 |
 |
Just to add to this- I've seen a small number of students in the past over the years who've been diagnosed with 'dyslexia and visual stress' who - only because I'm used to working with VI students- it seemed to me from what they were telling me they really had an undiagnosed visual impairment, in one case I recall it warranted advising them to do a self-referral via the A&E dept of Moorfields Eye Hospital (here in London) - as soon as possible. I don't agree that visual stress should be removed as something DSA-able if it's been correctly diagnosed and other problems have been properly ruled out, but the chance that someone might pick up on a potentially very nasty eyesight problem early on is another good reason to keep it in the system. Ian On 23/10/2018 4:51 PM, Robert Edwards wrote: > I’d like to add a couple of points to this discussion: > > 1) The government’s guidance on the 2010 Equality Act states “A person > has a disability for the purposes of the Act if he or she has a physical > or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term > adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day > activities.” My understanding, from this, is that anybody with a > long-term visual impairment that affects his or her ability to study > certainly is disabled for the purposes of the Act. So I agree with the > argument that if DSA is required to fund low vision magnifiers, for > example, then it should also fund amelioration for other visual > impairment. (Though DSA is not expected to fund the cost of eye tests or > prescription glasses. Presumably that is because “you need to read > whether you’re in HE or not”.) > > So the question of the validity of the withdrawal of DSA funding for > “visual stress” support boils down to whether "visual stress” is a > visual impairment that can be accurately assessed, or diagnosed. > > 2) According to the June 2018 SASC Working Group publication*, > *“Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) and Visual Difficulties: A > Guide for Assessors and SpLD Practitioners” (available from > http://www.sasc.org.uk/Downloads.aspx 10th from the bottom of the page > when I checked today): > > * > > Symptoms that previously may have been seen as associated with > ‘visual stress’ could be caused by uncorrected refractive error > and/or oculomotor issues. Specialist assessors/practitioner > psychologists cannot assess for these. > > * > > Visual stress should not be used as a catch-all term for visual > difficulties. > > These messages were clearly emphasised at a SASC CPD event I attended in > London a week and a half ago. Students may experience reading > difficulties not only because of visual acuity and refractive error > (which are covered by an NHS eye test), but also because of oculomotor > functions (accommodation and convergence), visual sensation (sensory > visual stress (pattern-related)), or visual perception. These latter > causes may not be assessed by an NHS eye test, but can be assessed by an > optometrist or orthoptist. > > The same CPD event was at pains to declare that the term “visual stress” > is to be deprecated. > > Please note that I’m not suggesting that help for students with a visual > impairment should not be funded; just that we need to be careful about > the terms used for impairments, about their assessment, and about > support for them. > > Robert Edwards > >> On 23 Oct 2018, at 11:56, Satchell, Phillip >> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: >> >> I'm surprised that there hasn't been more of a fuss about the >> announcement of this change, on this forum and elsewhere. My concern >> is that the justification for this change seems to be - you need to >> read whether you're in HE or not, so visual stress isn't only study >> related and therefore isn’t fundable through DSA. If you extend this >> argument, why would DSA fund text-to-speech software, low vision >> magnifiers, ergonomic chairs, mice and keyboards? Much of what has >> been funded by DSA has been predicated on the fact that HE students >> need to do (much) more of certain activities as part of their studies >> but not that these activities are uniquely found in HE study. I spy >> the thin end of a dangerous wedge! >> Phil Satchell >> Assessment Centre Manager >> Student Based Services >> University House A47 >> Lancaster University >> LA1 4YW >> >> Tel: 01524 592753 >> Email:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link: >> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1 >> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1 > ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the DIS-FORUM list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=DIS-FORUM&A=1