Nystagmus training and talks
Families and people with nystagmus often have questions about the condition, even after they have a diagnosis and have seen an ophthalmologist. In many cases, people who have nystagmus are best placed to answer questions such as:

• What does it feel like to have nystagmus?
• What do you see?
• What if I can’t drive?
• How will my child get on at school?
• Will I get a job?

NN has developed workshops, lectures and seminars suitable for training and CPD (Continuous Professional Development) programmes. Over the years we have delivered training to hospital, school, social services and voluntary sector staff among others including:

Universities

• University of Plymouth
• Cardiff University School of Optometry
• Leicester University, Department of Ophthalmology

“Thank you very much for speaking at our first conference and for joining us in our discussion. The feedback from all was extremely positive and we all learnt so much from your presentation.”

Hospitals

• Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral
• St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington
• Singleton Hospital Swansea
• Southampton Eye Hospital

”The personal accounts were invaluable. The medical background was very interesting and it will be useful to have the ‘laymen’ knowledge behind advice for parents,”

Voluntary organisations

• Albinism Fellowship conferences, Chester, Glasgow and York
• The American Nystagmus Network
• Gwent Association for the Blind
• Kent Association for the Blind
• QAC Sight Village
• RNIB training courses in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and London

“Very good hearing from people who have the condition as we were given ‘first hand’ knowledge.”

We also provide speakers for less formal events aimed at families as well as professionals.

Teachers and families

• Croydon VI Support Service and parents
• Essex Special Needs Support Service
• Greenwich VI Service and parents
• Gwent VI Support Service and parents
• Hampshire VI Conference
• Hillingdon Service for Sensory and Physical Impairment
• Neath Port Talbot VI Support Service and parents
• Richmond VI Support Service and parents
• St Ives, Cambridgeshire, VI teachers and parents
• Suffolk County Council Education Department
• SERAP (South East Region Association of Peripatetic Teachers), Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London
• SWATVI (South Wales Association of Teachers of the Visually Impaired), Cowbridge

“You changed my life. My daughter was five then and I had little idea about how nystagmus affected her. I went home and started to do things differently.” – mother, commenting several years after NN talk.

The presentations range from short talks to all day training sessions. The longer sessions include talks by scientific and/or medical professionals with extensive knowledge and experience of nystagmus. The training is adapted to the needs of individual groups and is available throughout the UK. Programmes are often arranged in cooperation with other organisations, such as the RNIB.

Typically, a training event looks at issues such as nystagmus and driving, nystagmus and sport, genetics and includes:

• A short medical description of nystagmus
• The effects of nystagmus in an everyday setting
• Personal experiences of what it’s like to have nystagmus
• An explanation of the null point
• The impact of time and speed on nystagmus
• The implications for education and work
• The social consequences of nystagmus
• How to minimise the effects of nystagmus
• Treatment options
• Current research

For more information about nystagmus training, email john.sanders@nystagmusnet.org or phone 029 2045 4242.