SeeAbility achieves a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title!
SeeAbility achieves a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title to highlight the tens of thousands of children with learning disabilities and autism missing out on basic eye care
National charity SeeAbility has achieved a huge GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for: “Most participants featured on a live portrait installation in 48 hours”.
The challenge, which involved creating a live portrait installation in Potters Fields Park, next to Tower Bridge on Thursday and Friday this week, was taken on to shine a light on the tens of thousands of children and young people in London’s special schools who are missing out on basic eye care and glasses.
800 people were needed to achieve the world record. That’s one person for every 1,000 of the 800,000 people of all ages with learning disabilities UK-wide who SeeAbility estimates are currently living with a sight problem.
Londoners rose to the challenge, showing up in their droves to support the charity. Each participant had a polaroid portrait photograph taken, which was then illustrated live in the park onto a massive five metre by three metre mural by London-based artists Luke Embden, a renowned mural artist, and Alex the Doodler who began doodling age 13 to express himself as an autistic teenager.
The number of illustrations in the finished mural exceeded/was 8xx with an adjudicator from GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS present to make it official.
Why did SeeAbility do this?
SeeAbility is a national charity which supports people who have learning disabilities or autism, who may also have sight loss. Children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a serious sight problem than those without. Yet they are far less likely to access a traditional high street optician or hospital services.
The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt was organised to raise awareness and funds for SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care Service which provides eye tests and glasses to children in special schools in the south of England. The event was part of SeeAbility’s newly launched ‘From moments missed to moments that matter’ campaign.
There are around 28,000 children and young people in special schools across London alone and SeeAbility has ambitions to reach these children, estimating that half of them will have a problem with their vision and need glasses, yet over 4 in 10 of them will have never had a sight test or any eye care.
Transforming the lives of young people like Terence
At the heart and centre of the finished mural is 20 year old Londoner Terence, whose life was dramatically changed for the better in March this year, thanks to SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care team.
For 20 years, Terence, who is autistic and does not express himself verbally, saw only a blur. When SeeAbility’s eye care team first met him at his specialist college, he had never had a sight test or glasses. What they found was shocking. He was massively shortsighted with a prescription of minus 19.
This meant that without glasses, he could see no further than two inches (five cm) in front of his face. No one knew. He was not able to tell anyone.
In March this year when Terence received his first pair of glasses, which fully correct his vision, everything changed instantly. The world opened up — faces, spaces, and moments he had never seen before.
SeeAbility’s Director of Eye Care, Lisa Donaldson, who was at the event, says: “Terence is one of the hundreds of thousands of people with learning disabilities who could be missing out on the vital eye care that we take for granted. I am sure that as we reach more and more schools, we’re going to find many more people just like him. We’re trying to get it right for the next generation, so no one else misses their whole education because they were never offered basic eye care.
“We are so grateful to every single person who showed up to be a part of our mural, helping us raise awareness and vital funds. We estimate that there are 800,000 people with learning disabilities of all ages in the UK who are living with sight problems, and up to half are missing the support they need. It really shows the scale of the issue, that every face on the mural represents 1000 people with learning disabilities who are living with a sight problem in the UK.”
SeeAbility says that everyone with a learning disability should have an annual sight test, sometimes more often. Often, they may not be able to effectively communicate poor vision or changes in vision, so this may be communicated as changes in behaviour (put down to their learning disability or autism.) Many people don’t realise that you don't need to be able to read or talk to have a sight test.
Terence was not able to attend the event, but his photo was among the first to be illustrated onto the mural. Among those also featured in the mural was SeeAbility’s Senior Dispensing Optician and Dispensing Team Lead Martyn Howlett, who fitted Terence’s life-changing glasses.
Terence’s mum, Chantal Panzu, says: “When SeeAbility fitted Terence’s glasses I was so happy, I was in tears of joy! It was incredible, the way they worked with him, the care was amazing, they were so gentle. This is life-changing for Terence. With his glasses he can see the world clearly. He is smiling all the time! You can see so much difference in him. It is like a miracle, that’s the only way I can describe it. Without exaggeration, SeeAbility have given my son the gift of sight. I am so incredibly grateful.”