Vision Impairment

Nathan Smith was the first Braille user in Southend-on-Sea to complete compulsory education in a mainstream school. During his time at school, Nathan received support from Learning Support Assistants and the Vision Impairment Service.

Nathan completed A Levels at South Essex College. He also gained a degree in Business Management from Roehampton University. The Local Offer team met Nathan in July 2022. We asked him about his time at school, and university.

Tell us about support you had at school and the transition to college

Transition from Primary to Secondary school went smoothly. I continued with the same wonderful in-class support assistant. At college, I had equally fantastic support assistants, including my original support assistant. How Lucky!

Shoeburyness High School knew I was joining a year before. There was lots of time for them to prepare and put resources in place. They were fantastic and gave me wonderful support. The Head and Deputy Head were amazing. They took time to get to know me. The Deputy Head met me at the school entrance on the first day of every year. This was to show me any structural changes that had been made.

Janice from the Southend Vision Impairment Team was my mobility trainer. We just clicked! She knew my quirks and how to work with me. Her support helped a lot.

I had mobility training once a week in the summer holiday before moving to secondary school. The VI team also helped me navigate the canteen. They came in every day of the first term until I could do it on my own. I also had in-class support once a week from Denise and Beatrice. They helped the school to support me too.

Janice helped me study routes around the school. This was very helpful. She also supported me with the route to my work experience placement. Training for independence was provided, which was key. Southend has some brilliant mobility trainers and the VI team are a lifesaver.

I feel very lucky to have had support from the local authority and school. My mum had a good relationship and communication with the VI team. This was key to my success.

How was the move from school to college?

The college staff were great and did the best they could, but they weren't ready for me because they didn't have much notice I was joining. This was because I had originally planned to go to the grammar school.

Looking back, I wasn't ready to transition into a new environment. I found it difficult at first. I found myself feeling less interested. My maths teacher put in a lot of effort to help me and at the end I aced computer science!

What support did you get at university? Was it different to the support you had at school?

Students with disabilities and foreign students were allowed to arrive early before others. The disability team asked someone from the Student Union to support me at an introductory dinner. We became great friends!

Note-takers were provided for lectures. They were very good, but the SENCO wasn't very interested.

The university were supposed to provide a mobility trainer, but this took a while to organise. When I got support, it was much lower quality than I was used to in Southend, so the note-takers and a friend helped me to get around.

The support I was being given decreased, and it felt like I was fighting for the support I needed.

My accommodation was dormitory style with individual rooms. It wasn't specially adapted, but I got an ensuite bathroom as a priority. My flat rep was helpful if I ever needed anything.

How was your time at university?

Academically it was good fun as I thrive with a challenge. The first couple of years were good as I was living on campus. In my 3rd year COVID hit, and I had to study remotely from home. This was more challenging.

Making a good friend early on, having good relationships and a point of contact really helped.

Do you have any advice for vision impaired people starting university?

Number 1 - prepare as much as you can. Things are going to be very different environmentally and buildings wise. Being prepared helps with what is going to come next.

Number 2 - find a point of contact. Having the right support at the right time was crucial. Find a friend to support you - having someone to vent to is important.

Number 3 - hit the ground running! Prepare as much as you can and get involved straight away!

Are you working on any current projects or business ideas?

I'm a problem solver and love puzzle games. I like to help people and contribute. I've had my own website since 2013 (https://nathantech.net).

It provides assistive software and audio games for vision impaired people and screen reader users. This includes:

• software that makes PowerPoint easier to use
• a gadget to make Reddit easier to navigate with a screen reader

In 2016 I created a multi-user game for vision impaired people. It was very popular. I love it when people say they used my software and it really made a difference to them.

In the future I want to launch a website to help blind people cook. I'd also like to be involved in politics and the community, and maybe set up a charity. There aren't any blind elected members in Southend. MPs don't seem to be interested in services for blind people locally. I'd like that to change. I hope that one day I can make as much of a positive impact to people's lives as the VI department at Southend and my support made to mine.

What are you doing now?

Last year I tutored at a school once a week. I was supporting 2 students with braille and assistive technology. I taught people how to use a screen reader and supported teaching staff. I helped one student who had lost her sight re-learn how to use a laptop.

I'm now working at St. Clere's School. I support students with SEND, with things such as note-taking, and providing technical advice to the school on assistive technology, especially in windows.

Nathan's website can be found at https://nathantech.net. You can also visit https://software.nathantech.net for the software archive - a database of software accessible for screen reader users.