KS2 PSHE: Coping with visual impairment

My name's Theo, I am ten years old.

There's no one else who's visually impaired who goes to karate.

But it don't really make a difference… because they treat me the same as everybody else and that's what I like, I don't like being treated different.

I think karate is something really, really good to learn because, if like, one day someone comes up to you in the street and they know that I'm blind so then they know I won't be as strong as the others, but… with karate I learn how to defend myself and all that.

When I was born, I had tumours in my eye so then they had to take those tumours outbut I cannot see out of this eye now.

With my right eye…imagine an alien… with one eye, and the eye's about this [gesturing] big. That's what I can see.

Theo's mum:
“Don’t forget to put your eye drops in, yeah.”

Theo:
Every three hours I have these little drops that I put in my eye so I need them, cos if my eyes dry out, the tumours might come back to life".

Theo's mum:
“Are your eyes alright?”

Theo:
“Yeah.”

On a Saturday, I go cricket with the V.I. Team, V .I. means visually impaired.

The only difference in normal cricket and this cricket is, this cricket is much much more communication. You have to shout your name and you catch the ball, you have to clap your hands, that's 'yes' and 'no' and the ball, it's a big ball… it's got little jingle bells in it and then you hear the ball coming to you.

I like it because we get to interact with lots of people who have the same problem and I think that's really really good that they've got this.

Theo:
"Dad”

Theo's dad:
"Yeah?"

Theo:
“Do people do this for a job for a living?"

Theo's dad:
"They do you know."

Sometimes I help my Dad! I help him do the easy jobs… like carrying the bucket, paint, scrape stuff off walls for him, clean.

Some people will say to me 'Ah, you might not do this good because you've got an eyesight problem' but my Dad, he's really good, he don't even remember that I've got an eyesight problem… he, he treats me normal. Sometimes he just forgets because I act so normal to everyone else… And I think it's really really good that people give me a chance.

When I read, I have big books, 26 font and it's easier for me to read.

If it's a small book I have magnifiers to help me find it.

On a Tuesday and a Thursday I have braille lesson. Braille is when, it's an alphabet… but you feel it with your fingers for blind people.

I'm not blind, but I still use it just in case I become blind later on in my life.

In class, they treat me the same as everyone else there…
[Teacher: Good, Theo well done Jenny, Marcus…]

The only difference is they get blown up papers and they explain it more to me.

When people are too nice to me I hate it because, the only difference between me and you… is, I've got eyesight problems and you lot can see perfectly well, some of you can anyway. But with my eyesight problems…I hate it when people treat me like a kid… like "Oh Theo, do you want this?.. Oh Theo, here you go… let me take you to your, let me take you to your desk."

I hate it.

Theo's best friend:
Erm, my name is Jake, and I've been Theo's best friend since reception.

Theo is very, very clever in maths and sometimes he helps me with my maths and sometimes games like on the computer. So yeah, he helps me quite a lot.

Theo:
Having Jake as a friend, it makes me feel like I've got someone to look after me.

Jake:
One time in year 4 a boy was teasing him about his disability and I had to tell him he's just like you feel… And you shouldn't be teasing him, because if that happened to you, how would you if someone was teasing you about it. So yeah, there was some hard times for Theo.

Theo:
I tell people that I've got bad eyesight, I'm half blind and I can't see that good. And I tell them I'm sorry if I bump into you or stuff like that.

Cos I can't see, I have to use my senses a bit more to live.

So if like I'm going to the shops and I have to cross a road, I could hear from the cars… if I can't see them I could hear them.

With my cane, I do use it sometimes, so when I'm on the trains, I'm like "Move out the way, VIP coming through."

At night time when I go out I take a torch with me sometimes there’s lights that’s not working so on that bit I just have to switch on my torch.

Most people with a visual impairment they find fireworks quite scary, but me… I enjoy it!

[Fireworks]

In this little space I can see the fireworks because they were far away and because they were big I could see them!

Jake:
Just because someone can’t see as far as someone else that doesn’t mean they’re really different it just means that, well he’s blind, yeah, so what?

Theo:
It don't really make a difference that I'm visually impaired, I'm used to this, I was brought up this way… I don't feel any different.