Albinism awareness must extend to workplace

WITH September being national Albinism Awareness Month, disability equity solutions company Progression has urged companies to find ways to accommodate people with albinism.

‘Not only do people with albinism face significant societal challenges, but they struggle to be accepted in the workplace too. Workplace accommodations that can be put in place for people with albinism are not major, but they are necessary,’ Justene Smith, a disability expert at  Progression said.

Smith said not all people with albinism need to be accommodated to successfully perform their jobs but some need a few accommodations.

‘All too often people with albinism are not provided with reasonable accommodation for their visual impairment.

‘Because pigmentation in the eye is essential for normal vision, albinism can lead to a variety of visual impairments such as repetitive, uncontrolled eye movements (nystagmus), eyes that do not focus in the same direction (strabismus), increased sensitivity to light (photophobia) and extreme near- or far-sightedness,’ Smith said.

Few measures that organisations can put in place when employing people with albinism include:

Providing hand-held magnifiers for people with visual impairments. This can assist a person when reading smaller print or hard copy text

Employers need to consider the positioning of the person’s desk and the lighting in their working environment.

People with visual impairments should also take regular breaks from visually demanding work to avoid eye strain.

People with albinism have highly sensitive skin thus should not be exposed to direct sunlight. They should be given offices that do not get too much sunlight or windows need to be covered with blinds to reduce sunlight.

Cleaners need to consult employees with albinism before using any new cleaning products in the office as certain brands may react negatively with their skin.