Andy Fisher

Andy Fisher is the Senior Vision Impairment Consultant at Focal Point UK. Andy has a BA (hons) degree in Education (visual Impairment), and is a qualified Vision Rehabilitation Specialist (Cert. Rehabilitation Work with visually impaired people) with over 25 years of field experience. He is also an experienced Low Vision practitioner, and qualified Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT). Andy has worked for many years in Social Services Sensory Impairment Teams in the South West and South Wales, and was previously as a Low Vision Officer at RNIB in London. After leaving RNIB, Andy set up Focal Point UK in Oct 2005. Focal Point UK is a private sector company providing specialist low vision rehabilitation and support services, training and consultancy, to the vision impairment sector in the UK and abroad. In this role, Andy has worked as a practitioner in the NHS Low Vision services in the South West of England. He has also previously provided vision rehab assessments and training for social services (on contract basis) and with Blind Veterans UK (charity for blinded ex-forces personnel). He was a low vision consultant for The Norville Optical Group for 15 years from 2005 to 2020. As part of a clinical trial with Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, Andy provided the vision rehab interventions for patients who had the ‘bionic’ eye implant developed by Second Sight (an American Company based in Los Angeles). This involves providing vision rehab to the people with the Argus II system (Electronic retinal implant system providing people with ‘artificial’ vision).

 

Currently Andy works as a low vision rehab / orientation and mobility specialist for vision impaired adults for social care agencies (on contract). He also works with children and young people in school / university for education departments. He supports adults in employment under the Access to Work Scheme (on behalf of Dept. of Work and Pensions).

 

Andy is a qualified trainer (Post Graduate Certificate of Education – Adult Education) and was until Dec 2015 Orientation and Mobility tutor on the Canterbury Christchurch University Rehabilitation Studies Course in Kent, a position he held for eight years. Working with Optima Low Vision Services, Andy was involved in the training team that provided the award winning eccentric fixation/viewing (skills for seeing) course on behalf of The Macular Society.

 

Currently Andy is an assessor on the Vision Rehab Specialist course at Birmingham City University. As part of their continued professional development, Andy trains a number of associated professionals, such as optometrists and occupational therapists in low vision rehab practice in working with people with low vision and sight loss of all ages.

 

 

Summary of professional background and qualifications of assessor

1993 – Cert. of Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment)

1994 – Low Vision Therapy practitioner (Post Qualifying Training – Optima Low Vision Services)

2002 – Cert. Education

2007 – BA (Hons) Education (Visual Impairment)

2012 – Certified Low Vision Therapist (CLVT) – ACVREP