Welcome to the W@M (Working At Macular) website page

Local Groups For Younger People

W@M is the part of the Macular Disease Society that is aimed at those members of the Society who have not retired from work and who have any of the conditions of macular disease. W@M  is dedicated to providing more relevant information and support, as our professional and personal lives have different demands than those of many people with age related macular disease. We offer an opportunity to exchange ideas, information and experiences.

We produce our own W@M  content in the Society's quarterly newsletter, Side View, which is written by members, for members. Its content includes all sorts of articles and information.

We have W@M  support groups around the country.

Whether you have just been diagnosed or have suffered from Juvenile Macular Degeneration (JMD) for some years, there are always new things to discover that may help you. This page lists some facts and tips that may be of some use.

Using a Computer with Low Vision
Questionaire
Start a new W@M group in your area
Types of Macular Degeneration
Research
Visual Aids Technology
Employment
Leisure
Travel
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Benefits

Using a Computer with Low Vision

• If you have diffuculty seeing things on screen, you can quickly set vision related options using the Accessories Wizard. To use the wizard, click Start, Programms, Accessories, Accessibility, Accessibility Wizard. From there, simply follow the prompts and select the options you want.

• The RNIB have some very good information sheets describing ways of accessing a computer if you have low vision. It looks at ways of enlarging the text on screen using the operating system, screen magnification software and making use of large monitors and other adaptations.

• To enlarge text on the web, go to 'view/text size/larger or largest'. This makes the text more comfortable to read, although some website designers specify a text size on their website and therefore it ignores this command.To solve this you can go into 'tools/internet options' then click on the accessibility button and click 'ignore font size specified on web pages'. This does make the text larger on all web pages but it can cause a mess with text overlapping and text and links missing. Therefore, it is not ideal but maybe a quick, short-term solution.

• Specialist magnification software is available. See our leaflet 'Computers and Software' for further information, this is a free download for our members.

The Disability Rights Commission has published a report on accessibility to the web for people with disabilities http://www.drc-gb.org/publicationsandreports/2.pdf

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Questionnaire

Brilliant Response to Questionnaire

Thanks to the 328 members who returned a completed questionnaire. We have a positive goldmine of information, comments and suggestions as to what can be done to help.

There are some very useful and interesting statistics coming from the questionaires. The question asking "What form of Macular Dystrophy do you have?" has brought the following replies:

Don’t Know	127
Stargarts	50
Wet MD	34
Myopic MD	28
Dry MD	17
Macular Hole	12
Bulls Eye	7
Sorsbys	7
Bests	6
Drusen	6
Foster Fuch	5
PIC	5
Cone/Rod	4
PXE	4
AMD	3
Butterfly	3

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Types of Macular Degeneration

There are many different types of 'Junior Macular Degeneration' or 'Macular Dystrophies'. A few of which are listed below:

• Stargardt's Macular dystrophy

• Best's disease

• Bully Eye maculopathy

• Sorsby's dystrophy

• Doyne's dystrophy

Macular dystrophies are normally hereditary conditions in which there is a degeneration of the retinal receptors in the region of the macula. The macula is a specialised part of the retina responsible for most detailed and colour vision.

New dystrophies are still being discovered and some are still yet to be named therefore this list is by no means exhaustive.

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Research

There is a lot of research being carried out on these conditions. We also have research institutions listed on our links page.

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Visual Aids and Technology

There are a variety of visual aids available, ranging from hand held magnifiers to text reading software for mobile phones. Listed below are some of the categories of equipment that help people of working age with visual impairment.

• Hand held magnifiers

• Monoculars

• CCTV's - these are machines that magnify copy onto a monitor where it can be displayed in a choice of colour combinations and contrasts. There are handheld and desktop versions. See Sideview, the Macular Disease Society magazine, for second hand CCTV's for sale. There are also several low vision aid companies that sell them new

• 'TALKS' is a software programme that can be run on Nokia phones to make it accessible to partially sighted and blind people by reading out menus and messages

There are a variety of products that may make daily living easier - everything from talking watches and clocks to talking ear thermometers and weighing scales. Your GP can refer you to the nearest low vision aid centre where you can try these aids.

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Employment

Your eye condition does not necessarily limit you in what you do for a living. Various organisations offer guidance on careers and employment. A good starting point would be the RNIB, Access to Work (part of job centre plus who provide a range of services to assist disabled people in the work place and can contribute financially towards the cost of equipment) and Employment Opportunities.

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Leisure

Many places offer concessions for blind or visually impaired people, so it is always worth asking when booking leisure activities. The types of places that may offer concessions include:

• Cinemas
• Museums
• Theatres
• Gardens

To qualify for some concessions you must be registered partially sighted or blind. For more information on registering, contact your local authorities Social Services department.

If you recieve Disability Living Allowance you can apply for a Cinema Association Card, which will let the person with you get in free.

The National Library for the Blind and Calibre Audio Library provide free postal library services to blind and partially sighted people. The National Library for the Blind houses Europe's largest collection of Braille and Moon books and Calibre Cassette Library offer a choice of over 7000 titles on cassette tape.

Action for Blind People offer sporting opportunities for blind and partially sighted people across the UK.

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Travel

Ask your council if they provide any concessions for people with disabilities on their travel services. People who live in certain London boroughs can get a Freedom Pass which allows you to travel free on all public travel services.

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The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Access to Goods and Services

The final part of the Disability Discrimination Act came into force in October 2004 and concentrated on the accessibility of services. All providers of goods or services now have to make their goods and services accessible to disabled people by making 'reasonable adjustments'. This means, for example, restaurants cannot refuse to provide their menus in large print or brail. For more information click here.

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Benefits

You may be entitled to a variety of benefits under current government initiatives. For further information contact:

• Disability Living Allowance contact Social Services at your local authority

• Inland Revenue for Tax Allowance

• Action for Blind People Welfare Rights Service aims to guide visually impaired people and their advisers through the benefits maze.
  

Or contact The Benefits Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00 to find out what you are entitled to.

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