OrCam MyEye Gives Hope at Sensory Impairment School 

St Vincent’s School is a special place for students with sensory impairment. As one of the UK’s top schools for children with a visual impairment, it is a place where the students are granted the care they need. As part of this approach, St Vincent’s is integrating advanced assistive technology, to help its students become independent and to share responsibility for their own development.

Technology That Gives Hope for a Brighter Future

Led by this student centric strategy, the OrCam MyEye assistive device, for the blind or visually impaired, is now being used by both students and staff at the school to improve independence and enrich their lives. The device also supports pupils’ research within the school’s curriculum and helps them to share their voice and support their learning. Louise McCausland, Learning Support Assistant at St Vincent’s and Jack, a 19-year-old student, share their stories. 

“The OrCam MyEye makes my life almost as normal as a fully sighted person”

Louise McCausland, a Learning Support Assistant at St Vincent’s has retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary and degenerative eye condition that affects the retina slowly over time. Although no longer able to carry out some of her former activities at school such as guiding students with vision impairment around the school, Louise has adapted to her gradual sight loss and is now working in the reprographics department of the school. This involves putting normal sized print texts into braille or large print. As well as managing the school library and helping the students use assistive technology. 

Using the OrCam MyEye has had a huge impact on Louise’s work and home life as she explains: “I’ve always loved books, but as my eyesight has deteriorated, I’ve had to switch to audio books. The OrCam MyEye has greatly improved my ability to work in the school library, as I select books to translate into braille or large print, and I use it to read the back covers and select the right books.” 

Louise can also read to her daughter now and enjoys being able to read any book she chooses without needing to bother with the braille version. 

Step By Step Toward Independence

Jack, a 19-year-old student at St Vincent’s, has septo-optic dysplasia, a condition that causes optic nerve hypoplasia or underdeveloped optic nerves. Jack’s vision impairment means he struggles to read texts unless they are large.  

He came across the OrCam MyEye through Louise and St Vincent’s School where he is being supported to gain independence skills that will see him leave with the ability to prosper. 

“At school I’m supported with large print texts, but I’ve always struggled outside of school. I find supermarkets difficult to navigate because I can’t see any of the signs and reading food labels is impossible. At home, I’ve never been able to read my younger sister’s story books to her.”

When Jack first saw OrCam MyEye he was so excited. It’s given him much greater independence. He can pick up any book, without having to check if it’s in a large print format and just read it. It’s hard for sighted people to understand how much life has changed for him since.

Even though Jack has loved his time at St Vincent’s he is now concentrating on gaining experience in the critical life skills he’ll need for when he is finally chasing his dreams, one of which is to develop a game that is accessible to those with visual impairment. 

Let Assistive Technology Bring Out Your Full Potential 

St Vincent's headteacher, Dr. John Patterson is passionate about giving his students the best education for their future lives and recognizes the potential of every child that comes into the school regardless of their disabilities. Today, thanks to assistive technology, like the OrCam MyEye, many blind or visually impaired people can shop, work and live life more independently. A smart AI tool that motivates and enables people to reach their full potential!