![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SeeAbility-logo.jpg)
Last Thursday was World Sight Day.
This guest blog is by SeeAbility’s eye care champion team, Lance Campbell, Joanne Kennedy, Rebecca Lunness, Grace McGill.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/good.png)
We are eye care champions.
We are four people with learning disabilities, autism or sight loss.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sight-test.png)
Everyone with a learning disability needs good eye care.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Member-2.png)
People with learning disabilities are ten times more likely to have eye problems than other people.
This includes:
• People with Down’s Syndrome
• People with more severe learning disabilities
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/child-glasses.png)
Half of children in special schools have a sight problem.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Discuss-Yes-No.png)
No one is ‘too disabled’ for a sight test.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/eye-test.png)
Regular sight tests help people to keep their eyes healthy.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Reasonable-Adjustments_medium.png)
There are a lot of adjustments that can be made.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Sad-3-2.png)
There is lots of information and advice on eye care including easy read, on the SeeAbility website.
But sometimes people miss out.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Optician-eye-test4.png)
People think you might have to speak or read to have a sight test, when you don’t.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Peer-Support-1b-Copy.png)
Some people don’t get enough support with their appointments or reasonable adjustments.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/town.png)
Not enough areas have local sight testing schemes in place with opticians.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/good.png)
Some good news.
We are working together with Learning Disability England to change things.
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SCTF-Government-2_600x600.png)
For World Sight Day we are supporting a petition to government.
Will you sign it too?
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/optician.png)
It calls on government to:
- Make sure NHS England keeps rolling out sight testing in all special schools as it said it would
- Make sure there is a specialist sight testing service for people with learning disabilities, wherever they live
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Law-Human-Rights_da42a62b-97e5-4ebd-83a9-906fb4c8729c_medium.png)
Just because someone has learning disability doesn’t mean their sight isn’t as important as anyone else’s.
Everyone has an Equal Right to Sight!
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Website-Link-1.png)
Special Needs Jungle also published a blog for World Sight Day.
It is called ‘Is NHS England breaking a promise to roll out eye care for disabled children in all special schools?’
![](https://www.learningdisabilityengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Information-sign-1.png)
You can find more resources to help with eye care, including easy read information, on SeeAbility’s website here