Nobody realised Brandon couldn’t see out of his right eye.

He his autistic, a learning disability and is largely non-verbal, and when SeeAbility tested his sight at his special school they discovered he'd never had his eyes tested before. His mum explains the challenges:

"He can’t read, so I never took him for an eye test at the opticians because I thought you had to be able to read the letters on the chart. When SeeAbility gave Brandon an eye test at his special school it was a real shock to hear what they found."

SeeAbility Optometrist Lisa Donaldson gave Brandon his first ever eye test when he was 16-years-old. 

"I found that he can see very little with his right eye. Unfortunately, that eye has not developed as it could have done had he had an eye test when he started school at the age of four or five."

His field of vision is limited as the right side of his vision is blurred. Because his right eye vision is so poor, he also has poor depth perception. Both these issues make judging distances and walking up and down stairs on his own difficult for Brandon.

What should have happened

If Brandon had received treatment involving prescribed glasses and patching before the age of seven, he might be able to see perfectly today. Sadly there’s not much SeeAbility can do for Brandon now. Thankfully, the NHS has now agreed to eye testing in all special schools from 2020, so other children won't fall through the gaps, as Brandon did.