JANUARY NEWSLETTER No. 356
Blind people excluded from benefits of AI, says charity
Blind and partially sighted people are being excluded from the benefits of artificial intelligence tools and facing “a new level of discrimination”, the new president of the Royal Society for Blind Children has claimed as he called for better design of everything from video games to AI agents. Tom Pey said existing difficulties for blind children were “now compounded because they’re excluded [and] distanced from their non-disabled peers, because those people can experience games, alternative realities and the AI-driven visual types of technology”.
Expanding the campaign to raise awareness of sight loss with #BeforeYouAsk
#BeforeYouAsk, encourages people to think more deeply about shifting their own perceptions and attitudes to sight loss. The RNIB is committed to a vision of a world where there are no barriers for people with sight loss. To do this, they have made changing public perceptions and behaviours a key priority. #BeforeYouAsk sets out to educate the public about the realities of living with sight loss and asks people to see sight loss differently and help reverse inaccurate perceptions that create unintentional barriers for blind and partially sighted people.
Health of People with Sight Loss
The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) were commissioned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to produce a report aiming to establish whether, and how, the health outcomes and health-related behaviours of adults with sight loss differs from adults without sight loss.
Recent estimates indicate that around 1.9 million people in England are living with sight loss (Source: RNIB), equating to roughly 4% of the population. Sight loss can have an impact on many areas of people’s lives, including overall quality of life, mental and physical health, as well as health-related behaviours (e.g. smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity), and these were all aspects of health explored in secondary analysis of Health Survey for England (HSE) data.
The Health Survey for England (HSE) provides valuable data on the health and social care behaviours of the nation on an annual basis. The HSE collects health and social care information from adults aged 16 and over, and children aged 0 to 15, living in private households in England. It provides annual statistics on key health conditions and measurements including height and weight, smoking status, general health, longstanding illness and acute sickness, with an opportunity for questions covering other aspects of health and social care.
Full details here: https://natcen.ac.uk/health-people-sight-loss-secondary-analysis-using-health-survey-england
Offering access to emotional and practical support: RNIB Eye Care Liaison Officers:
Full details of services and helpline nembers:
First UK survey on sensory loss to take place
Project to provide robust data on vision and hearing loss to begin in Cambridgeshire. For the first time, robust data on the sensory health of the nation will be collected thanks to a study beginning this month in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The UK does not have an accurate set of data on vision and hearing loss, resulting in a lack of evidence to inform health policies and programmes, and is falling behind nations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, USA, Nepal and Bangladesh that all have national sensory loss studies. It is estimated that 50% of all sight loss is avoidable.
The UK National Eye Health and Hearing Study (UKNEHS) is a collaboration between sensory loss charities, Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), leading eye and hearing care professionals and the public sector to record accurate data on vision and hearing health to give confidence to the NHS and policymakers when making vital decisions that affect people’s health.
https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/first-uk-survey-sensory-loss-take-place
ASDA Opticians adds new way for patients to get eye care advice and support from RNIB
People experiencing sight loss will be able to access essential support, information and advice to help adapt thanks to a new partnership between supermarket ASDA and a leading charity.
“Living with sight loss – how braille helped my independence”
Sarah Matthews, age 45, worked as a bookseller and illustrator before losing her sight due to an accident that disconnected her optic nerve. Sarah has rediscovered a love of reading and been able to be part of her son’s education, all through the power of braille.
“I’ve always been a keen reader, so when I became blind, my first worry was whether I’d be able to enjoy it again. I wanted to be involved in helping my son learn to read, as he was only just over a year old at the time. My sight loss advisor signposted me to the Adult Learning Centre nearby where they had a braille class, and I started going every week. The great thing about braille is that it challenges you to use your brain in a new way. I needed something to occupy my time while I was recovering, and I found it motivated me to set my mind to learning again.
“I was put in touch with the Clear Vision library, and they sent me my first braille children’s book. It was almost like I was learning to read again at the same time my son was learning to read for the first time. I think that helped, as we were able to encourage each other. I put my son’s school in touch with Clear Vision, and they would send home books relevant to his reading age. So, we would sit down every afternoon and practice together. He would read and I was able to check that he was saying the right words as he went”.