate for their rights as well as the human rights of all. Pupils spoke about what they could do to empower other young people to become human rights defenders.

What is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the rights every child has. These rights include the right to education, and that different forms of education be made available and accessible to every child. The UNCRC says that governments are responsible for safeguarding these rights.

Royal Blind School pupils and the Commissioner talked about:

Article 23: Rights of children with a disability

A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence, and to play an active part in their community. Governments must do all they can to support children with a disability and their families.

Article 28: Right to education

Article 29: Goals of education

Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this.

Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

Learn about Samantha’s experience on the next page

Getting involved in all areas of education

School pupil Samantha Gough says children with visual impairment have a right to be supported to learn.

Samantha, who is severely sight impaired, took part in the session with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner of Scotland. From Lasswade in Midlothian, Samantha attended mainstream primary school and high school. She now has a flexible placement at the Royal Blind School.

“I’m supported now, but I wasn’t in the past,” Samantha said.

“I struggled with that growing up due to my school not being supportive of Physical Education. I was taken out of P.E. classes and all sports because I was looked on as a hazard, a risk to other pupils.

“But I’ve been able to turn that bad experience into a positive one,” she said.

“I’m now a fulltime athlete. I play for Great Britain, England and Scotland in three different sports.

“I am a competitive para swimmer, I play Goalball for Great Britain, and I play Blind Football for England. I’m the captain and I play for England because Scotland doesn’t have a blind football team for women,” she said.

Advocating for children’s rights

Samantha said she enjoyed meeting the Commissioner for Children recently at the Royal Blind School.

“He has a passion for children’s rights. And he has taken the time to come and talk to people about it. It makes a world of a difference.

“I feel strongly about the right to education. Sport is education too,” Samantha said.

“If it wasn’t for young people like myself being able to speak up and say ‘this is not right’, then things might not be changed. So, it’s really important to make sure that people are advocating for themselves and speaking up for what they believe in.”

Samantha is attending classes at the Royal Blind School for two days each week.

“I’m learning braille, arts, music and computing, and I’ll continue learning independent living skills, like cooking.”

Samantha said she was passionate about continuing her sport.

“It’s hard work, but I love it, so I’ll work hard to do all three until I physically can’t do it anymore. But I’ll be the one to make that decision.”

I feel strongly about the right to education. Sport is education too.”

Thank you for taking part in our Forward Vision Garden raffle!

We were delighted to launch our summer raffle to raise much needed funds for our Forward Vision Garden project.

The raffle was drawn on Friday 16 September, and we would like to say a huge congratulations to the winners:

First Prize of £500 – P Torrie, Edinburgh

Second Prize of £250 – W Munro, Edinburgh

Third Prize of a Samsung Tablet – S Milne, Edinburgh

Thank you to all our supporters and their family and friends who bought our raffle tickets. We would also like to say a big thank you to our prize sponsors Core Fire and BIST group.

Many thanks to our sponsors:

Together you raised over £3,200 for the Forward Vision Garden Project. This, together with funds from trusts and family members at Forward Vision, will go towards the summer house structure in the new garden. The summer house structure will provide an outdoor space all year long. Following the past Covid restrictions, we know how important outdoor space is to the residents at Forward Vision. The summer house will be used for activities, visits, as a contemplative space and much more. We can’t wait to share pictures of the finished garden with you.

How do different conditions impact sight?

Here are three of the most common sight conditions.

Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration only affects your central vision and not the vision around the edge of your sight. It is very rare that Macular Degeneration will cause you to lose all your sight.

Effects of Macular Degeneration:

• Poor colour definition

• Wavy edges

• Difficulty with near tasks

Glaucoma

Glaucoma first affects someone’s sight around the edge of their field of view and slowly moves inwards. The effect is like looking through a tube and is often called “tunnel vision”. People’s vision may seem misty and rainbow-coloured rings around white lights may appear.

Cataracts

Cataracts result from changes in the way the cells of the lens are arranged and their water content, which causes the lens to become cloudy instead of clear. When this happens, light cannot pass directly through the lens

Effects of Cataracts:

• Sensitivity to glare

• Double vision

• Gradual loss of vision

gift

3. My Gift Aid

Make your donation worth 25% more with Gift Aid. If you are a UK tax payer, we can reclaim 25p for every £1 you donate – just tick the box below.

Yes, I am a UK tax payer and I would like Sight Scotland to reclaim tax on all donations I have made in the past 4 years or will make in the future until I notify you otherwise. I understand that if I pay less Income Tax and / or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. Please notify us if you want to cancel this declaration, change your name or home address or if you no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and / or capital gains.

4. Communications preferences

Please let us know if we can continue to communicate about our work, progress and future needs so that together we can ensure everyone in Scotland with sight loss has someone to turn to.

Please contact me by phone. My number is:

Please contact me by email. My address is:

We’re committed to keeping your details safe, and we will never sell them. Raising funds is crucial to our work, but if you’d prefer not to receive fundraising communications from us, please email us at privacy@sightscotland.org.uk You can see how we protect and use your personal data in our privacy policy at sightscotland.org.uk/privacy

Your continuing support means so much to people with sight loss

Across Scotland, thousands of people living with sight loss have no one they can turn to for help. But by giving a precious gift today, you can offer hope and transform lives. We have several projects we are actively fundraising for. If you would like your donation to go to a specific campaign, please select below.

Where my donation is most needed

The Family Wellbeing Service and Support Line

The Forward Vision Garden Project