Iain’s Eyesight

Iain has a genetic eye condition known as X-Linked Juvenile Retinoschisis and as a result is registered as severely sight impaired (legally blind).

He has less than 5% of normal central vision. This means Iain cannot read even the top line on a normal eye test at the optician’s. Due to scarring and/or partial detachments of the retina, Iain has patches of his vision that are distorted and also experiences ‘floaters’ regularly (small amounts of debris appearing as black spots/shadows). Iain’s peripheral eyesight is also affected with a significantly reduced field of vision (See eye chart below).

As a result, a number of challenges can present themselves on a daily basis – reading small print text in a book or newspaper, recognising friends and family in the street or dealing with changing light conditions are just a few examples.

Iain uses strong magnifiers and computer software to help with reading at home and work and has been described as being ‘highly adapted’ to his low vision.

For more information on Iain’s specific eye condition see the Eyesight section on the Links page.

Iain’s eye chart