If you have a child in your class wearing a patch, it will be because their parents or guardians have been advised by a medical professional that the vision in the un-patched eye is significantly worse than that in the patched eye. Most commonly, this is related to a squint (medically known as strabismus), but not always. The good eye is patched to prevent the brain from switching off the signals from the weaker eye in a condition known as Amblyopia.

A child may be patched for varying amounts of time and the exact regime will be decided by the eye clinic on an individual basis. It can be for up to 6 hours a day. It is thought that the longer the child wears a patch during the day, the quicker the vision in the un-patched, weaker eye will improve. Also, the younger the child is when they are patched, the quicker the vision will improve.

Points to remember

  • The child will be unable to use the vision in the patched eye whilst s/he is wearing a patch. S/he might bump into things on this side and will not be aware of people or objects approaching from this side. They may be startled if approached suddenly.
  • There are health and safety implications while the child is patched, as their sense of depth perception will be affected. For example: they may have difficulty going up and down steps, judging distance, using PE equipment, and judging speed.
  • The child may find new or crowded situations disorientating.
  • The vision in the un-patched eye may be very poor, particularly at first. They may need their work to be enlarged or made bolder, and possibly, simplified so they can access the work.
  • They should sit close to the visual centre of the lesson (near the teacher, near the board etc.).
  • They may need support to access board work (such as desktop copies, screen mirroring) and desktop copies of other environmental print, such as phonic prompts around the classroom.

The balance between educational access and visual stimulation:

Medical recommendation is that for patching to be successful,  the child needs visually demanding tasks to force the eye to work. At the same time, it is important that access to education is maintained.

The child may require enlarged reading books and worksheets to maintain their access to numeracy and literacy, but should also be offered fun and interesting visually demanding tasks as well. For example: copying patterns on peg boards; stringing small beads; dot to dot puzzles; spot the difference puzzles; mazes; colouring in small pictures and patterns; searching through complex pictures e.g., 'I spy books', ‘Where’s Wally’; small construction toys such as 'Lego', 'K’nex', and 'Meccano'.

If you are still concerned about your child and require more information, then please contact your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impairment (QTVI) via:

Telephone: 01629 532391