Step five: tell people about your vision impairment

Telling teachers, your friends and other students that you are blind or partially sighted may feel like the last thing that you want to do when starting school. It may be that you don’t want to stand out, or that you have found mechanisms for managing your vision impairment and don’t want to rely on other people.

However, telling other people about your vision impairment can have a lot of benefits and help you in taking ‘ownership’ of your vision impairment.

Throughout school you will need to talk to teachers, teaching assistants, careers advisers and others about your support needs. This may include how you access information, what support you need in getting around the school and what technology helps you to access information. Telling people about your vision impairment can help to access support and allow you to get the most out of your time at school.