Supporting a blind or partially sighted young person cont.
recognises that emotional wellbeing is fundamental to achieving the best outcomes: early access to low vision clinics, peer support, and counselling can all support this (168). Outside of the quality of education, one of the most significant challenges faced by blind and partially sighted young people is social isolation. Finding it difficult or impossible to participate in social activities, events, hobbies, or meet-ups with friends or family can lead to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. These in turn can affect self-esteem and confidence levels (162). Many blind and partially sighted young people find themselves excluded from activities by their peers. There is evidence that these discriminatory attitudes and actions also come from adults, with more than a third of children with vision impairment reporting to have been left out by other children’s parents or carers. Furthermore, many blind and partially sighted people have reduced opportunities to do the things they would like to take part in. These might include leisure, sports and fitness pursuits, as well as cultural engagement and volunteering opportunities (169). Acquired sight loss in adolescence When a young person experiences sight loss later on in their childhood, whether sudden or gradual, it’s common to go through periods of shock, denial, anger, fear, grief, and despair. Although these feelings tend to be temporary and lessen over time, sight loss is a major life event and should be considered as such. Hurdles for young people with acquired sight loss aren’t exclusive to the mental and emotional – the young person will also need to adapt practically to their changing circumstances, as well as the attitudes of other people around them (160).
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