SeeAbility

SeeAbility (formerly School for the Indigent Blind and Royal School for the Blind) is a UK charity that provides support and campaigns for better eye care for people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss. In 2017 it reported that 236 people were supported in facilities such as residential homes, supported living and activity and resource centres across the south of England. ^[1] From 2013, SeeAbility launched its Children in Focus campaign, providing sight tests for children in special schools, after observing that many adults they worked with had not received good eye care when younger. ^[2]

Contents

• History
• Children in Focus
• Supporters and ambassadors
• References
• External links

History

The school was founded in 1799 by four philanthropists: London banker Samuel Bosanquet, Thomas Boddington, James Ware (an eye surgeon), and William Houlston (a charity worker). ^[3] Its original name was The School for the Indigent Blind, and it was established at St George's Fields, Southwark with the intention of educating young blind people and teaching them useful trades. ^[4]

At first, it was housed in the former Dog and Duck tavern. ^[4] In 1800 fifteen pupils were housed and instructed in the Long Room. A year or so later the school, with thirty-five male and seventeen female pupils, expanded into the tavern and its gardens. ^[4] The building was demolished in 1812 to make way for the Bethlem Hospital; ^{[5] [6] [7]} the site is now used by the Imperial War Museum within Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park. ^{[8] [9]} Two acres of ground were allotted at the end of Blackfriars Road and a plain school-house for the blind was built. In 1834 additional ground was purchased and the school-house remodelled in the Tudor or domestic Gothic style with a tower and gateway, designed by John Newman. ^[4]

From the 1860s, it was thought that the school should be moved to "another site more contributive to the health of the inmates and the advantage of the Charity". ^[10] In 1900, the school committee purchased 15 acres of land in Leatherhead at a cost of £4,000 and C. Pemberton Leach was appointed as architect. Work began on the new school building in May 1901 and the foundation stone was laid by Princess Helena on 13 November. ^[11]

King George V granted the school royal patronage in 1911, and it was renamed The Royal School for the Blind. It consisted of residential workshops and when the Second World War began it was requisitioned by King's College Hospital as a national emergency hospital.

The school underwent rapid change in the 1970s when the accommodation was transformed with individual bedrooms instead of communal dormitories. The new, modernised building was formally opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in November 1982. ^[3]

In the 1990s the school widened its remit to include people with other physical and learning disabilities and expanded its services to reach out to people in their own homes. It changed its name to SeeAbility in 1994, and adopted the ethos 'Seeing beyond disability'. ^[3]

The organisation expanded to numerous sites across the south of England during the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, opening sites in Maidstone, Seaford, Eastleigh, Oxfordshire, Devon, Horley, Tadley, Aldershot and more.

In 1999 SeeAbility opened a residential nursing service called Heather House in Tadley that was built specifically to support 16 younger adults with the very rare, degenerative Juvenile Batten Disease. The service is considered one of the leading providers for people with Juvenile Batten Disease, where the people supported live on average 3–4 years longer than at other services. Since opening, the service has supported almost 30 people with the disease.

In 2013 it launched the Children in Focus campaign, carrying out sight tests in special schools and calling for wide-ranging reforms to eye care for people with learning disabilities and autism. The organisation claims to be the biggest global study on the eye care needs of children with learning disabilities, after carrying out eye tests on over 1000 children in special schools. ^[12]

In 2017, SeeAbility underwent a brand refresh and changed its strapline to 'Extraordinary every day'. The new logo reduced the size of 'See' and emphasized 'Ability' to reflect its shift in focus from sight loss to the intersection between sight loss and learning disability.

Children in Focus

The Children in Focus campaign was launched in 2013 in four special schools to carry out eye tests on children with learning disabilities and autism. By 2017 it was carrying out eye tests in 8 London schools and a school in Manchester. ^[13] The charity claims to be the biggest global study on the eye care needs of people with learning disabilities and autism.

In its four year report, Children in Focus - a clear call to action, SeeAbility published its findings, which showed that children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem, but much less likely to receive eye care. Nearly half (47.5) had a problem with their vision, a third (31.7%) needed glasses, over four in ten (43.7%) had no history of any eye care and only 7% had ever used a community optician. Of the children with a sight problem, more than a quarter had a problem that was not previously known. ^[14]

In the 2019 NHS England long term plan, it was announced that the NHS would provide sight and dental testing for all children in special schools across England. ^[15] This came as a direct result of campaigning by SeeAbility, and SeeAbility are to be involved in its implementation. It is the only known example of a charity successfully campaigning for a change in NHS policy.

Supporters and ambassadors

In 1982, Princess Diana became the patron of SeeAbility and made a number of visits to their services until stepping down in 1996. Since 1999 Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester has been the Patron. ^[16] The current president is Lord Coe and the vice-president is former Prime Minister Sir John Major.

In November 2017 the charity organised a fundraising stand-up night with comedians Sally Phillips, Jo Brand and Adam Hills. ^[17]

In the 2018 New Year's Honours, SeeAbility Eye Care and Vision Development Officer Scott Watkin was awarded a BEM for his work with the charity. ^[18]

In 2020 SeeAbility appointed their first two celebrity patrons, Amar Latif and Helen Fospero. ^[19]

Related Research Articles

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity that offers information, support and advice to people in the UK with sight loss.

Special education is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs. This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.

The autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with disability rights that emphasizes a neurodiversity paradigm, viewing autism as a disability with variations in the human brain rather than as a disease to be cured. The movement advocates for several goals, including greater acceptance of autistic traits and behaviors; reforms of services – i.e. services that focus on improving quality of life and well-being instead of suppression and masking of autistic traits that are adaptive or not harmful or imitations of social behaviors of allistic (non-autistic) peers ; the creation of social networks and events that allow autistic people to socialize on their own terms; and the recognition of the autistic community as a minority group.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), known as Action on Hearing Loss from 2011 to 2020, is a charitable organization working on behalf of the UK's 9 million people who are deaf or have hearing loss.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:

Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.

Blind Veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan's, is a large British charity, providing free support and services to vision-impaired ex-servicemen and women and National Service personnel. Blind Veterans UK is a registered charity in England and Scotland and operates throughout the United Kingdom. It has its head office in London and centres in Llandudno and Rustington.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organisation that uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organisation also participates in political activism for the rights of those with vision impairments.

Norwood, known legally as Norwood-Ravenswood, is a United Kingdom charity established in 1785 in the East End of London. Its name comes from its long-running home for Jewish children, Norwood Hall, in the south London suburb of West Norwood which opened in 1863 and closed in 1961.

Brainkind is a UK charity founded over 30 years ago in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, as The Disabled Housing Trust. Brainkind provides residential, day services, care, rehabilitation and support to meet the needs of people with acquired brain injury (ABI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and neurological conditions. Brainkind also provides care and support to enable living in the community and support at home.

Amar Latif is a Scottish entrepreneur, television personality and professional traveller. His blindness is due to the incurable eye condition retinitis pigmentosa. By his late teens he had 95 per cent sight loss.

Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability and formerly mental retardation, is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant impairment in intellectual and adaptive functioning that is first apparent during childhood. Children with intellectual disabilities typically have an intelligence quotient (IQ) below 70 and deficits in at least two adaptive behaviors that affect everyday, general living. According to the DSM-5, intellectual functions include reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience. Deficits in these functions must be confirmed by clinical evaluation and individualized standard IQ testing. On the other hand, adaptive behaviors include the social, developmental, and practical skills people learn to perform tasks in their everyday lives. Deficits in adaptive functioning often compromises an individual's independence and ability to meet their social responsibility.

Brandon Trust is a United Kingdom charitable organization working with and for people with learning disabilities. They focus on helping people with said disabilities to live life how they want to.

Sightsavers is an international non-governmental organisation that works with partners in developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness, and promote equality for people with visual impairments and other disabilities. It is based in Haywards Heath in the United Kingdom, with branches in Sweden, Norway, India, Italy, Republic of Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and the US.

Optical Express is a provider of ophthalmology services including laser eye surgery, cataract surgery and lens replacement surgery in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Ambitious about Autism is a UK national charity which aims to improve opportunities for young people on the autism spectrum. Originally established in 1997 as the TreeHouse Trust, the charity was founded by a group of parents – including author Nick Hornby – whose first child had been diagnosed with autism.

Sight Scotland is a Scottish Charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland founded in 1793. The charity provides care, education and employment for people of all ages who are blind or partially sighted. Sight Scotland provides the following services: Royal Blind School, Forward Vision, Scottish Braille Press and Kidscene. Sight Scotland’s sister charity is Sight Scotland Veterans.

Dimensions UK is a British not-for-profit charitable registered society and housing association that supports people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs.

References

External links

• SeeAbility website