In Touch

September marks the start of the new university term. We hear from some visually impaired students who are returning to their studies. They tell us about their experiences with university life so far, and what they're expecting from this new academic year. We also hear from a former disability student advisor about what support is available for visually impaired students and from Rachel Hewett fro...

Audio Description has been around for over 30 years: it is filling in the silences on TV, films and the theatre so that blind and partially sighted people can follow the action easier. The current legal requirements for audio description, for all of the major broadcasters, is set at 10% but there are currently no legal requirements for on-demand streaming, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime etc. We...

It is claimed that social media is so popular these days, that there are now more people using it across the globe than are not. But how easy is it to navigate and participate in when you're blind or partially sighted? We'll be speaking to two social media influencers, who are using different platforms to educate people about sight loss. We'll also be speaking to Facebook and Instagram's head of a...

Over the weekend, Team GB's visually impaired athletes won multiple medals: including gold across the cycling, swimming and judo. We check in with our reporter Mani Djazmi who brings us details of those medal wins and interviews with some of our gold medallists. And there could be many reasons why you'd be put off visiting the gym. It could be perceived attitudes or thinking that gyms may not prov...

Recently, there has been some criticism about the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games going ahead, due to a rise in coronavirus cases in Tokyo. Despite this, the games have commenced and on the show, we hear about how they were justified from the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons. And our reporter Mani Djazmi is in Tokyo and will be telling us who to look out for and abou...

It may not come as a surprise to you that, for many years, unemployment rates amongst blind and visually impaired people have been consistently high. This is despite government efforts to combat this. Well, the recent release of two reports has put disability employment back on the agenda. We ask the Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson about this government's plans, outlined within their...

During the lockdown period, we all added an extra 40 minutes a day, on average, onto our TV watching time; whether that was watching live TV or via streaming platforms. But are there sufficient levels of audio description available able to accompany this increase? We'll be asking this of some TV consumers and looking into the minimum legal requirements for audio description, set by the UK's regula...

Home learning can be difficult for blind and visually impaired children. But the charity Guide Dogs is aiming to change that with their new Tech for All scheme. Within the pilot of the scheme, Guide Dogs are aiming to provide free iPads to around 3,500 children to help them with their school work and overall independence. We talk to the charity's Director of Operations, Peter Osborne about the bac...

There has been more than a year of uncertainty about whether the Olympic and Paralympic games will actually go ahead in Tokyo this year. The Olympics are already in full swing and the Paralympic games will start on the 24th of August. Ahead of the games, we hear from two visually impaired para athletes, Alison Peasgood of triathlon and Elliot Stewart of judo, about how the past year has been. We h...

Plans to require voters to show photo ID at polling stations were recently introduced in Parliament under the Elections Bill. But The RNIB are concerned that this will make the electoral process even less accessible for blind and partially sighted voters, who are seemingly disproportionately less likely to hold a passport or driving licence. We talk to the RNIB's Director of Development Keith Vale...

There have been some promising signs emerging from Network Rail over the last 12 months around the installation of tactile paving on the edge of their train station platforms. But tonight, we're questioning whether action is being taken quickly enough to make train stations a safer place for blind and visually impaired rail users. Last year, a Freedom of Information report showed that 35% of the U...

Fern Lulham sits in for Peter White. Wheelie bins pose yet another potential obstacle for blind and visually impaired people when navigating pavements. North West Leicester City Council will potentially be able to impose fines to people who leave their wheelie bin on the pavement after bin day. Residents could be liable if there is an accident due to the obstruction. They have recently launched a...

A longitudinal study by the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, identified key challenges experienced by blind and visually impaired people when they moved on to Further Education. It also found that many did not gain quality employment despite earning qualifications in line with the general population. And is assisti...

The disability charity Sense are calling on the Government and local communities to prioritise disabled people as the country plans its way out of the Coronavirus restrictions. It's been laid out in their ‘Left out of Life’ report, which reveals the extent to which people feel worried about going out and anxious about measures like social distancing. We speak to the charity’s CEO, Richard Kramer....

Rapid lateral flow tests for Covid-19 were criticised earlier in the year for not being accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. The government promised to do better, but did it happen? Spectators are making a welcome return to some of the big sporting events of the summer, including Test matches and the European Football Championship, but they are only allowed into stadiums if the...

Getting the right lighting in the home can be life-changing for people who are blind or visually impaired. Tonight we get a preview of a new guide due to be published by the sight loss charity Thomas Pocklington Trust which gives solutions to some common lighting problems. We invited one of our listeners, who emailed in about the subject, to put the questions to the author. And, after a big respon...

In this special programme, we examine the role genetics plays in both the inheritance of sight loss and its future treatment. We hear about the latest breakthrough reported in the journal 'Nature Medicine' in which the vision of a completely blind man was partially restored using light-sensing proteins first found in algae. He was treated with a type of therapy called optogenetics, which uses the...

New figures show there have been over 200 injuries and 1,100 complaints to local authorities since the trial of electric scooters began in 50 towns and cities across the UK. Sight loss charities are calling for stricter enforcement of existing regulations to keep people who are blind or visually impaired safe. And we speak to blind or visually impaired football fans as they make a welcome return t...

The pandemic has accelerated our use of the digital world, meaning accessible websites and apps have never been more important. So who's doing it well and who could do better? We've been collating your examples of website accessibility and put them to Robin Christopherson from AbilityNet, who offer advice for companies and public bodies on making their online platforms suitable for people who are...

Up until now it's been virtually impossible for people who are blind or visually impaired to cast their vote completely privately. But new technology trialled at polling booths in Norfolk last week could change all that. We hear from someone who took part. And after recovering from meningitis, a double lung transplant and seven cornea operations, Sam Roberts talks to Peter White about his newfound...

How does language affect how we view disability; and who gets to decide what words we should use? Peter White discusses the changing terminology around visual impairment following a report by the charity Leonard Cheshire showing that nearly three quarters of disabled people feel more needs to be done for non-disabled people to understand that their words can offend. Presenter: Peter White Producer...

Only one in four registered blind and partially sighted people of working age are in employment and on tonight's programme we hear one woman's struggle to get a job. Angharad Paget Jones applied for 2,000 jobs and had 200 interviews before she was offered a position - and she believes discrimination was sometimes to blame. And now that restrictions are easing, how are you feeling about going out a...

We speak to the woman whose sight deteriorated in the pandemic because her appointment was cancelled. And what are the very specific challenges for blind and visually impaired people when it comes to moving house? From labelling boxes to scoping out the new area, we hear from three listeners who've done it - and have some tips on how to make sure it goes smoothly.

Habilitation gives young people who are visually impaired crucial life skills, such as mobility and auditory training, to help them develop confidence and live their lives. But a new report has laid bare the chronic shortage of habilitation officers and revealed a patchwork of services provided by local authorities in England. One local council provided habilitation support to just 3% of the child...

3,000 puppies are to have their DNA sequenced via sailva swabs in order to build a database that will help improve the success rate of fully established working guide dogs. The 'Born to Guide' project is being led by Dr Tom Lewis, who told us how the database will establish links between dog genetics, health and behaviour. And we meet Xavier Hopkins - the visually impaired mountain biker who makes...