Abbie-Rose

My name is Abbie-Rose and I am 14 years old which means I’m in year 9 at school. I live in Norwich and I have aniridia, nystagmus and a cataracts. I also have an auditory processing disorder (APD). My brother, my dad and I are all visually impaired. My mum is completely blind. We all have aniridia while my sister does not and is fully sighted.

At school I use different equipment like my laptop which
has Lunar Plus with a magnifier and speech. I also have a Compact Plus which is a video magnifier. Then there’s my binoculars which I use a lot for doing things like seeing the whiteboard at school or whatever is at the front of the class – though I do sit at the front in all my lessons. I also use my binoculars a lot out of school for things like looking out for the bus and checking I’m getting on the right one.

Also at school I have a teaching assistant (TA) come into my lessons. They help me with the stuff and they enlarge things I need like worksheets so I can see them.

When I started high school 3 years ago it was quite easy for me because no one really asked me questions until I went round to their house or into the city with me. They wanted to make sure I got there alright because I am visually impaired.

When I go out I use a symbol cane which tells people I’m visually impaired. When I use this it is much easier because people see you with the cane and try to dodge you, rather than waiting for you to dodge them – you get less people grumbling at you.

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What’s your experience of school and aniridia? Please add your comments below or better still write a short article like this one and send it to us.