"Train the Trainer - Eccentric Viewing" Courses
The Programme:
The Course
The Macular Disease Society has been successful in securing funding for a programme of Eccentric Viewing opportunities. Advice and Training in the use of Eccentric Viewing and Steady Eye techniques is rarely offered to people in the UK, despite the very real benefits of using these skills.
We are delighted to announce that the Macular Disease Society Eccentric Viewing programme is to be part-funded by donations from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund (£131,000), The Freemasons' Grand Charity (£50,000) and the Garfield Weston Foundation (£20,000). We are very grateful to these funding organisations for their support.
The programme has three strands:
1) Improve our ability to 'signpost' to service providers who are able to give advice and training on eccentric viewing and steady eye strategies.
In a few areas, we know that there are low vision professionals who do provide advice and training on eccentric viewing and steady eye strategies as part of low vision and rehabilitation services.
However, there is currently no list detailing who and where, so we are looking to collate the information. If you are a low vision professional that is able to provide this type of training please e-mail amanda@maculardisease.org with the relevant details. (We do recognise that in some areas it is a matter of budget constraints restricting the availability of such training.)
2) Train volunteer trainers (who have macular disease themselves) to enable them to teach others about eccentric viewing and steady eye for reading. (More detailed information can be found below)
3) A sponsored MDS research project by UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital to produce a training aid for eccentric viewing for use at home. The resultant CD containing practice activities is now available to purchase. Use of the CD can enhance distance vision by helping people to use eccentric viewing techniques more effectively once they know the basics.
The CD is most likely to benefit individuals who already know in what direction they need to look to use a healthier piece of retina to see an object more clearly. This is known as your ‘best position’ or Preferred Retinal Locus (PRL). If you don’t know where it is your Optician, Low Vision Practitioner or local Sensory Impairment Team may be able to help you with this.
Follow this link for more information on The Macular Disease Society 'At Home' Eccentric Viewing Training CD.
"Train the Trainer - Eccentric Viewing" course:
As part of this programme and to reflect that we all learn in different ways and that some people learn practical skills better with the support and encouragement of other people, we will be running a series of courses to train individuals with macular disease to become volunteer trainers.
With time we plan to have a network of volunteer trainers working in their own local community working with people who have macular disease and who want to learn how to use eccentric viewing and steady eye strategies to make reading a little easier. We will not have trainers in every location, individuals wishing to learn for themselves will be matched with a trainer if there is one available in an area as and when the trainer has capacity.
The 'Train the Trainer - Eccentric Viewing' training is being provided jointly by Optima and Focal Point UK.
The Course:
Our "Train the Trainer - Eccentric Viewing" courses have been specifically developed for individuals who have macular disease themselves, enabling them to learn how to train others how to use eccentric viewing for reading.
The 'Train the Trainer- Eccentric Viewing' courses are for members of the Macular Disease Society.
The three day courses consist of interactive theoretical and practical sessions in which participants work in pairs to develop their own use of eccentric viewing and steady eye techniques and to learn to teach the skills to others
The volunteer trainers after completing the course, will then work with people in their locality who have macular disease and who want to learn how to use eccentric viewing and steady eye strategies to make reading easier.
If you are a member and would like to register your interest in becoming a volunteer trainer, then please contact Amanda Reeves.
amanda@maculardisease.org or telephone 01264 350551
Participants of this course must be willing to pass their newly acquired knowledge on to others and contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
Don’t worry if you know little or nothing about Eccentric Viewing, John Collins and his team will ensure that you are making the best use of your vision as well as teaching the skills that you will need to work with others.
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