People with Learning Disabilities Train Yorkshire Optometrists

Last week, 24 optometrists from West Yorkshire enjoyed a curry supper at Douglas Mill in Bradford followed by the chance to hear from people with learning disabilities about how they feel about eye tests.

Peter Smith and Robert Wardle who both have learning disabilities themselves and work at Bradford People First advocacy service, talked about the importance of communication, how people feel about an eye test and gave the optometrists ideas to make the eye test easier for people with learning disabilities. Laura Christie,
eye 2 eye Manager in Yorkshire and the Humber for charity SeeAbility explained that one in three people with learning disabilities also have an eye problem and talked about relevant legislation and how to make it easier for this group to access an eye test. (image shows Laura Christie, Peter Smith, Karen Amos, Robert Wardle)

To prepare for this interactive event, a number of people from Bradford People First met and talked about what they and others were worried about before and during the eye test, then came up with some ideas of what optometrists could do to make things better. Peter Smith and Robert Wardle say, “We hope they [opticians] learnt about new ways to make an eye test easier for people with learning disabilities because it will help more people not to be scared and then they will go to the opticians. We hope people with learning disabilities like us can do more training because it’s important to involve people with learning disabilities. And this will make things better in future.”

Laura Christie comments: “The evening was a success due to joint working. The inclusion of people with learning disabilities in the training made the messages real and much more powerful. All optometrists should have the opportunity to learn about the needs of people with a learning disability first hand. It’s not just about spending money on adaptations and equipment, it’s about the optometrist taking the time to see the person with a learning disability as an individual, altering the test and the way they communicate to create a successful and enjoyable eye test.

Bradford People First coordinator Karen Amos says: “People with learning disabilities deserve the right and respect to receive a good service and that this does not have to be specialised, just people willing to have a degree of flexibility in what they do.”

Optometrists attending the event commented, “Excellent presentation by all, including those with learning disabilities who gave a personal and genuine perspective of a world that to us is normal, but to them is very scary.” And “Excellent inclusive training – very pleased to have had the co-training with Bradford People First.”

Optometrists at the event were encouraged to go away and look at their practice and the way they deliver their services to look at making adjustments to ensure equal access for people a learning disability. SeeAbility, Bradford People First and the health facilitation team all offered their support to make this happen. All optometrists were asked to go and register their practice on Look Up, which offers a directory of practices and their facilities. All people with learning disabilities can and should have regular eye tests; some people may just need more preparation and time. Find out more at www.lookupinfo.org