VISION IMPAIRMENT IN CHILDREN AND THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES

With
Dr Susan Silveira
Chief Investigator
Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register, NextSense &
Program Director
Master of Disability Studies (Macquarie University),
NextSense, Sydney, Australia

RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney | June 2025

Sue is a qualified paediatric orthoptist who has held both clinical and academic roles. She has a Master of Health Sciences (Education) from the University of Sydney, and a PhD from the University of Newcastle.

Sue holds a conjoint academic position with Macquarie University and is the Course Director for their Master of Disability Studies, which is administered and delivered by NextSense Institute in affiliation with the University. She teaches in the areas of vision impairment and disability, and aims to share her knowledge while learning from others, especially people who are blind or have low vision and their families.

A research fellow with NextSense Institute, Sue is the chief investigator on a collaborative partnership project that established the Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register, which captures data to help improve services for children who are blind or have low vision. She is also a co-investigator on a project that aims to raise awareness about when and why braille should be introduced in a child’s life, and is working as part of a research team developing accessible playgrounds.

Sue has worked extensively in the NSW public hospital system and in vision screening programs, and has held an academic position with the University of Sydney’s School of Orthoptics, in addition to working at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead—the largest paediatric centre in NSW.

Through her research, Sue aims to give a voice to people who are blind or have low vision, and to broadly improve their quality of life.

Outside of work, she prioritises her family and tries to spend time on her loved pastime–drawing.

Source: Supplied