Vision course

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is working in partnership with the British Academy of Childhood Disability (BACD) to offer a Vision course.

Audience: Paediatricians, but the course may also be of interest and benefit for other practitioners working with children with vision impairments across agencies and settings
Duration:  Four months distance learning
Cost: £450 / £400 BACD members

Course content

This course is developed from the Paediatric Neurodisability Diploma.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Understand the pathology and pathophysiology relating to vision impairments and synthesise this into clinical practice:

• Normal development of vision.
• The terms used to describe vision.
• Understand the broad range of conditions which may cause severe visual impairment in children.
• Understand how and when visual disorders are identified in childhood.
• Understand the classification of visual impairment and the main ways of assessing acuity in children.
• Understand the basis of refractive errors and squint.  

Assess and manage children and young people with vision impairments:

• Be competent in the medical assessment of children and young people with possible vision impairments.
• Be alert to vision impairments in children and young people with multiple disabling conditions.
• Be aware of the particular difficulties experienced by the child or young person with multi-sensory impairment.
• Be able to contribute to a team managing children and young people with vision impairments.
• Be able to work constructively with the education services for children and young people with vision impairments.

Make informed judgements within this area of neurodisability, knowing when to ask for help and when to refer on.

Critically evaluate local health services.

How you will study

You can apply and start the course any time throughout the year.

The course is self-paced. As a guide, a minimum of four hours study time per week should help you to complete the course in approximately four months. We are flexible with the timeframe as there is no deadline for completion.