Temple Grandin has autism. She isan expert on animal welfare andan advocate of autistic peoples’rights.Grandin has introducedmany new ideas to thehandling of animals, throughher attention to detai l .

Blind people, despite thebarriers of attitude and accessto communication, have goneon to be:pol itician, musicians, writers,

lawyers and mathematicians.

Blind people's vision in the eye is

severely reduced. This can be related

to the field of vision or detai l or both.

In England, there are 1 43,385 people

registered as blind. 3,540 are of

school age. Most attend mainstream

schools with support and are helped

to succeed.

In ancie

nt

Egypt th

ere

wasa re

spect

for disab

led

people

andthis

is shown

in

thishier

oglyphic

from1 50

0 BC

showing

a

blind ha

rpist.

Louis Brail le(1 809-1 852)

Louis Brail le had anaccident that led to himbeing blind. He invented anew raised code forletters based on a “nightwriting” used by theFrench army.

Moderntechnology, withmobile phonesand computers,is a great help.

However, peoplewho are blind or visual lyimpaired are sti l l struggl ingto be accepted as“ordinary”.

Victoria Oruwari- operasinger

Stevie Wonder- singerand UN ambassador

David Blunkett-

Politician

Laurie Rubin-Photographer

Youwould

n’t

wantto be

called-

Many devices help with e

veryday tasks

such as talking watches a

nd adapted

appliances for the kitchen

.

Mobility:getting about is a big

issue and is improved

by training, use of long

cane and, for adults,

guide dogs.

Achievements

I t isest

imated

that 1

.5

mill ion

peop

le are

l iving

with

sight

loss, n

otcor

rectab

le

bygla

sses.

The proportion of people with

visual impairment increases with age

and is caused by many factors.

In the early 1 900s, bl ind

people began to become

more independent, with

government support, rather

than relying on charity.

HistoryThroughout history,

people who were blindwere often excluded from

ordinary l ife, orrevered. They were

sometimeskil led, or left to

fend for themselvesas beggars.CurrentCulture

Brail le is a series of tacti le

dots in a code which has

become the main method of

written communication for

bl ind people.

Geordi La Fage in Star Trek and Dare

Devil are two blind characters who have

devices to help them see. This may

soon not be fiction.

Cookingby blindfi lm criticTommyEdison.

Andrea Bocell i-Musician