Unsure question

[BigAndy]

Hi guys and girls

I was diagnosed with this condition last year, now i am still learning about all the effects treatments and so on. I am still in the quite early stages of this condition, my left eye is very very blurred but my right eye is very very good

now what i need to know is , is KC a disability and do i have to declare it to the DVLA as i drive quite alot. Also am i entitled to a motability car because this is a disability

any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
BigAndy

[John Smith]

Hi Andy, and welcome to the forum!

KC can vary dramatically from one individual to another, and therefore we can't say whether you need to inform the DVLA or not. Basically the rules state that you must tell them if your vision in both eyes falls below about 6/12 - can you read a number plate at 20.5m is the real test. If in any doubt, you should tell the DVLA, and they'll make enquiries with your optician, and call you for a sight test if your optician thinks you are borderline.

In terms of KC being a disability, well, this certainly depends on the best corrected sight you get - I have now been told by three different occupational health doctors that I am disabled under the DDA definition, but I'm not registered as partially sighted. Others however have been denied the protection of the DDA, so yet again, everyone is different!

I'm sure others will add their stories; in the mean time, have a look through the forum and the articles on the main site, and if you send Anne your details she will post you out a pack containing lots of useful material.

All the best,

[Paul Osborne]

Hi and welcome.

Good luck with the KC, I hope that you have a good optician who can help you manage the condition effectively.

No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong here:

If your vision is correctable with glasses/contacts then you can AFAIK continue driving. Your optician will be able to tell you when your sight is not acceptable for driving - you only need to be able to see clearly with one eye. You may need to declare to your insurer that you have an eye condition - check against your terms and conditions.

As for a disability, I believe that if your sight becomes next to useless you can register as blind at which point you really should not be driving. The motability stuff is more geared to disabled people who can see iirc as its somewhat essential that you can see in order to drive.

Of course if you are missing a leg or somesuch - you could be onto a winner.

Paul

[GarethB]

Under the motability scheme, sight defects are not coverd. The scheme is geared around making modifications to a car to make it easier to drive. These include hand controls, power steering on a car that would not have it fitted, even as an option, seating, pedal extensions etc. I have a disabled friend who used to be in the forces, he has a car under motability and it is a mondeo automatic, no other modifications. Despite having no right leg, he can still use the left for the remaining two pedals which he had the choice of having moved to make them easier to use.

Regarding sight and the DVLA, the simple rule is if in doubt declare it. I did six months ago, I know they have the form but heard nothing since. In the meantime I passed the Institute of Advanced Motoring test for the second time and I only had a lens in my left eye. Un corrected, by right eye meets the requirments to be declared clinically blind.

The test is really around what your best corrected sigt is, for me this is 6/5 in both eyes, trouble is, this is not 24/7

[Andrew MacLean]

Hello and welcome!

How bad is your sight? Can you, for example, read a number plate at the prescribed distance with or without glasses, or with contact lenses?

all the best

Andrew

[Knight]

...is KC a disability and do i have to declare it to the DVLA as i drive quite alot. Also am i entitled to a motability car because this is a disability...

As has already been said, KC can be deemed a disability under the more advanced and extreme cases but with one 'very very good eye' it's not likely.
Declaring it to the DVLA, is not so much a matter of opinion but a fact, when you apply for a license there is a section that asks about your sight which asks more or less 'with/without corrected vision can you see x at y distance'. Assuming you already have a DL, it states also, if your circumstances change you're supposed to notify them - this has already been discussed in another thread but to paraphrase; changes like this, your insurance need to know as well because if in an accident and your details aren't current (especially your eyesight) there's a chance you wont have the cover.
So basically if its a concern, you talk to them and have it noted to keep you on the right side.
As for entitlement to a motability car, not a chance. GarethB has already made a good point but the motability scheme is also part of a benefit called the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) which has 2 seperate systems, personal care and getting around (mobility) both have 3 different levels of severity and payment; low, medium and high. Only if you are on the DLA and receiving the higher rate for 'mobility assistance' can you even think of applying for the motability aspect to get a car.
As far as I understand this, to get the high rate, many of the rules have changed due to abuse of this benefit in the past, its basically now put down, only if you're an amputee or suffering a terminal illness unable to walk a short distance can you apply for a car, to assit you getting around otherwise you'd be house-bound. Even if you could get the high rate for mobility due to bad eyesight (which has to be a constant not something between the times you're not wearing glasses or lenses) you wouldn't be allowed to drive the car anyway - although you could freely nominate a driver in your stead but in that instance only that person is allowed to drive the car, not you, regardless of it being in your name.

[rosemary johnson]

The definition of a disability (under the disability discrimination act) is
a condition that affects your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and has lasted, or is likely to last for at least 12 months.

Thus KC counts - or will count if it affects the things we can do.

In assessing this, you have to think about not only the visual acuity with the lenses, but thiings like: how long you can wear the lenses for, sensitivity to bright lights and/or night blindness, problems with dust under the lenses.
This is for assessing such matters as disability discrimination, obligations of employers to make "reasonable adjustments" for staff who become disabled or whose condition worsens during employment, suppliers who are failing to offer their services to disabled would-be clients, etc.
It's separate from conditions to register as paritally-sighted (or blind) which only work on acuity/field of view.

FOr example, you could be too light sensitive to be able to use a computer screen at work and need talking computer kit, whilst having enough acuity to read the same size text on paper.
Rosemary

[Prue B]

My daughter is 4 and we have been told she probably has early KC. This is a total new ball game to me, both my sister and I were diagnosed when we were 18 we have both had bilateral grafts. In both of us there was a very quick progression and our vision deteriorated to the point it affected our lives reasonably quickly, I was lens intolerant and because of this my sister did not try. My big issue with Catherine is a lot of my coping mechanisms were based on my knowledge at the time. I could make out words because I knew how to read, and you worked out the most likely word, you did not have to actually work out if a letter was this or that because my brain knew it was most likely this and filled in the blanks, thus I was able to read, but what would have happened if I was not able to read before this happened. If my sight was poor when I waslearning and E and F look the same as do C and O and more as things progess. So I researched, it is how I found this sight and a few others eventually I rang Vision Australia, and I honestly thought I would be put off until her vision is more affected, but it turns out because she is a preschooler they are taking matters seriously. They are putting her into the system because there is a real possibility her eyesight will get worse and this means when it comes to school she will have access to visiting teachers when she needs and their job will be to educate her school and teachers of her needs. She is being assesed in April. They only visit here once a month, but I feel better knowing she will have the best chance at a normal life.
I also figure contacts are not really a viable option till at the earliest 8, so during her prime literacy learning age she will have to use her best corrected vision through glasses. I know that may be fine, but it also may not be.
I think the important thing is having access to what we need to live as normally and as productivly as we can. I will take and use what she needs and is entitled to and try to afford what she needs and is not entitled to, but I will do everything I can to make sure she has as normal a life as she can, and that she learns to read.

[Andrew MacLean]

I know that this is very hard for you, but at least you are fore-warned of any dangers that may lie ahead.

Andrew

[jayboi2005]

The definition of a disability (under the disability discrimination act) is
a condition that affects your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and has lasted, or is likely to last for at least 12 months.

Very true, i think it would be very ironic and make you seem a little silly if you said to Mobility i need a car because i can't see properly. As i would expect a reply of 'you can't see properly then you cant have a car.'

However you could try for incapacity benefit, the decider of this is exactly the point of how you cope day to day. How KC effects your day to day life, for example you may not be able to drive or see correctly at all so you have to take a taxi all the time because you can't trust yourself by a road. They are the circumstances that will be assessed. However its all down to you, if you feel that you need extra money in your life because KC makes it harder apply for it thats why its there.

DVLA - well my eye sight can achieve driving standard but i thought it best to tell the DVLA anyway just to be safe. BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY! I thought if i tell them they will STOP me from driving, or something like that. But i was wrong they are fair and as long as you can see its TOP!