Nursery World - A Unique Child: Inclusion

The condition of albinism is little understood by the public and sometimes portrayed negatively, but nursery workers are helping to keep one child happily included. Sue Learner hears how.

A few days after giving birth to a baby boy with a shock of white hair, Sian Edwardson asked the midwife whether he had albinism. The midwife brushed her question aside, but her doubts grew, as Ellis hardly opened his eyes in the first eight weeks. Then the doctors confirmed that Ellis had, indeed, albinism, a genetic condition that causes pale or white hair and skin due to a lack of melanin.

Like most people with this condition Ellis has impaired vision. His mother explains, 'Ellis is registered blind but he does have some sight. He is extremely sensitive to light and has photophobia, so he has to wear sunglasses whenever he goes outside.'

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