VISUALLY IMPAIRED SUPPORT AND INFORMATION FOR CHILDREN

The children's vision impaired support, information and guidance service will provide assessment, rehabilitation, equipment provision, signposting and support to blind and vision impaired children and young people (CYP). It will focus on principles of promoting independence, maximising and sustaining choice, involvement and inclusion, and will deliver a person centred approach that facilitates opportunities for CYP who are blind or vision impaired to live meaningful fulfilled lives and to live independently at home

Rehabilitation for vision impaired people is a specific form of reablement; it constitutes an established form of early intervention, one of the four domains of personalisation. Rehabilitation, like reablement yields a dual benefit, in that it not only enables people to live independent lives outside of the care system, but in so doing can avoid the need for costly long-term care packages.

The service will cover the following areas: • Provide mobility information and guidance support • Provide rehabilitation interventions • Provide training, advice and support for professionals working with sight impaired children and young people in Medway • Provide training and advice for professionals