There are around 300,000 people who are blind or vision impaired in Australia. There is no "typical" vision-impaired student: the impairment may be the result of a range of conditions and its impact will depend on the type, extent and timing of vision loss.
The impact of the impairment on learning will vary significantly according to the nature and extent of vision loss: some students will have been born without vision, others will have lost it gradually; some will have no vision at all, others will have some vision, be light-sensitive, or have limited peripheral vision. It is also possible that vision and light-sensitivity will fluctuate day-to-day.
Some students may rely on a guide dog or white cane to assist mobility while others have sufficient residual vision to get around independently. Students may require accommodations and assistive devices to facilitate access to education. An accommodation may be as simple as a seat near the front of the class, but most students use assistive technology (such as closed circuit TV, screen-magnification or screen-reading software) to enable them to read and access the internet.