What is retinitis pigmentosa?
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) eye conditions are all linked by a problem with the rod and cone photoreceptors. RP affects both eyes and is a progressive degeneration of the retina, specifically the light receptors known as rods and cones.
Rods enable us to see in the dark and things that move, though only in black and white and in poor detail.
Cones enable us to see things that are still, in good detail, in daylight and in colour.
Usually the rods are affected more than the cones, so children and young people are likely to experience greater difficulties in poorly lit environments.
Some children may notice their vision becoming blurred around the edges, and have difficulty seeing in the dark – a problem with the rod photoreceptors.
Other children may notice their central vision becoming blurred, and that colours lose their vibrancy – a problem with the cone photoreceptors.
The condition is progressive – some may eventually see only bright lights or the movement of large objects.
Children and young people with RP may have restricted visual fields (peripheral vision) despite reasonable acuity.
Education strategies that can help
- Walkways to be clear.
- Ensure classroom storage does not create obstacles especially at eye level.
- Layout of the classroom to be kept consistent.
- Resources kept in the same place and clearly labelled.
- Have good ambient lighting throughout the setting. Consider lighting in darker areas such as toilets and when clocks change.
- Windows to have blinds to reduce glare.
- Be aware that a child or young person may have difficulty moving between areas with different lighting levels e.g. outside to inside.
- Avoid standing in front of windows – this can reduce you to a silhouette and make it difficult for all learners to see you properly.
- Learners who have VI need to sit in the best position to see the whiteboard but not separately from the other learners.
- Learners with vision impairment need to sit close to a power source if they are using specialist ICT.
- Screen sharing software can help with viewing at distance.
- Provide individual copies of anything presented on the whiteboard.
- Use a clearly contrasting pen – e.g. black on white.
- Learners to use a dark pen or 2b pencil to create greater contrast.
- Consider alternative methods of recording e.g. typing.
- Print resources should be in an appropriate format. (print size, font and contrast.
- Use real objects and artefacts to support teaching.
- Learners to have their own whiteboard and pen and also their own copy of resources e.g. phonics flashcards.
- Ensure support staff have time to modify materials before the lesson.
- Give extra time, if needed, for VI learners to process information and complete tasks.
- Keep worksheets clear and uncluttered; keep drawings, tables and graphs as simple as possible.
- PE equipment should be clean and create a good contrast with the surface e.g. no green bean bags on grass.
- School trips: Plan and risk assess. Ensure CYP can access resources/activity e.g. Can CYP handle objects etc.
- Plan and practise 1:1 procedure for fire alarms.
- UK education collection | RNIB Bookshare, accessible books for print disabled learners.
For more information
- Retinitis pigmentosa | RNIB
- Teaching professionals – Macular Society
- What do we see? 2 – How the world looks to vision impaired children and young people – Thomas Pocklington Trust (pocklington-trust.org.uk) This video simulates what vision could be like with retinitis pigmentosa. It should only be used as an indication as vision is different for everyone.