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Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document. When citing, please reference the published version. Take down policy While the University of Birmingham exercises care and attention in making items available there are rare occasions when an item has been uploaded in error or has been deemed to be commercially or otherwise sensitive.

Previous research has shown that, on average, children with low vision lag their sighted peers in general reading development (in terms of speed, accuracy and comprehension). This study sought to examine this apparent lag by comparing the reading profiles of 25 normally sighted readers (mean age 8 years 8 months) with 25 low vision readers. The children were tested using a reading test (the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability, NARA) and were matched on the reading accuracy score produced by the test. Therefore in terms of the reading accuracy scores (and reading ages) derived from the NARA both groups were the same. The low vision readers were on average older than the normally sighted children (mean = 10 years, 5 months). When the reading profile (i.e. accuracy, comprehension and speed) was examined in the same analysis no significant effect was revealed [d.f. = 1, 48; F = 0.05; p > 0.1], but a general lag for these children is suggested (in keeping with previous research). However, a closer analysis of the reading error profile revealed the most common reading errors made by all readers in the analysis were either mispronunciations or substitutions. The low vision readers were more prone to making substitution errors than mispronunciations and the reverse was true for normally sighted readers [d.f. = 1, 48; F = 7.1; p < 0.05]. This indicates that the reading strategies adopted by low vision readers may differ from those of normally sighted readers of the same apparent reading ability.

This article presents a selection of findings from a literature review of best practice models and outcomes in the education of visually impaired children. The review suggested that a key focus of research in this area has been upon the concept of 'access', particularly with regards to barriers children with visual impairment face in accessing visual information. Given the broad scope of the literature review, we focus upon access to print literacy as an illustrative example. The potential impact of reduced access to the curriculum and the effectiveness of teaching approaches adopted to reduce these barriers are presented. The relative merits of two approaches to improve access are contrasted: providing children with accessible material in their preferred medium (e.g., large print), and teaching children 'access skills' (including the use of technology). There is evidence to show that both approaches are important, but teaching children access skills has important longerterm benefits for visually impaired children and young people. In spite of this evidence, it appears that this approach to teaching may often be neglected. Links are made with other areas of the curriculum to illustrate that this dual view of access is a helpful way of conceptualising the broader educational needs of visually impaired pupils.

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