Publications Archive

New Beacon, December 1995, 79(937)

Summary: The leading monthly magazine on issues concerning people with sight problems

Editor: Ann Lee

© Royal National Institute for the Blind

Paul Schofield as Martin Chuzelwitt

Have a Dickensian Christmas! Paul Scofield plays old Martin Chuzzlewit in the popular BBC Television serial, now available on video with audio description. See ‘Leisure Notes & News’.

Our report by Monique Raffray looks at the development of audio description in various European countries.

    Cover photo: Copyright BBC Television

In Depth

Snakes and ladders - Part 2: Putting ladders in the right places

In his first article, Richard Cox, Hampshire's Adviser on Visual Impairment, used a fictional character with failing sight to question the general manner in which sight loss is dealt with by statutory authorities. He likened the process of medical care without social support to a descent down a slippery snake, to the `last resort' of registration, before help might be offered. This month he describes some of the `ladders' that Hampshire have developed.

Why do we seem to wait till somebody's vision is almost completely gone before we start to provide support? Is there some principle that says they are not really deserving until they have got to their lowest point? Is it more sensible to help someone to cope better while they still can, or to wait until they have lost all their confidence and ability, and then strive to build it up again? I have come to call this approach the ‘pre-registration wilderness syndrome’: that situation where patients are often discharged from eye clinics as untreatable, and then there is a time lag until help comes - often too late to be effective.

In Hampshire we have been looking at the snake diagram (published last month in the print edition of ‘New Beacon’ to illustrate the descent down the slippery slope) with colleagues from health and the voluntary sector. We have developed some exciting and effective initiatives to deal with several of the shortcomings associated with the way we did things before. And all along we have consulted and sought feedback from those we are trying to serve, and we have measured the effect of the changes we have introduced.

Providing ladders early on

We began by accepting the proposition that early identification of people who had needs related to failing sight was a good thing. This in itself was a big step, because most organisations try to play down the availability of their services for fear of being overwhelmed. Or they put off for as long as possible the acceptance of any kind of responsibility. But what happens to all those people who don't get picked up early on? What happens to the three out of every four people who lose their sight without becoming formally recognised and registered? (RNIB Survey, 1991). Do these mostly older people quietly get on with their own lives as vision fails, without any support from the caring agencies? Of course they don't. They begin to need home care, or they may get admitted to residential care because they are not managing, or perhaps they become dependent on their families, who then have to stay at home to support them. It's not that agencies don't provide services for the three-quarters who aren't registered, it's just that we do it far too late, and often without identifying that the reason we are supporting them is partly or wholly because of sight loss.

The Mrs Smith in my previous article didn't give up her home because she wasn't fit or mentally alert. She did so because no one saw her simple needs for what they were: needs such as good lighting to cook safely by, a decent LVA service so she could still read her own post, and some basic mobility training so she could get to the shops without being run over. And she also needed a bit of understanding about how she felt when she was registered and discharged without the treatment she'd falsely hoped for.

So which is more sensible, more caring, and more cost-effective? To provide a cheap magnifier, a few visits from a rehabilitation officer and some quality time with others who understand what she is going through; or to lay on intensive home care or residential care much sooner than would otherwise be needed? Let the Care Managers amongst you do your sums! So once we had understood that early identification was an opportunity and not a threat, we re-wrote our policy and strategy documents. Then we set about changing the focus of our services to reflect this, developing our strengths and trying to change the culture. For example, now we consider that one of the compelling reasons for early identification is a different kind of risk - risk to the public purse if matter are left until they become a crisis.

Ladders at the surgery

We commissioned a development officer to work on the primary care aspects. He confirmed what we suspected: that it never occurs to most GPs that they could refer patients to ophthalmologists and social services or voluntary organisations at the same time. We found that myths such as `the only way my patient can get a Talking Book is by seeing an ophthalmologist' or `Social Services only help those who are registered' are almost universally held views. Somehow, when it comes to sight loss the blinkers go on. Concepts such as services based on assessment of need, or social and emotional support in the community while medical diagnosis and care are provided – concepts which apply for all sorts of other ailments - just don't seem to be considered when sight loss is the subject.

In a survey of 92 GP practice professionals we found that 80 per cent had no knowledge at all of community-based services for visually impaired people. Most had never heard of a rehabilitation officer, let alone made a referral for mobility or home independence training. So we produced an information pack specifically for health care staff, and devised a referral form which they can use that spells out the types of need patients might have. It gets them to think about how `at risk' their patients are, or how urgent their needs might be - and it works!

Ladders at the eye clinics

Improving professional knowledge of the social care options is just as vital at eye clinics. So, too, is the provision of good accessible information for patients at the time when they most need it. We now have some excellent material developed with users.

But the greatest need that patients mentioned again and again was simply for someone to talk to, someone who understood. RNIB was commissioned to place liaison staff in eye clinics across Hampshire, sometimes with joint funding from health. RNIB is undertaking a similar activity in Rotherham.

The role of the liaison staff is to increase the knowledge of ophthalmologists and other eye clinic staff of the services that are available (there is more to registration than just talking books and white sticks!). They assist in arranging referrals as needs arise, rather than waiting for the `last resort' of the registration form BD8.

Most importantly of all, they have the time and knowledge to talk to patients. They can go over the things that the consultant said in a more relaxed setting; they can encourage people to think about the unthinkable in a supportive way; they can judge when a referral for practical or emotional support is urgent, and when these things are not yet appropriate. And if the consultant has established eligibility, they can explain registration - its pros and cons, its meaning and what it does not mean. After all, being told that you are registrable as blind when you have some remaining vision sounds like a diagnosis for the future; it takes time to explain that most `blind' people can see something for the rest of their lives. In short, the role is to facilitate the transition between health care and social care.

The right ladders at the right time

Helpful though these developments are, the most exciting and satisfying innovation of all has been our ‘Insight’ service. Neither the name or many of the concepts are original, but what we believe is unique is the particular combination of elements and effective application that has brought such remarkable results. ‘Insight’ began because two social workers in Hastings got frustrated that they were closing so many cases where sight loss was recent. These were cases where help was obviously needed and available, but their clients did not take up the offer. Why didn't they want this gadget that helped them pour the tea safely? Why did they refuse the white stick that might save their lives in a busy shopping street? Surely a registration card that provided a few perks was a useful thing?

The specialist social workers asking themselves these questions were two visually impaired people, Brian Simpson and myself. Sadly, Brian has since died, but the solutions we found together have stood the test of time. Slowly it dawned on us that the problem was one of acceptance. How could anyone adopt a white cane, the very symbol of blindness, when in a month or two they were due for their next appointment at the eye clinic. After all, they were going to see the magician Consultant who would make their poor sight better! At least, that's what they hoped, otherwise why was a follow-up appointment being made?

I could write a separate article on all the double messages health and social services give to people as their sight fails, but here I will confine myself to saying that most people will not be interested in practical solutions to their problem until they really believe they have the problem, and until they believe it won't soon be going away. Even then, it takes time and skill to help people start to believe that life could just possibly be better with a bit of encouragement and advice.

So that's what ‘Insight’ does. People whose sight loss is recent are invited to attend six weekly sessions with a group of about others. They meet for half a day each week, and have a skilled leader who understands about feelings of loss and how to handle their expression sensitively - a leader who understands that people need encouragement and help to regain their self-confidence.

‘Insight’ creates a carefully nurtured therapeutic environment where this happens with surprising regularity. So far, more than 1000 clients have taken up ‘Insight’, and for them it is presented as a natural and normal part of the support which follows sight loss. The concept is along the same lines as physiotherapy being offered as part of the healing and strengthening process, if there has been damage to a limb.

Measuring healing and strengthening in an emotional sense is not easy, but we have done much detailed work to be sure that it is effective. In a recent survey, almost without exception those questioned spontaneously mentioned increased confidence as the key advantage ‘Insight’ had given them, even many months or years after the initial loss. And of the first 300 who attended the service, only seven did not come to all six sessions.

Bearing in mind that most of those who come are elderly, this is a very high attendance rate, and we believe it shows that Insight `scratches where it itches'.

So our clients gain confidence, and current research is beginning to show that they remain independent longer. But what else do we gain to justify increasing investment in this approach? We gain an in-depth assessment of need over a six week period and give time to exploring specialist services and equipment options without numerous home visits. We introduce clients to the various local providers, so that they know personally who runs options like the ‘Talking Newspaper’, the local club, the resource centre, and feel able go back to them direct when they are ready. They enable us to work with carers, who are invited to one session. And we gain much needed status for work around sight loss. Our staff get the satisfaction of seeing tangible change in their clients, they are involved with group work and counselling, and they receive better quality referrals for essential rehabilitation work after ‘Insight’ has finished.

We could not run Insight without the active co-operation of local voluntary organisations, who provide transport and volunteer support. It has been very satisfying to learn and grow together through a shared effort. Unfortunately, there isn't room in this article to explain all about the ‘Insight’ Service, and how it is fundamentally different from a `registration course' or information sessions run elsewhere. We have tried those, and although they have their place, they do not consistently and measurably give clients back their confidence, and thus gain knowledge and determination to function more independently. With so many hours of experience, we have tried many options and permutations, and we have a finely honed tool that is valued by providers and users alike.

I have shared a few ideas to stimulate thought and suggest some alternative ways of working. They don't all cost the earth - many ideas are simply changing our priorities in response to users' needs.

When sight fails it's in everbody's interest

  • to provide good information in appropriate formats at the right time
  • to offer emotional support first, so that practical solutions will seem relevant
  • to respond quickly before depression sets in
  • but most of all to effectively offer encouragement and confidence building, so that people can choose how to shape their future more meaning fully for themselves.

    Following its involvement in providing the ‘Insight’ Service in Hampshire, the RNIB believes this to be a model of good practice. It has asked Hampshire Social Services and the local voluntary societies to join it in promoting the service more widely.

  • If you would like more details, please contact David Coles, RNIB Direct Services Development Manager, 14 St Mary's Mount, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 5JB - telephone 01969 623433 or 0374 858537 (mobile).

Audio description - the first European conference

A conference held in Paris in October offered a rare opportunity to take stock of developments in the use of audio description in various European countries. Monique Raffray reports.

October 20 was certainly an interesting and encouraging day for the sixty delegates from nine countries who were in Paris to attend the first European conference on audio description. It was organised by the Association Valentin Haüy, and marked the significant progress that has been made since, in 1989-90, Great Britain and France began to explore audio description possibilities, prompted by what had been achieved in the United States. Now there were enough ideas, experiences and hopes to exchange, and concentrated listening during the morning and afternoon sessions was combined with plenty of informal discussion over an excellent lunch and the final farewell drinks.

The speakers were from France, Spain, Great Britain, Belgium and Italy. The participants also included representatives from German, Danish, Ukrainian, Rumanian and Czech organisations who had heard a little about audio description, and were eager to learn more.

To get the feel of exactly how audio description functions in the various European countries which are using it would of course take far more than a day; but a general picture was undoubtedly built up.

Theatre

The number of theatres which offer audio description in Great Britain, France, and now Spain, is increasing all the time. (With nearly thirty theatres providing the service in Britain, followed by five in France, Britain is the forerunner.) It has also been available at several art festivals.

Live audio description is agreed to be more satisfactory in every way, and is generally used. However, in theatres which tend to have long runs, or where there is no suitable place for the necessary equipment, pre-recorded tapes are a possible alternative. The advantage is that, as the plays are pre-described, the visually impaired person can see them whenever he chooses. On the other hand, the descriptions may not be totally accurate if small and sometimes spontaneous changes are made in performance. Encouragingly, audio description is spreading among provincial theatres as well as those in the capital.

Film/Video

Films are presented with audio description to audiences in Spain, France and Great Britain; France has concentrated particularly on the cinema. Popular films are chosen, which incorporate an audio description commentary. These films are shown to invited audiences of visually impaired people at the Valentin Haüy headquarters itself, and at other suitable venues in many towns all over France. Expert technicians bring and set up the equipment, travelling to the various centres - which are booked for a day, so that there can be one afternoon and one evening showing. Twenty films have been presented in this way, including such classics as ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, ‘Jean de Florette’ and ‘Manon des Sources’.

Sixty-six towns have been visited this year, and the attendance has amounted to over seven thousand visually impaired people, a total which rises to over twenty-four thousand if previous years are taken into account. These performances, of course, are intended primarily for visually impaired people and those who accompany them, but there is about to be an exciting breakthrough in terms of integration. On December 5, in one of the cinemas in the Avenue des Champs Elysées, ‘Les anges gardiens’ will be shown to the sighted audience as usual, but with an optional audio description. This means that visually impaired members of the audience, wearing head-sets, will see the film at exactly the same time and in exactly the same circumstances as everyone else, completely integrated as at an audio-described theatre performance. This wonderful development has been helped by the imaginative co-operation and generosity of Philippe Menial, the director of film sales for Gaumont. Ideally (but not yet, because of the financial responsibilities involved) all cinemas might well offer the same facilities to their visually impaired customers, who could then, like their sighted friends, see the film at any time, in any place.

The availability of audio description on television is the development which visually impaired Europeans are waiting for with the greatest eagerness. Obviously, this would benefit them more extensively and regularly thanaccess to the theatre and cinema. In Spain and Great Britain, popular films with audio description are made available on video by ONCE and RNIB. Titles available from RNIB include ‘Snow White’ and ‘Four weddings and a funeral’.

Television

The AUDETEL project (in which Great Britain's partners were Italy, Finland and Denmark) has been researching various aspects of television since it was launched in 1991. Last year it was able to present many audio described programmes, covering a fairly wide range, to a diverse group of selected visually impaired people in the United Kingdom. The audio description of these programmes was considered very effective, and AUDETEL is now investigating with the European Broadcasting Union the possibility of setting up a regular service of audio described television programmes. What their starting date would be is not yet clear.

For France, 1996 is likely to be the year of television. Negotiations are going on with Telediffusion de France, and as soon as the technological problems are resolved it should be possible to go ahead with audio description on France's `Cinquième Chaine' using a Nicam stereo channel. TDF has also expressed interest in thetechnology developed by AUDETEL.

There have already been televised audio described programmes in Italy, Spain and Germany. In Italy, the audio description is transmitted via radio, and in Spain and Germany via the second spare channel of stereo television – the programmes being transmitted mono. These are recognised not to be solutions for the long term, when, for example, more and more programmes will be seen in stereo.

Training

The procedures for training describers vary a good deal at present from country to country.

In Great Britain specific courses are provided by RNIB and AUDEST (Audio Description Training for Theatre), with agreed requirements and standards, for training describers and those who train them. The question of providing some training for theatre staff is also being considered.

In France, training tends to be provided by university professors working in such disciplines as translation, drama and psychology. In France there is no great need to increase the number of trainers at present because there would not be enough demand to provide them with full-time work.

This situation points to an important difference from the United Kingdom's approach. In the other European countries, describers are always paid and would like to work as accepted professionals responsible for training describers in all areas - theatre, cinema, television, museums and other places of interest, and giving relevant advice and support in schools for the visually impaired. In Great Britain, with a few exceptions such as the National Theatre, the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House, most of the describers are volunteers. Television describers and those working on the preparation of RNIB home videos are paid professionals.

There are far more describers in Great Britain then elsewhere in Europe, and this can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that an audio description service staffed by volunteers is a project with very low running costs, and can therefore be undertaken far more readily by the theatres. This use of volunteers also of course promotes a much faster growth in the availability of audio description. Another reason is that Great Britain places stronger emphasis on access to the arts policies.

In one sense, perhaps the most significant aspect of the congress was the unanimous agreement about the nature and challenges of audio description and the importance of working with visually impaired users at all levels.

For the describer, there is an exciting and rewarding stimulus, but also the need for endless hard work and patience. There are many questions with no soft answers: how to say neither too much nor too little; how to choose words that are exact and at the same time in keeping with the tone of the work described, and with the cultural expectations of the audience; how to be open, flexible and objective. Perhaps the phrase used in France for audio description sums up the aim: the describers must be `translators of images'.

Involving visually impaired people was an objective stressed by several of the speakers. They must be commentators at every stage of the training, and also after performances and broadcasts. Their opinions and wishes must be taken into account, and their influence on policy and practice accepted as a matter of course.

Because conditions vary considerably from country to country, there can be no set model for successful audio description, but fruitful exchanges and collaboration, such as the experience of October 20, can do much to ensure that progress is made in the right direction and that the highest values are maintained.

Acknowledgements

Monique Raffray's journey was made possible by an award from the Arts Council of England.

Letters

Snakes and ladders

Much of what Richard Cox says in his article (November ‘New Beacon’) is all too true.

However, there are a number of visually impaired people with time to help those with poor vision and their families at this time.

For five years or so our local hospital has allowed local groups to display literature with contact numbers. For 15 years our local Partially Sighted Society had its newsletter displayed on a table in the same eye department. As the contact for this I can safely say I've not been rushed off my feet with enquiries - perhaps a dozen queries a year. No more than one or two have ever contacted me to say if my advice was of value.

It's an unfortunate fact of life that the specialist doesn't have the time to do more than give a prognosis. He certainly doesn't know much about living with any impairment - and why should he? I just wish they would remember to pass the information on that there are people in the community who are willing to befriend them – and we're not `professionals' so can empathise with their predicaments.
Mrs Christine McMillan, Berkshire Branch, Partially Sighted Society

I have been registered blind since 1977 due to diabetic retinopathy and experienced varying degrees of loss of sight which is characteristic of that disease. Consequently, I am fully aware of the problems involved in adjusting to visual impairment.

Therefore, I would like to congratulate Richard Cox for presenting his article ‘Snakes and ladders’ in such a way that both sighted and unsighted, professional and layman alike can understand the anguish and bewilderment experienced, especially by the elderly, in coming to terms with failing sight.

Well done, Richard, for bringing a subject which is so often neglected to our notice.
Jacqueline Duthie, Alton, Hampshire

Retinitis pigmentosa

I was interested to read the article on this condition by Veronica Bevan in the November issue of ‘New Beacon’. My reason for writing is to emphasise the need for caution where hopes for a cure of this group of serious diseases is concerned.

There is a considerable amount of research going on, from a number of angles, and particularly in the field of molecular genetics, some of which has been supported by the RNIB through the budget of the Prevention of Blindness Research Sub-Committee.

There is always a danger that the media will pick up a small detail of some research finding, and run with it to score a `breakthrough'; thereby raising hopes unduly, only for them to be dashed in the light of further experience. There is still a long way to go before we can look back with hindsight and be sure that a really significant advance has been made in the treatment of this condition.

Treatments have been offered abroad for many years, and the news that their effectiveness is to be monitored should be welcome, provided that a properly mounted clinical trial is undertaken.
David W. Hill, Chairman, Prevention of Blindness Research Sub-Committee, RNIB

With reference to the article in the November issue of ‘New Beacon’ entitled ‘Retinitis Pigmentosa: Trials at the end of the tunnel’, written by Veronica Bevan of RNIB's Ophthalmic Advisory Service.

As her RNIB job title was stated heading the article, RNIB would like to point out that this article was unauthorised and does not represent RNIB policy.

RNIB's policy on overseas treatment for retinitis pigmentosa which claims to arrest the condition or improve the sight is that enquirers should always seek the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.

The British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society is happy to answer any enquiries in connection with this article on 01280 860363.
Sue Grindey, Manager, RNIB Health Services Development Unit

Housing for Visually Impaired People

RNIB Housing Service is currently updating and expanding its directory of housing options for blind and partially sighted people.

This will involve profiling all accommodation in Britain provided by local societies and national agencies of/for people with sight impairments.

We would also like to find out about other housing options specifically for visually impaired people.

If you know of any local councils or housing associations/trusts which have housing set aside for, or have developed housing to meet the particular needs of, visually impaired people, then we would like to hear from you.

Please contact: Neil Crowther, Housing Training Officer, RNIB Housing Service, Garrow House, 190 Kensal Road, London W10 5BT - Telephone 0181 969 2380.
Neil Crowther, RNIB Housing Service

Diploma in rehabilitation studies/Mobility matters

I read with interest a number of statements made by two of your readers in the ‘Letters’ section of November's ‘New Beacon’.

May I first comment on Sheila Coventry's observations about the Diploma courses in Rehabilitation Studies being offered by various organisations? As I have also pointed out (‘British Journal of Visual Impairment’, Vol.13, July 1995) there must be an enormous amount of confusion created by the introduction of a two year training course for Rehabilitation Workers, and those who hold a certificate will understandably feel that it is being devalued by the introduction of more comprehensive training.

However, we must all realise that professions either evolve or they wither, and that as knowledge increases so the content of any training course must become more comprehensive. Ironically, although a considerable amount of new knowledge has arisen over the past ten years of research into independence training, some of the new training bodies have chosen to ignore much of it. They therefore leave themselves very much exposed to the sorts of criticism levelled against them, and their lack of interest in the results of applied research which impinges on the training of RWs and the provision of services to blind people is disturbing.

In a similar vein, I note with dismay Peter Ryding's observations about a dilution in knowledge regarding mobility now that the former Technical Officer and Mobility Officer roles have been amalgamated. Peter draws attention to the SonicGuide, a wonderful example of how sophisticated technology can improve mobility, but one which has been allowed to fall into oblivion by those who should have been helping to get it into the hands of blind travellers who could benefit from it.

Readers might be interested to know that the successor to the SonicGuide, the TriSensor, is now available. It is expensive, however, and only the major charities for blind people can help them to benefit from it by supporting it financially. It is quite the most amazing mobility device that has ever been invented, as well as being an indispensable aid to cognitive development in congenitally blind children. If it is allowed to rust unused then history will judge us all harshly.

Professor Leslie Kay, its inventor, has dedicated his entire life to perfecting the device. At the age of seventy-four he will not be able much longer to act as sole advocate for its capabilities. He has recently been travelling round the world at his own expense trying to interest those parties in a position to support it to make a commitment.

So far, neither major charity for blind people has ever shown more than a passing interest in such a device, and Leslie is despairing that his life's work now lies in ruins. He has asked me to help try to persuade people in Britain to take the device seriously, and if sufficient interest is forthcoming we will jointly assume the responsibility for ensuring that RWs are properly trained in an understanding of its potential, and that clients are trained appropriately in its use. Any suggestions as to how we might achieve this would be very welcome.
Dr Allan G Dodds, CPsychol, FBPsS, RMIP, Department of Clinical Psychology, Mansfield Community Hospital, Stockwell Gate, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 5QJ

I am writing to comment on the letters on mobility in recent issues. I agree that too many textured pavements are confusing and can become nothing more than a gimmick, but I do feel that there is a place for some.

am particularly referring to the traditional blistered paving which is there to denote a road crossing. I find these very helpful, because they assure a blind person that he/she is crossing at the safest possible point. In addition, if a zebra crossing is being approached, for example, and there is no indicating pole, sloping kerb or landmark, the pedestrian could step on to the road anywhere, which could have dire consequences bearing in mind that drivers do not have the right of way on the `stripes' but they do at any other point. It is also a fact that, no matter how good a blind person's mobility is, he/she is bound to get lost at some time, and I have found these `blisters' act as a very good guide from which I am able to retain my bearings.

There are, however, a number of other things I would like to see achieved where mobility is concerned. The first is that there should be more mobility officers, and they should be readily available when blind people need to learn a new route. Under the new Social Services system the `user' has to get in touch with their `care manager', who fills in a form which is sent to the mobility officer, who gets in contact with the blind person. Why could it not simply be like in the `olden days', when someone needing a route, once they were known to the mobility officer, could just ring them and make an appointment?

The other points I want to raise are to do with sighted people who, with exceptions of course, could do with a few lessons themselves. The number of times I have been told it is "all right to cross" a road when the lights aren't red (or the `bleep' hasn't gone), and have been frowned upon for my stubbornness in waiting until I know it's safe! It saddens me when I hear people with prams and young children crossing at these times as well. I wonder how much road safety children are taught in schools nowadays. Do they know about the `green cross code'?

There is also the question of car drivers stopping to let pedestrians cross. Kind though it may be, it is extremely dangerous unless it is at a junction or recognised crossing. Fellow VIPs, do you know that you shouldn't cross if a car stops for you? I don't mean to sound patronising, especially to those of you who, like myself, were given this advice on mobility lessons at school or anywhere else, but there are some people who think that just because they have a white stick drivers should stop for them.

There is a lot more I could say on this subject, and I would be very interested in any comments readers might have. I was delighted to read, in the last ‘NLB Bulletin’ (from the National Library for the Blind), that they have published a braille edition of the ‘Highway Code’, which I will certainly be borrowing.
Lisa Redford, Exmouth

Blind but Able in Uganda

I am a retired Appeals Organiser for RNIB and I am now a voluntary worker for the Wales Council for the Blind. Apart from this sort of regular work for the Council I am always ready to share my experience with other worthy causes, and with this in mind I have adopted a group of forward looking blind people in Kampala, Uganda.

They are currently trying to deal with the problems of equality that we were facing about fifty years ago. They tell me that they are ignored by the authorities, employers and the general public. The group is charmingly called `Blind But Able Self Support Project' and, in my opinion, a very worthy cause to support.

The group runs a sort of rehabilitation centre in Kampala, and they need to find around £50 per week for the rent of their premises.

They also run an outreach programme which involves visiting the families of visually impaired people to help them deal with their situation, and I know that in undeveloped countries this is no easy task. I have asked them for a list of equipment they need, and this is it: photocopier, fax machine, Perkins, musical instruments, white canes, long folding canes, hand braille writing equipment, knitting machines, typewriters, computer equipment.

If you can help, please dig out anything you can find that is on the list which you no longer use and send it to me at the following address, or telephone me.
Neville Jenkinson, 8 Midfield, Goytre, Nr Pontypool, Gwent, NP4 0AS - telephone 01873 880525.

Multimeter

I'm writing to thank all who expressed interest in my proposals for a Multimeter for the blind, published in the June issue. I have had fifteen very positive responses to date and have received many other encouraging messages.

I am pleased to report that the project is under way, in the capable hands of Ms Shilpa Chotai, a third year student at UMIST. A the time of writing, I can say little except that she intends to include all our proposals in the prototype design. I shall report further when appropriate. In the meantime, we need to think about how we can have the instrument manufactured and, for this, I need your help in terms of names of those who may be interested in buying one. I need hardly say that the more we get, the better will be our chances. Please let me know!
Terry Robinson, 16 Nibthwaite Road, Harrow, HA1 1TA – telephone 0181 420 3908 (work).

Insight

Disability Discrimination Act

The Disability Discrimination Act received the Royal Assent last month. For the first time, disabled people have legal redress against most of the worst cases of discrimination. Employers and providers of goods, facilities and services will have to take concrete steps to include disabled people.

The legislation covers anyone providing a good, service or facilities direct to the public, and all employers (except those with fewer than 20 employees). It will apply to anyone who has a physical, sensory, or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

It will be some time before the Act comes into force. Some parts of the legislation have to be explained more fully in Government regulations and guidance. Different parts of the legislation will be implemented at different times - some will come into force within twelve to eighteen months, but more difficult changes such as alterations to buildings could take up to ten years.

The legislation covers blind and partially sighted people, but will not stop all types of discrimination. An act will only be considered discriminatory if it can't be justified or in some cases is considered unreasonable - and the precise meaning of the terms `justified' and `unreasonable' may have to be decided in a court of law.

Over the coming months, the Government will begin public consultation on the initial codes of practice, covering the following:

  • draft employment code of practice
  • draft guidance on the definition of disability
  • Regulations on the `refusal to serve' aspects of the new right of access to goods, services, and facilities.

The new National Disability Council is to be established early next year. New employment rights are expected to come into force towards the end of 1996, when the provision on access to goods and services also begins to come into force, starting with the rights of disabled people not to be refused a service because of a disability.

There will be additional consultations on other aspects of the new right of access to goods, services, and facilities, including the following:

  • Requirements on service providers to change policies, practices, or procedures which may discriminate - such as animal bans affecting guide dog users
  • Requirements to adapt and develop auxiliary aids and services – such as providing information on tape
  • Requirements to make adaptations to buildings

A consortium of disability organisations - MENCAP, MIND, RADAR, RNIB, RNID and SCOPE - issued the following policy statement on the Disability Discrimination Act last month:

"The Disability Discrimination Act marks a milestone on the path to full recognition of the civil rights of disabled people. It provides an important tool to fight the discrimination against disabled people that is so rife.
“Our organisations are committed to fighting discrimination against disabled people. Whilst still seeking further legislative developments, we welcome the Disability Discrimination Act as important progress in the right direction. We are committed to making as great a success of the legislation as possible.
"We identify three key elements to the success of the legislation:
"1. Disabled people need to be aware of their new rights and to be supported in taking them up.
"2. Employers and providers of goods and services and facilities need to be aware of their new obligations and be aware of the practical steps they can take to achieve them.
"3. Government needs to provide funds for the implementation process to ensure its effectiveness; keep the effectiveness of the legislation under review; and be ready to act to remedy its shortcomings.
"Our organisations will:
"1. Work closely with Government on the implementation and promotion of the new legislation, to maximise its effectiveness, and to monitor the need for amendment and strengthening.
"2. Work together to promote the legislation to disabled people. We will be working to help disabled people use and test the legislation.
"3. Develop a package of co-operative services for employers and providers of services, goods and facilities to help them meet their obligations under the new legislation."
  • Over the coming months, ‘New Beacon’ will be looking in detail at the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act and their application to blind and partially sighted people.
  • A brief guide to the Disability Discrimination Act, issued on behalf of the Minister for Disabled People, is available in clear print, braille and audio cassette. For a copy, telephone 0345 622 633 or write to Disability on the Agenda, FREEPOST, Bristol, BS38 7DE.

The Vision of the Federation

A report by Jill Allen-King MBE, Public Relations Officer of the National Federation of the Blind of the United Kingdom:

It will be 50 years next year since a few blind people got together in a London hotel and had the vision of the formation of the National Federation of the Blind. In June 1997 we will be celebrating our Golden Jubilee, in Birmingham. At our 44th Annual Delegates Conference, held in Gateshead from October 6 to 8, we looked back over the past three years that I had been President. As the largest campaigning organisation of blind and partially sighted people in the UK, we have helped to improve the quality of life for many blind and partially sighted people, as our aims say.

However, our vision is of thousands of people going blind every year without a counselling service to help them, without a guaranteed rehabilitation service, without an adequate disability income to cover all their extra costs, without access to a job, without clear safe pavements to walk on, and without a reliable frequent public transport service to travel on.

In the past three years, the Federation has unfortunately lost through death members like Charles Taylor, Martin Milligan, Roy Brown, Ernie Williams, Betty Burgham and Gordon Beall, who all had a vision of how the Federation should work and carried on with their dedication to the work of the Federation to the end of their lives.

Sticking to their principles at all times, it is now up to all of us to carry on the work of the Federation so that those people who are daily losing their sight know that there is an organisation that is fighting on their behalf.

As well as the formal business of the Conference on the Friday and Sunday, the Saturday was spent in workshop sessions, which proved to be very successful. They had been organised by the incoming President, Connell Gebbie. Group 1 discussed the Discrimination Bill, led by Alun Thomas of the RNIB. Group 2 was on advocacy, led by Don Jackson, and Group 3 discussed social work training, led by Dr Graham Lomas - who was awarded the Grimshaw Award for his work for blind people for many years. Group 4, run by members of the Executive, looked at the future administration of the Federation.

In addition, resolutions were passed covering many topics, including audio description for television and access for guide dogs into stores and restaurants. There were two emergency motions passed unanimously concerning the 42 million pounds of lottery money given for cycle ways. While we appreciate the need for cycling facilities, it must not be at the expense of the safety of the pedestrian. We feel that there must be a physical barrier between the cyclist and the pedestrian.

Westminster City Council will be urged to reverse their recent decision and retain tactile paving at all road crossing points, in the interest of safety.

We had many new delegates at this year's Conference, many of whom were young and many newly blind. This was very refreshing, and if this trend continues, with new blood and new ideas, the Federation will certainly be here for the next 50 years.

Many branches are helping with the `See it Right' campaign at local level. Some are being consulted about the design of new bus stations, many on their community care plan, and many promoting our `Get Streetwise' video and campaign.

  • If anyone would like to have a copy of the Federation's information leaflet, it is available in braille, print or on cassette from: The National Federation of the Blind, Unity House, Smyth Street, Westgate, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 1ER - telephone 01924 291313.
  • If you would like to talk on the work of the Federation, please get in touch with me, Mrs Jill Allen-King MBE, telephone 01702 77899.

Northumberland and Tyneside: Strong support for new resource facility

The results of a major twelve-month study in Northumberland and Tyneside provide strong support for the setting up of a Resource Facility to co-ordinate services for blind and partially sighted people in the region.

The independent study was commissioned by the Northumberland and Tyneside Initiative, which brings together the interests of a wide range of service users, social care and health providers from both statutory and voluntary sectors in the North East of England. The Initiative has been concerned for some time about the fragmented nature of services for people with vision loss throughout the Region, and it wanted to investigate the feasibility of introducing a more effective way of delivering services.

The Study, which was carried out by Newcastle based social research experts Market Research UK, has uncovered fundamental gaps in the way services are currently delivered by social work, health and voluntary sector agencies. Among the most serious gaps are:

  • long delays before newly registered blind and partially sighted people can get access to basic social work and special care services
  • little specialist support for newly registered people
  • inadequate services to help make use of residual vision
  • poor access to information and advice
  • unco-ordinated and poor quality services from local voluntary organisations.

The study has concluded that visually impaired people would benefit from a more co-ordinated approach which integrates key elements of social care, health and voluntary sector provision under the umbrellas of a Regional Resource Facility. The Resource Facility would have a centre in Newcastle, with satellites in Northumberland County and South Tyneside. Its services would include social work and support services, low vision aid clinics, daily living and other skills training, a production centre for braille, large print and taped information, a single access point for information, and support for the work of local voluntary organisations.

John Walker, of Newcastle City Council Social Services Department, who chairs the Initiative's Resource Facility Steering Group, commented: "The findings of the study justify the concerns we have voiced about the state of visual impairment services throughout the Region. We now have a large amount of detailed and hard evidence, much of it from service users themselves, to make the case for something far better in the form of a Resource Facility."

The study findings and recommendations were launched at a seminar in Newcastle in October, attended by some seventy people from a wide range of voluntary and statutory agencies as well as a large number of service users. The Steering Group received a mandate to take forward the project to establish a resource facility.

  • Further information about the study can be obtained from the Secretary of the Northumberland & Tyneside Initiative, Kathy Cash, RNIB Voluntary Agencies Link Unit, St Mary's Centre, 82-90 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2RW - telephone 01642 218686. A full set of the research findings and recommendations can be purchased at a cost of £25.

Lottery awards to RNIB and Action for Blind People

A scheme to improve access to business training for blind and partially sighted people has been awarded a £188,000 grant over two years by the National Lottery Charities Board.

Piloted in London and Birmingham, the scheme by the RNIB Self Employment Development Unit will train agencies who support small businesses and help visually impaired people in England.

The organisations that will be targeted include Training and Enterprise Councils, Business Links, Enterprise Agencies, Chambers of Commerce and the small business advisers in banks.

The scheme will identify the needs of visually impaired people who want to start their own business and the needs of agencies who will be serving them. It will enable the unit to assist many more visually impaired people by allowing them to access the same services sighted people take for granted.

Louise Vale, RNIB's Self Employment Development Unit manager, said: "At the end of the first year we hope to have put together an information pack and two day training seminar.

"In the second year we will be holding two day seminars in 15 towns and cities across England and distributing information packs to all appropriate agencies."

  • Action for Blind People has been awarded a grant of £80,000 by the National Lottery Charities Board to fund research into how visually impaired people can achieve realistic and appropriate employment opportunities.

Some 75 per cent of blind and partially sighted people of working age are unemployed. To date no comprehensive study has been carried out on this issue. Action for Blind People (which has four vocational and employment centres around the country and spends £1 million each year on its employment and training services) intends to use the Lottery grant to find out why this startling statistic exists and how best it can help to reduce it. Using its own existing in-house experience and expertise plus specialist researchers in the field of employment and disability, the charity will make direct contact with visually impaired people and employers, as well as analysing existing data.

"There is a huge knowledge gap regarding the employment needs and aspirations of visually impaired people nationally. There is also little information about what is inhibiting employers from recruiting them. This information is desperately needed for visually impaired people to improve their economic circumstances and become as financially independent as possible by obtaining suitable work", says Tony Giller, Director of Services.

David Blunkett opens University of Wales Swansea Recording Centre

Karin Alderson (Manager - RFB Centre) writes:

The Recording for the Blind (RFB) Centre at the University of Wales Swansea was officially opened on November 2 by David Blunkett, MP.

The RFB Centre, which has, in fact, been operating since the beginning of the last academic session, houses three broadcast standard studios identical to those at the RNIB Recording Centre at Peterborough. The Centre, which was set up with financial assistance from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, currently serves twelve students at the University. As well as a taping service, the RFB Centre also offers a brailling service and a print enlarging service, and is hoping to purchase a tactile printer shortly.

One of our final year Computer Science students has recently completed work on a database for the Centre which will enable us to allocate texts to volunteers with the relevant skills (ie mathematics or foreign languages) who are available at a given time and day. In addition we will be able to calculate the number of hours recorded for each client on a monthly basis.

At the opening ceremony, Mr Blunkett addressed an audience of some ten members of the University staff, including the Vice Chancellor, Professor Robin Williams. Sadly, representatives from both the RNIB and HEFCW were unable to attend. He emphasised the importance of initiatives such as the RFB Centre in allowing students with a variety of disabilities to feel able to compete with their peers on an equal footing academically. He singled out the University's Tutor for Students with Disabilities, Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick, for special thanks for the effort he had put into this area in the recent past.

At lunch Mr Blunkett met the students and member of staff who use the Centre. In the afternoon, Mr Blunkett delivered a lecture entitled `The future of Britain - a nation learning to earn a living', to which members of the public as well as of the University community were invited. He spoke again of the need to ensure equal access to education of a high standard to all schoolchildren and students, regardless of geographical location or personal circumstances. Questions were put to Mr Blunkett from the audience, and the afternoon drew to a close with a short address and words of thanks from the Vice Chancellor.

Together we can make a difference

Anne Veart (Manager of RNIB's Social Services Development Unit) writes:

This was the key to the joint stand on visual impairment at this year's Social Services Conference in Bournemouth, attended by Directors of Social Services, committee Chairpersons and other councillors.

Representatives of RNIB Social Services Development Unit, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and Action for Blind People worked successfully together to make the visual impairment stand a place to remember. Music from the video and the close proximity of the refreshment area drew numerous people to find out more about visual impairment.

Delegates queued to find the number of registered blind people there were in their own local authority from the statistics available – the subject of a competition to win two bottles of vintage champagne. A draw of correct answers was made at the conference dinner, attended by 700 delegates in the presence of Derek Nimmo, the after-dinner speaker.

The two winners were Neil Brown, Chair of Social Services Vale of Glamorgan, and David Williams, Chair of Social Services London Borough of Barnet.

Each competitor was presented with a visual impairment information pack which contained information from RNIB, Action for Blind People and GDBA. Those Directors who were unable to visit the conference were later provided with the `Together we can make a difference' information pack.

Refsums disease

Sandra Ruckley writes:

Refsums disease is a very rare genetic disorder, of which the main symptoms are retinitis pigmentosa and nerve damage to the limbs.

People with Refsums disease have an enzyme `missing', which means that they are unable to break down a fatty acid, phytanic acid, in their bodies. Usually, people can break down phytanic acid and it washes out through the urine. However, with Refsums disease the phytanic acid builds up in the body and becomes a poison. As well as the main symptoms, Refsums disease can also cause deafness, bad balance, itchy dry skin, heart problems and loss of sense of smell.

The only way to treat Refsums disease is by diet. Patients must avoid eating food which is a source of phytanic acid, so they must not eat lamb, beef, milk and milk products (such as butter and cheese) – except skimmed milk – most types of fish, animal fats and fish oils. Patients must try to keep their weight up, as phytanic acid is stored in the body fat, so if one loses weight the phytanic acid gets into the blood stream and causes damage. Most people, once they have got their diet under control, show an improvement in the nerve damage to their arms and legs.

There are only fifty people in the country who are known to have Refsums disease, including myself. I am sure many of the others have had difficulties being diagnosed and getting the appropriate help they need, or just feeling isolated and alone. I know more about Refsums disease than most of the doctors I see, so I have to educate them!

I would like to set up a sort of network of Refsums sufferers so that they could be put in touch with each other. It is nice to have someone to talk to who understands. If you have Refsums, or know of anyone who does, who may be interested, please contact me at this address:
Miss Sandra Ruckley, RNIB Redhill College, Philanthropic Road, Redhill, Surrey.

Accessible information for visually impaired physiotherapists

Addressing the problems faced by blind and partially sighted physiotherapists in gaining access to information is the aim of a joint project by RNIB and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

Based on RNIB recommendations, the CSP have bought a scanner, a speech synthesis system and a text enlargement system for the Information Resource Centre at the CSP's headquarters.

The RNIB have contributed a closed circuit television on a permanent loan. They have provided initial on-site training on the specialist equipment and will continue to give technical support when required.

Jane Owen Hutchinson, RNIB's Physiotherapy Support Service Manager, said: "The equipment will prove invaluable for visually impaired physiotherapists, enabling them to access the same information as their sighted colleagues."

The services were launched last month at the centre at 14 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4ED. The event was attended by, among others, CSP Chair Pennie Roberts, Vice Chair Robert Jones, Jane Owen-Hutchinson from the RNIB and Mary Fairbrother from the Association of Blind Chartered Physiotherapists.

The RNIB and the CSP will continue to work together to provide services for visually impaired physiotherapists at the Information Resource Centre and at the University of East London's RNIB technical support service.

RNIB Sunshine House School to close

RNIB has confirmed that its Sunshine House School in East Grinstead will close by the end of the spring term in 1996.

In a statement issued on October 26, RNIB said that its Education, Employment and Training Committee had given lengthy and careful consideration to the proposal and listened to presentations from a parent and a governor. The committee concluded that the difficult decision had to be made.

RNIB currently has an operating deficit of £2.5 million, which it ascribes to a fall in income from legacies and the adverse effect of the National Lottery on fundraising.

The school building is increasingly unsuitable for the specialised equipment, teaching and care which the children require, says RNIB. The site is unsuitable for expansion or refurbishment, and RNIB cannot afford to build a new school. The school costs approximately £670,000 a year to run - only half of which is covered by local authority fees.

RNIB is offering places at other RNIB schools to the 16 children who are currently at the school, or help in finding places in other schools of their choice. RNIB runs four other schools for children with multiple disabilities.

Commenting on the closure, Paul Ennals, RNIB Director of Education said: "It is with great sadness that we have had to take this difficult decision. We recognise that this is causing concern and distress for the parents of those children currently attending the school.

"We will do our utmost to ensure continuity of care and education for all of these children, and help them make a smooth transition to new schools."

Sex, eyes and audiotape

An audio tape containing information about HIV, AIDS and safer sex has been produced for people with a visual impairment aged between 16 and 25.

`Sex, eyes and audiotape' results from the collaboration of a group of people with different levels of vision, supported by Henshaw's Society for the Blind and the Salford Centre for Health Promotion.

The short tape is being launched on World Aids Day (December 1st) to coincide with the World Health Organisation's theme of `Shared Rights - Shared Responsibilities'.

Louise Hutchinson, Henshaw's Assistant Director of Policy and Services Development, said: "Making the tape informative but interesting to listen to was a major aim of the project. The group drew widely on its own experience of obtaining factual information through a variety of mediums including tape.

"The result is an honest, direct and funny script, but behind the humour there is a very serious point to be made."

Members of the group undertook basic HIV awareness training and considered issues such as sexuality and disability, access to sexual health services and agencies, and the practicalities of choosing, purchasing and using condoms.

`Sex, eyes and audiotape' has been professionally recorded in conjunction with students and staff at University College, Salford.

  • Copies of the tape can be obtained free of charge by writing to: Henshaw's Society for the Blind, John Derby House, 88-92 Talbot Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0GS.

In Brief

Peter White makes TV debut as Disability Affairs Correspondent

Peter White, who is the BBC and Britain's only network news Disability Affairs Correspondent, made his television debut last month on BBC1's ’The One O'Clock News’ on Tuesday October 31.

Peter presented an item on the new Commons Bill seeking to make discrimination against the disabled illegal. He memorised his `piece to camera' and used a braille script for the voice-overs.

"I was very pleased with the way it went", said Peter, who is already known to BBC audiences for his appearances on specialist disability programmes on radio and television. "I'm looking forward to making more appearances.

"It was also important because it's another shot in the overall campaign, a milestone. The next stop will be to have, say, a Home Affairs correspondent on television who is blind and so on. Why not? It should be purely down to ability."

Peter's job as Disability Affairs Correspondent means he works for both radio and television news programmes.

MP visits Highlands project for VIPs

Charles Kennedy, Liberal Democrat MP, presented certificates of achievement to fifteen blind and partially sighted people involved in Visualise, an RNIB project, during a visit in October.

The project, funded by the European Social Fund, the Inverness and Nairn Enterprise and the Ross and Cromarty Enterprise, helps visually impaired people who have been unemployed for six months or more

find work.

Set up in October 1994 at the Highland Vision Services in Inverness, Visualise offers at ten week course focusing on re-introducing blind and partially sighted people from Inverness, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty into the workforce.

The course offers a programme of work experience and training in relevant skills such as interview techniques and writing CVs.

  • For further information about Visualise, please call Kate Storrow, Visualise Project Manager on 0131-313 1877 (mobile: 0836-366 168).

The Manor House Touch

‘The Manor House Touch’, a video about people who have lost their sight and their fight to regain independence at the Royal National Institute for the Blind's rehabilitation centre, was launched last month.

All those featured in the video have benefited from the services offered at RNIB Manor House. One of them, Ken Woodward, was so impressed by the service he received that he is planning to fly around the world to raise money for the RNIB. Ken only learnt to fly after he lost his sight.

RNIB Manor House offers a therapeutic environment in which visually impaired people can prepare positively for the future. Set in beautiful grounds in Torquay, there is a full programme of assessment, social rehabilitation and vocational rehabilitation and training.

Centre Manager, Brian Hewitt said: "Sight loss is extremely traumatic, and when people come here they need considerable help and support to adapt to their new environment. The video shows the comprehensive and specialist service we offer to all our clients."

  • RNIB Manor House is at Middle Lincombe Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 2NG - telephone 01803 214523*

Communicating with multiply disabled children

Working with children with visual impairments who have additional disabilities creates a unique set of challenges - challenges addressed by RNIB in a new publication, ‘Movement, gesture and sign’.

The book focuses on children whose vision is impaired and who also have profound communication difficulties.

Mary McDonald, RNIB's Education Editor said: "The communication programme described in the book starts with movement sessions and the development of personal gestures. It then gradually progresses towards the use of a sign system adapted for visually impaired children.

"The programme was developed by the Royal Blind School, Edinburgh and we hope that this publication will make it accessible to more people."

The book contains clear illustrations of the signs and how to use them, and is intended as a practical guide for all who work and care for blind and partially sighted children with additional disabilities.

  • ‘Movement, gesture and sign’ is written by Mary Lee and Lindi MacWilliam based on their work at the Royal Blind School, Edinburgh. Priced £7.50, it is available from the RNIB Customer Services, PO Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS - telephone 0345 023153.

Food Advice Service on cassette

Tesco, the supermarket chain, has launched audio cassette versions of its series of Healthy Eating Guide leaflets.

One of the cassettes, `Healthy eating - Get the balance right', gives an easy to follow action plan to make sure your diet is properly balanced. Other titles cover: Diabetes; Vitamins & minerals; 10 years on; Healthy eating for children; Pregnancy; Healthy eating for the elderly; Nutrition; Additives; Allergies; Salt; Fibre; Fat and cholesterol; Fruit and vegetables.

  • The tapes are available from Master Transcriptions, PO Box 124, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8YL.

Tape library for children

Henshaw's Society for the Blind has launched an audio-cassette lending library for children who are blind and partially sighted, thanks to a generous donation from Manchester auctioneers Allsop & Co.

The library is aimed primarily at children aged seven upwards, but there are also a number of story tapes for younger children.

Cassettes can be requested by post or by calling into Henshaw's Greater Manchester Regional Resource Centre where the library is based. For further details, please telephone Jayne Stokes on 0161 872 1234.

News Extra

Education & Training in visual impairment

The Training Board - Visual Impairment has issued the following document describing its background and current role:

The past:

Rehabilitation worker training has evolved primarily as a result of the efforts of the individual training agencies to provide employers with the skilled specialist staff they require to deliver the range of services needed by people with a visual impairment.

The Training Board - Visual Impairment monitored these various training programmes via independent assessment and evaluation reports compiled by a number of assessors appointed by the Board.

The Training Board - Visual Impairment was the awarding body for the previous Technical Officer, Mobility Officer and Rehabilitation Worker Certificates.

The early 1990s saw a shift towards academic validation rather than the professional award then on offer, and the subsequent change in funding arrangements led to the closure of two of the agencies.

With the new academic validation the role of the Training Board - Visual Impairment became unclear.

The present

In light of the changes, the Training Board - Visual Impairment's role had to change in such a way as to continue to offer its professional backing to the field and at the same time ensure that the quality of training and the parity of standards were maintained.

To achieve this, the following statements represent the agreed mission of the Training Board - Visual Impairment.

Mission statement

The Training Board - Visual Impairment exists to promote, coordinate, recognise and monitor programmes of education and training for those working in the field of visual impairment.

In the interests of users of services it promotes education and training for rehabilitation workers and allied professionals working in the field of visual impairment.

It coordinates the provision of programmes of education and training by bringing together representatives of education and training agencies, relevant national bodies, employers and government departments to discuss and foster appropriate provision.

It recognises programmes by a system of quality assurance and endorsement of the awards given by education and training agencies, and, as appropriate, ensures parity of standards.

It monitors the provision of sufficient, relevant and adequate programmes by the maintenance of a network of consultation, with all relevant interests and by due regard to, and the encouragement of, research into rehabilitation work.

The Training Board - Visual Impairment seeks to maintain good working relationships with similar Boards in related fields, especially in respect of disability studies generally.

Current membership

The Board's membership is as follows:

  • Two representatives from each major approved School/Training provider.
  • An RNIB representative as a lead organisation in the field and a significant funder of training.
  • Representative from the ADSS as the major body coordinating local authority employers and commissioners views. It is hoped that ADSS will be able to represent the Association of Directors of Social Work in Scotland.
  • Representative from the NCVO as a major body coordinating voluntary body employers.
  • Representative from NALSVI as a major body coordinating voluntary body employers.
  • A representative of Rehabilitation Worker practitioners nominated by VIEW.

Observers to be invited from:

  • Occupational Standards Council for Health and Social Care
  • CCETSW
  • Department of Health
  • Scottish Office
  • Welsh Office
  • Northern Ireland Office (?)
  • BASW
  • A representative of a consumer/client group.

Documents describing new courses would be submitted to the Board for approval. The Board will maintain a record of approved courses and receive the names of successful students each year. However, it would be the responsibility of the training provider to maintain student and diplomate/graduate records.

It is courses and qualifications that are approved, not individual students or diplomates. The Board will not issue certificates to students.

The future

The Training Board - Visual Impairment intends to collate a list of existing specialist workers and to hold a register of all students who successfully gain a qualification which results from completion of a Training Board - Visual Impairment approved course.

The courses currently approved are:

  • Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies: UCE
  • Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies: GDBA via Birmingham University
  • Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies: Henshaws via Leeds Metropolitan University

For more information regarding the Training Board - Visual Impairment contact:

  • sRoy Lawrenson, Training Board - Visual Impairment, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, School of Rehabilitation Studies, Hillfields, Burghfield, Reading, RG7 3YG - telephone 01734-835555

For more information regarding training courses contact:

  • Simon Eamonson, Principal of Training, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, School of Rehabilitation Studies, Hillfields, Burghfield, Reading, RG7 3YG - telephone 01734 835555
  • Patrick Hayward, RNIB School of Rehabilitation Studies, Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, University of Central England, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU - telephone 0121 331 6405
  • Bill Day, Henshaws College, Bogs Lane, Starbeck, Harrogate, HG1 4ED - telephone 01423 886451

Leisure for All

Milton Mountaineers take a stroll in the park

11-15 May 1995

Ken England reports on this year's expedition - to Brecon Beacons National Park

Dust, slag heaps, coal trucks rumbling up and down the mountainside, and rain: these are my childhood memories of South Wales where I was a pupil at the East Anglian School for Blind and Deaf Children, which was evacuated there for the duration of the war. In early May, 1944, the Great Western Railway steam express began its four-hour journey from Paddington to Neath, which seemed like forever to me and my two deaf companions travelling to school for the first time, accompanied by a young social worker.

Reluctantly we shared the sandwiches lovingly prepared by our parents from their meagre rations with the troops in our compartment. The seemingly endless Severn Tunnel, with the frantic closing of the window to keep out the smuts, we found exciting and just a little frightening; and the anticipation when a soldier returning home on leave gave the social worker three bananas quickly turned to disappointment when only one was shared between us whilst she consumed the other two.

What a difference travelling with the Milton Mountaineers fifty-one years later almost to the day to the Brecon Beacons National Park. Eight of us joined the high-speed train at Paddington, arriving in Cardiff two hours later with - the Severn Tunnel having passed almost unnoticed. Karen Jones, plus guide dog Emily, had been whisked board at Reading, while a newcomer, Eleanor Tew, joined at Bristol Parkway. And there was a plentiful supply of food and drink.

By the time we were on the local train to Merthyr Tydfil, Cyril Inwood from Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, another first-timer, had joined us; and Welsh Water Plc have the Mountaineers' grateful thanks for providing a minibus to complete the journey to Brecon, as well as local transportation throughout the weekend. Andrew Lamb was our driver on this occasion, and he it was who co-ordinated our walks and generally assisted with local arrangements.

Brecon is the largest town in the National Park, and its main centre. It stands on the north bank of the River Usk at its confluence with the Honddu, overlooking the major central peaks of the Beacons. The town centre still retains its medieval street pattern, and the many Georgian buildings reflect its heyday as a fashionable social centre in the eighteenth century.

The chosen base for our twenty-eighth annual jaunt was the Castle Hotel, which some of you may have seen featured in BBC TV's ‘Oliver's Travels’. This is an historic coaching inn, of great character, built on the site and incorporating the slight remains of the Brecon Castle, which was founded by Bernard de Newmarche in the early twelfth century and was the principal Norman stronghold in the area. It overlooks the meeting of the two rivers, with fine views of the National Park.

A further nine members of our party arrived from the Midlands and North, including 75-year-old Fred McDermott - whose very first ascent of a mountain was with the Milton Mountaineers when he was over seventy (so there is hope for most of you). Fred had to confess to the assembled company that he did not quite make the top of Kilimanjaro with the Guide Dogs Adventure Group during the previous July.

Water, water everywhere - including a drop to drink

Friday arrived bright and sunny, and the Mountaineers quickly took advantage of a free morning by following a substantial breakfast with various pursuits. The Cathedral, which occupies a secluded position above the town, proved popular. Formerly a Benedictine priory, it was also founded by de Newmarche. Sue Merrill took Daisy Pritchard to meet a horse.

Needless to say, Martin Kane made straight for the local distillery, but sadly was not given a sample of Welsh Whisky. I looked after Karen so that Emily could run free, and together with Anne Weyers, our Leader (that is to say organiser), Ken Stevenson – another newcomer to the Mountaineers - and Cyril, we strolled north-west along the River Usk, passing through several fields with beautiful views of the pastures across the river and the hills beyond. We met many dogs taking their owners for their morning exercise, and as we retraced our steps, one large hound with a fine grey coat (a Weimarama) in a dispute with Emily, accidentally rushed into Karen, bringing her to the ground. Fortunately, neither the dog nor Karen sustained any injury.

Just after mid-day, we were introduced to our local volunteer guides, who this year had received instruction on their task from a mobility officer. It was soon evident, as we headed south-east along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, that the Mountaineers would be enjoying yet another wonderful weekend with friendly and dedicated walkers. Sue Merrill and Penny Scott Blackhall, Anne's two sisters, were helping to guide, whilst Sue's Jack Russell, Bill, was having a great time with the other dogs, including Martin's guide dog Elliot. Soon the river came up on our right, so that we were walking between it and the canal. We paused for a few minutes at Lock-Brynich, before crossing an aqueduct carrying the canal over the Usk; then crossed the canal via a lovely old packhorse bridge, recrossed the aqueduct, and left this historic waterway to follow the river, stepping over branches and other debris left by the winter floods.

John Mackness, our deaf-blind member, was delighted to be escorted by a lady who took the trouble to communicate with him using the deafblind manual, and he and the rest of the party were exchanging life histories with their new-found friends, with occasional pauses for descriptions of the beautiful scenery and abundant wild life, plus the negotiating of some stepping- stones.

Mid-afternoon brought us to the tiny village of Llanhamlech, where we entered Peterstone Court, a Georgian manor house standing proudly alongside the Church of St Peter, now restored as a luxury hotel. We were invited, walking clothes, boots, dogs and all, to settle down in the splendid dining room, where we were entertained to a royal tea by Welsh Water. We then returned to our hotel by minibus, feeling fortunate that an eight o'clock dinner might allow time to re-establish an appetite.

Pen-y-Fan

Saturday, the day of our main climb, started bright, if a little cool. We were driven about ten miles to our starting point, Storey Arms – once a drovers' inn, now an outdoor education centre. (Many a thirsty walker, seeing it on the map, has been bitterly disappointed.) We were quickly united with our escorts, some new and some from the previous day, with John Mackness taken in hand by two strong men. After a few words from Alan Ward, the Park Area Warden who had kindly organised our walks, we headed gently uphill with a fine view of the snow-covered Cefn Crew ridge to the south-east, finding nothing more difficult to negotiate than a stile or two. Clive and Mary Smith, two or our sighted regulars, had arrived from Scotland the previous evening to join us for the remainder of the weekend. Readers of this magazine might have noticed Clive's award of the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to blind climbing. Their pet dog Dinky also added a touch of class to the dog fraternity.

Eventually we reached the memorial to Tommy Jones, a five year-old boy whose body was found here in 1900. He was walking over the mountains and died after becoming separated from his companions and losing his way. Here we were at about 2,000 feet, and although the sunshine was intermittent, the visibility was extremely good, remaining so throughout the walk. There was a breathtaking view of the great natural amphitheatre formed by Corn Du and Pen-y-Fan enclosing a lake, Llyn Cwm Llwch. Although only 11.45, it was decided to consume lunch before rising even higher into the chilly wind.

A steep climb on a newly constructed path took us to the summit of the distinctively flat-topped Corn Du (2,863 feet). By now, vegetation had given way to exposed rock (efforts are being made by the National Trust to reverse this erosion).

A gentle descent and ascent across a saddle finally brought us to the cairn that marks the top of Pen-y-Fan (2,907 feet), the highest point in Britain south of Snowdonia. Here the sighted people among us enjoyed spectacular views of the Black Mountains, Fan-y-Big, Llangorse Lake, Brecon, the Usk Valley, and the hills of mid-Wales, including Cader Idris (2,927 feet) which I had the pleasure of climbing with the Milton Mountaineers in 1978. One of the VE Day celebration beacons had been lit on Pen-y-Fan a week previously, which reminded me of school in May 1945 and seeing an illuminated V on the top of a slag heap.

Even the slowest of our party were on top by one o'clock, and people were soon tucking into the remains of lunch. Two local partially sighted girls had joined us for the Saturday outing, Lorraine and Judith. Anne called us to order to remember absent friends, including our founder, David Scott Blackhall, whose poem ‘The Prayer‘ she then read. This was followed by our traditional song, ‘The Bar Room Mountaineers’, which meant a swift departure before rocks started flying in our direction.

The descent, on a slightly different route, was remarkably easy for a blind group who usually find that the most difficult part. At one point Elliot decided to attach himself to another party who might possibly still carried food, but was quickly reminded of his duty. As we reached the lower slopes a stream had to be forded, and soon we emerged on to the road a little above our starting point where an ice cream van was doing a good trade even though it had started to rain.

Everyone was down soon after 3 pm, being settled in the hotel less than an hour later, with Mike Tetley, one of our founder members, reflecting on his thirty-eight hours trudge the previous July, for he was one of the few to reached the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More water

At the head of the Vale of Neath, a mile or two inside the southern boundary of the national park, where the sandstone that underlies most of the Park gives way to a band of limestone, the Rivers Mellte, Hepste, Pyrddin and Neath flow through wooded ravines and plunge over a series of waterfalls, the highest concentration of falls in Wales. This was our Sunday destination and, for many, the highlight of the weekend. Our walk began from a car park used by cavers, for below it was the entrance to a series of underground caverns. However, explorers have to take especial care as the River Mellte, which dives underground at this point, has a habit of flash-flooding.

Guided by David Morgan, Assistant Warden, who has charge of the Waterfalls Project, and who gave our day even greater interest by constantly informing us of the industrial and natural history of the area, we negotiated a stile which in effect consisted of three stiles side by side, allowing the party to swarm over. Soon we reached the point where the Mellte emerged. Here a brief stop gave me the chance to climb on to the crossbar of a rope hanging from a tree, presumably for swinging across the river at times when the water was high. Judith Thompson, who had again joined us to enjoy one of her favourite walking areas, caused a laugh by offering to help me get my leg over.

The popularity of the area meant that it had become much eroded, with danger notices warning that deaths had taken place, but work was in progress to create new paths and steps to assist both the walker and the natural environment. A series of steps took us down to the bottom of the first waterfall, which was a beautiful sight in spite of not being in full flow.

Back to the higher path and on through the trees, with a few spots of rain as we settled down for a woodland picnic. But the sun struggled through during the early afternoon to light the most exciting part of the walk. Eventually we descended a long flight of about 150 steps, varying in size and material, to reach the river bank where a rocky path took us towards, and indeed right beneath, the great sheet of water of Sgwd yr Eira. This was a most spectacular waterfall, probably made even more interesting by not being at full strength. The dogs had been having a wonderful day in the shallow waters and surrounding forest land, but for them this spot also seemed to be their highlight.

What comes down must go up, and so we had to renegotiate all those steps. Then a pleasant track led us back to the car park, with the usual problem of heaving muddy dogs over stiles. And as we motored back to Brecon, the memory of standing beneath that curtain of water took me back to the time when as schoolboys we had to tramp through the mountainside woods, hurried by the older boys, to the pit head baths for a weekly shower.

Time to rest, but not to sleep

Sunday dinner was a most pleasant affair, with Anne proposing several toasts, giving us an excuse - as if we needed one - to consume a substantial quantity of wine. Guests included Liz and Andrew Lamb, and Ruth and John Sansom, representing our valiant helpers, plus Judith Thompson, who we hope to see on a future expedition. Malcolm Whitley, a friend of the Blackhall family also joined us, after spending the whole day with the group being most helpful.

Subsequently, we retired to another room with access to the bar, where more of our local friends joined us. Anne said the necessary thankyous, at the same time revealing next year's venue; then George Male, a founder member and the previous leader of the Mountaineers, took the opportunity to thank Anne for organising the weekend, which he was able to do with feeling, having a number of years' experience of coping with the many problems that arise.

My contribution to the entertainment was to persuade Anne to read a script which I had written for the Venturers Drama Group, which had a soporific effect on Martin. A rousing and amusing song from Sue on the problems of 'getting to the top' brought the party back to life, and contributions from George, and Geoff Whitcomb, completed a most enjoyable evening.

And what, regular readers may ask, of Denis Church? Well, a last-minute injury kept him away from Brecon, but he is now fit and looking forward to joining the Mountaineers in 1996 looking for a mountain in Scarborough!

Leisure Notes & News

BBC videos with audio description

Two critically acclaimed BBC television series are now available on video with audio description:

‘Martin Chuzzlewit’ (Order Number AV017, RRP £19.99)

Charles Dickens' novel relates a tale of greed and selfishness as varying characters vie for the elderly Chuzzlewit's estate.

This six-part television serialisation stars Paul Scofield, Tom Wilkinson, John Mills and Julia Sawalha and is now available as a two-videocassette pack.

‘Life on earth’ (Order Number AV018, RRP £12.99)

This special edition of David Attenborough's first major natural history series contains an `evolutionary calendar' specially devised for the video. The most remarkable wildlife images ever captured on film (remember the gorillas?) are now recaptured on video.

Joining these two titles in time for Christmas is Disney's ‘The return of Jafar’. The Aladdin-inspired feature adventure follows Aladdin and Abu in their new life at the palace with Princess Jasmine and the Sultan. Not forgetting the Genie, of course.

(Order Number AV014, RRP £14.99)

Don't forget the other audio described video titles:

Hear my Song; Pretty Woman; Dead Poets Society; Bambi; Aladdin; Snow White; Cool Runnings; and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

  • Available from RNIB's Customer Services department, PO Box 713, Peterborough PE2 6WS. Telephone (for the price of a local call): 0345 023153.
  • For further information on audio description on television and video contact Denise Evans, broadcasting Officer, RNIB, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA - telephone 0171 388 1266*

Calling radio enthusiasts

Robert Powell writes:

Are you interested in Radio? You may be a shortwave listener, a scanner user, a fully licensed radio ham, or a CB enthusiast. If so, read on.

A meeting will take place in early December at RNIB, Great Portland street of anyone who is interested, with a view to possibly forming a radio club. My idea is that events/meetings could:

  • help individuals interested in taking their Amateur Radio Examination, or their Morse test.
  • have talks about all aspects of radio from club members and guest speakers
  • have presentations from companies selling radio equipment
  • organise trips to radio rallies, and other special events.

In short, the agenda of the club is limited only by the imagination of those who join it. Whilst the club would primarily appeal to those in the London area, the first meeting will be held on Saturday 9 December, in order to enable as many people as possible to attend. The meeting will start at 12.00, and the style will be extremely informal, with chance for a liquid lunch later on.

I would like to know numbers in advance, so that I can judge the level of interest. It is also important, if you are unable to come on the date suggested, but are still interested that you contact me, so that future events can be planned with you in mind. This club is not in opposition to RAIBC, but will complement its services.

If you get this information too late for the December meeting, please contact me, and you could then come to future meetings. Anyone is welcome. We all share the same hobby, so let's have fun doing what we enjoy.

  • Please phone me, Robert Powell, G7TRT, on, Home, 0181 2007628, or Work, on 0171 3881266, Extension 2408.

Till 9th December, best 73s.

Toy catalogue

Blind and partially sighted children will be spoilt for choice thanks to RNIB's 1995 toy catalogue.

The catalogue, which includes such delights as a giggling and wriggling `Bumble Ball', a Play Doh Fun Factory and a Fairy Magic Sound Brush, results from a joint initiative by RNIB and the British Toy and Hobby Association. It recommends more than 80 toys suitable for blind and partially sighted youngsters.

  • The toys, from a variety of manufacturers, have been selected by a panel of parents and teachers of visually impaired children, and are generally available from high street shops for by mail order. For a free catalogue, call the RNIB Education Information Service, Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA - telephone 0171 388 1266 extn 2296, 2326 or 2331.

Database of visually impaired artists

RNIB Leisure Services is currently setting up a database of visually impaired artists. The database will include painters, photographers, sculptors, craftspersons, etc. The aim is to be able to put visually impaired artists in touch with one another, to channel offers of commissions/other work and to circulate details of workshops, bursaries, competitions etc.

  • For further details contact Anne Robson, RNIB Leisure Services, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA - telephone 0171 388 1266 extn 2332.

Photography award

The Edinburgh Shield - awarded by the Disabled Photographers' Society for the winner of the special class in its Annual Exhibition for members with less than 6/60 vision - has gone this year to Fred Roberts of Thornton Heath, who is registered blind.

His magnificent colour photograph of the Maasi was taken during a visit to Africa. He uses an autofocus camera, and produces his enlargements with the aid of helper to complete the presentation.

  • The Disabled Photographers' Society has recently published a Fact Sheet for people with poor eyesight who want to take photographs, entitled `The ultimate contradiction?' It is available in large print from The Disabled Photographers' Society, PO Box 130, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6XQ.

Christmas Special

Lickey Christmas

Mark Prouse has fond memories of Christmas past ...

At Lickey Grange School for the Blind in the late 50s and early 60s, the bells most strongly associated with Christmas were of the press-button electric type generally used for summoning assistance or service. Year after year the place was suddenly a-drrring with them when the `Lucas's presents' arrived. Money was donated by a local branch of the Lucas Company to buy every pupil a Christmas gift, a list of everyone's preference being drawn up a few weeks beforehand.

Other favourite choices were penknives and changing-colour torches. The attraction of the latter for those with residual vision was, I guess, that they provided what was for many a rare opportunity to experience and compare colours. Those of us who couldn't see at all doubtless continued to enthuse about ours long after the batteries were too flat to generate any light. In that boarding school setting, pressure to own what the majority deemed the most desirable object of the moment was even greater than elsewhere.

Then Santa would come to bring us further presents that I think were paid for from BRIB or school funds. Although it always felt like a lifetime since the previous Christmas, I eventually began to notice odd similarities about his visits. One year we were told that Father Christmas had a very sore throat so wouldn't be able to speak to us much. He had been pretty croaky last time too. When my turn came, I again could smell what I assumed to be very strong cough mixture on his breath, and his accent was once more curiously familiar.

"Happy Christmas, lad", he hacked, and I'd got it.

"Here, you're Mr Morgan, aren't you!"

"That's quite enough laddie, get on with it", he ordered, momentarily dropping his hammy oral disguise for a very Welsh whisper and handing me my present.

One Christmas the slithering and stamping sound effects that always accompanied Santa's arrival were embellished by exuberant neighing and hee-hawing from the teachers who were helping him. They were laughing so much they could hardly manage the list of names, and we loved it. I imagine they'd cracked more bottles of linctus than usual in the staff-room that year.

The Christmas Log was a concert in which both children and teachers took part. Our favourite item was the annual ghost story told by Mr Clarke, the music master. The school ghost was ig Bill, who lived in the cellar. It says much for Mr Clarke's skills as a writer that we were always more amused than scared by the stories, yet Big Bill remained enough of a ghost for the cellar never to need an official out-of-bounds classification.

Little choirs drawn from various parts of the school would sing carols, and brave musicians would proudly demonstrate their progress. I can remember sitting spell-bound by the early pipe-organ-like rendition of the senior recorder group of ‘Past Three o'Clock’ and feeling somehow stirred by the brass band's ‘Hark the Herald’, but having no perception of the relative difficulty of the various instruments, I also recall disciplinary prods along my row during a cello performance of ‘Little Brown Jug’. Somebody whispered that it wasn't a very Christmassy choice, but we lost control when someone else suggested that it might have been included merely as sound effects of Joseph the Carpenter repairing the manger or the lowing of the cattle.

The most memorable feature of the Carol Service was Gill's recitation of the story of the birth of Jesus. From what I remember of her I think she was probably autistic, but like many such children she had a special gift: she had a remarkable memory for text and the intonation of the reader from whom she had learned it. Despite the unfamiliarity of the Old English of that particular version of the Bible, she never faltered. When someone was overheard sneering about her school class, I recall Gill's recitations being cited as an example of ways in which some of the pupils there were smarter than the rest of us.

I guess the major ingredients of the undoubted magic of the season were as for any other child - presents, strange stories only partially understood, carols whose heavenly lambkins and seraphs baffled you, but which you loved for their echoes back to other distant happy Christmases and yet had been discouraged from singing for a year, and - particularly significant in that setting – the complete departure from routine. As a totally blind child, decorations of course did little for me. I liked the only one I can recall for its ingenuity rather than its beauty. A tiny bell was rung as a miniature carousel rotated in the heat of a candle. I remember making paper-chains being boring, and that the gum tasted foul. Christmas trees could be painful, although they did have a lovely smell that was very much a part of the season.

Christmas customs also, of course, added to the fascination. One I have never come across anywhere else is that you shouldn't ever speak while eating mince pies. I was present at its introduction to the school by a member of staff, and now strongly suspect that this was also the moment of its birth, and that the whole thing was a little stroke of genius by someone determined to enjoy a bit of the season's traditional peace - in one of its definitions at least.

Each section of the school would perform a nativity play. A number of imaginative treatments of the Christmas story were needed every year so that the various groups each had something different to contribute. I recall being a gnome in hot pursuit of the wondrous star, and my family still have a photo of my class dressed in frilly paper as Christmas trees. That year I heard some of the parents in the audience crying as we sang ‘Oh Christmas Tree’, and later asked a member of staff why.

"Well, it's a very emotional time", she said, "especially when it's blind children".

Emotional, I pondered? Like a heavenly lambkin perhaps.

Obituary

Alan Wesley Johns, CMG

Executive Director, Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind 1984-1994

After a gallant fight against motor neurone disease, Alan Johns died on 17 October 1995. He was born in Farnborough in 1931.

During his ten years as Executive Director, he guided the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (Sight Savers International) through a period of rapid expansion. Increasing resources were channelled into national and regional programmes for the prevention of blindness, focused particularly on its main causes in the developing world: river blindness, blinding malnutrition, trachoma and cataract.

In the Indian sub-continent and in Africa, he moved the emphasis from eye camps and mobile clinics to the establishment of permanent hospitals. This was accompanied by a major expansion in personnel, particularly with the training of clinical officers to undertake surgical procedures in areas where specialist ophthalmologists were not available.

Shortly after his appointment as Director, he led the Society's rapid response to the threat of blindness from the Bhopal disaster in India. Later, as new drugs became available, he mobilised increased resources for the control of river blindness in West Africa.

His advocacy of mainstream education enabled many more blind children in developing countries to enter primary and secondary schools. This was supported by a vigorous policy of teacher training and the computerised production of braille textbooks in African languages.

From 1990 to 1994, Alan was President of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and Chairman of the Consultative Group of non-governmental organisations in support of the World Health Organisation's Global Programme. He was Chairman of the Aid Committee of the World Blind Union.

Alan brought to this work invaluable experience of seventeen years' administration in the developing countries. He was Director of Education in the Seychelles and Gibraltar.

Throughout all this work, he was ably supported by his wife Joan, an Occupational Health Adviser, who accompanied him on extensive travels. His lifetime of activity will remain in the memory and admiration of a multitude of his friends and colleagues internationally and throughout the Commonwealth.

[The original print contained a leaflet on the ‘RNIB Certificate in Standard Braille’.]

Content author: ann.lee@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13

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June's story - June Croft was told she had glaucoma after having an eye test. She was given drops to prevent further deterioration and later had an operation. 'Having an eye test is the most important thing you can do. It stopped me from going blind. People don't realise how quickly something can go wrong with their eyes. It doesn't hurt, everyone should do it.' June's full story.