In Touch

The treatment of Geographic Atrophy (GA) or late stage dry age-related macular degeneration as it's also known, is proving to be a pretty tough nut to crack. Hopes had been high that a treatment available in the USA would also be approved for use here in the UK. However, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has rejected the application. Ed Holloway, Chief Executive of the...

In Touch assesses the findings of a report that looks at the ways special educational needs care is being delivered to the children who need it. The report gives little to no mention of the challenges of specific groups of pupils and so, with the help of Rachael Hewett of the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at Birmingham University and the Thomas Pocklington Trust's Tara Chattaw...

Where do you go if you need to repair your Perkins brailler? That is the type-writer like machine that allows braillists to produce writing for school, work or leisure. Recent publicity that the UK’s last certified visually impaired repairer of the Perkins, Alan Thorpe, is looking for an apprentice to continue his work, may have left the impression that there's no one else who can repair it for yo...

The Macular Society has a new CEO, Ed Holloway. With Macular disease being the most common form of sight loss in the UK, its important that the charity continue their work in supporting people with the condition, but also push towards more research and the discovery of new treatments. Ed Holloway describes what his plans are in these areas and other ambitions he has for the future of the charity....

Last year, we heard from two blind women about their experiences of living through the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas. In Touch has invited them back, just over a year on, to hear how their lives have been impacted since the war began. Dalal Al-Taji is from Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip and Heather Stone lives in the northern area of Tel Aviv in Israel. They speak frankly abo...

What a year it has been for blind comedian Chris McCausland. Having just been crowned Strictly Come Dancing's 2024 winner, Chris joins the In Touch team for a very special Christmas edition of the programme, co-hosted by 11-year-old author and YouTube star Betsy Griffin. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: David Baguley Website image description: Peter White sits...

Sandi Wassmer is thought to be the UK's only blind female CEO. She heads the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, which is a membership organisation offering companies training and services to make their workplaces more inclusive. Sandi tells In Touch how she worked her way up to get to where she is today, how the impact of losing her vision nearly halted her career and how she no longer...

Transport for London describe what plans they have for making the London Underground system safer for blind and partially sighted passengers. This follows a recent incident involving Lord Blunkett falling between a train and the platform edge. Nick Dent, TfL’s Director of Customer Operations, describes their plans and how quickly they can be implemented. Elaine Macgougan, from Belfast, describes t...

Sir Stephen Timms is the new Labour government's Minister for Social Security and Disability. He answers your questions about issues such as benefits, access to medical information, digital accessibility legislation and more. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Beth Hemmings Production Coordinator: David Baguley Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is...

In Touch discusses sexual assault within the visually impaired community, with people who have experienced it or have witnessed inappropriate behaviours and attitudes. Our contributors describe how inappropriate behaviours can often go unchecked or are deemed as acceptable within parts of the visually impaired community, resulting in victims being afraid to speak out about their experiences. We al...

The British Wireless for the Blind Fund have a free app called Speech Radio, which is set up to provide easy access to thousands of radio stations. They have recently partnered with radio aggregator Airable, and can now provide thousands more stations from all around the world. BWBF's Head of Technology David Beard tells In Touch about what is now on offer and how the app works. What is 'showdown'...

The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses is a range of smart glasses that work in conjunction with a smart phone app. We have been hearing excited murmurings about their potential benefits for blind and partially sighted people and now they will soon work in conjunction with the free service, Be My Eyes. This service connects visually impaired people with sighted volunteers to assist with daily tasks. What we are...

In Touch reflects on a specific element of the Autumn Budget that relates to the Work Capability Assessment, following concerns raised by the dual-disability charity, Sense. Their CEO, Richard Kramer explains how the proposed amendments could impact people's ability to find and maintain work and the receipt of certain benefits. We get answers to your questions: including why some visually impaired...

What are the big names from across the sight loss sector doing about the current provision of technology training? We have brought together a panel of guests from RNIB, AbilityNet, TAVIP, Visionary, Sight and Sound Technologies and rehabilitation specialists to discuss this issue. On last week's programme, we focused on why so many visually impaired people aren't able to access meaningful in-perso...

When the RNIB announced changes to the way they deliver their Technology for Life service, we at In Touch heard a lot of trepidation from listeners over where visually impaired people can now go for meaningful support with tech. We thought we'd bring together a panel of guests from some of the big names across the sight loss sector, to tease out where this kind of help can be found and, ideally, d...

The eye care support pathway is a framework developed by the RNIB and partners from across the sight loss sector. It aims to support people through the various stages of sight loss by helping them to understand those stages and signposting them to sources of assistance to navigate through each one. Rob Cooper, Director of Strategic Engagement at RNIB joins us to explain how the process will work,...

It's now two years since the publication of "The Unseen" - a report exploring domestic abuse experienced by blind and visually impaired people. Now Extant, a group of visually impaired performing artists, has adapted the report into an audio drama, and a short tour of the production starts on the 16th of October in Wolverhampton. Extant members, Ben Wilson and Georgie Wyatt join us to explain more...

When you need help or information, where is best to turn? Perhaps reaching out to peers via online methods, or perhaps finding a group that you can meet up with in-person. Has the prevalence of social media and online meetings discouraged in-person get togethers and has it meant that the quality of our interactions has been diminished? Or does it make accessing information and help from peers and...

For many years, we've been used to in-stadium commentaries on football matches for people with no or only a little sight, but Crystal Palace have become the first Premier League club to offer another permanent high-tech accessibility feature to their partially sighted fans. It is called the GiveVision device. It provides people who have some remaining vision with an enhanced view of the game, up c...

Melanie Barratt is a decorated Paralympic swimmer, having won two Golds, two Silvers and a Bronze at the Atlanta and Sydney games. She has had a long career, but her most recent feat took her away from the swimming pool and into the English Channel. Melanie recently completed the 33km swim and made history while doing it, as she is thought to be the first blind woman to have finished. Melanie tell...

New research done at Anglia Ruskin University's vision and eye research unit, suggests that people who lose their sight in early life, or indeed are born without sight, have more difficulty in judging the distance of a sound source, than those who lose their sight later in life. This seemingly counterintuitive idea piqued our interest and so Professor Shahina Pardhan, the director of the unit and...

The Paris Paralympic Games have got off to an explosive start, with many of our visually impaired athletes earning gold, silver and bronze medals. In Touch speaks to gold medal cyclist Lizzie Jordan and silver medal rower Sam Murray. We also speak to David Clarke, who is totally blind, and was appointed as the CEO of Paralympics GB fairly recently. David reflects on the legacy of the games and dis...

Steve Darling is not the first visually impaired MP, but he is the latest, after winning Torbay in Devon for the Liberal Democrats in July's general election. In Touch speaks to Steve about the excitements and challenges of taking up his new role in the Mother of parliaments. In Touch visits an archaeological dig site in Cookham, where an 8th century monastery is being excavated. Our main interest...

Everyone has to put their trust in other people from time to time but when you are blind or partially sighted, do you have to do it more often than most? For example, when asking a stranger for help on the street or in a train station, when purchasing something in a shop and in our relationships. To help us analyse this topic are three visually impaired people with differing career backgrounds, re...

Tony Sheeran tells In Touch about a recent incident when he was attempting to book a self-guided walking holiday on the Isle of Wight, along with his sighted wife and guide dog. Sheeran is an experienced walker, having conquered Mount Fuji and the Capital Ring, but when he came to book with travel operator Macs Adventure, he was initially refused the booking. Recently, the In Touch team released a...