Sensory Awareness Training
Julie our Rehabilitation Officer and Sensory Awareness Trainer , welcomed a second group from Mencap in York to take part in Sensory Awareness Training, focusing on sight loss.
Wilberforce Trust attended Sight Village North East in Leeds in September 2022. Sight Village is described as ‘the UK’s leading exhibition for blind and partially sighted people and for those experiencing sight problems’. Each year thousands of people visit the events to find out at first hand the latest technology, products and support services available.
Last September Wilberforce Trust took a stall and a small number of staff to the event to promote our range of services and support for people with sensory impairments. It was here that I met Alison from Mencap and we chatted about the challenges that people with sensory impairment can face and how awareness training can develop the knowledge of those who work with people with sensory impairments and improve outcomes for those individuals.
After learning a little more about what the training entailed Alison went on to commission two sessions of visual impairment awareness training for staff working directly with an individual with visual impairment who Mencap support. As part of the training the staff took part in several practical exercises with the use of glasses which simulate different degrees of sight loss and learnt how to safely guide a person with a visual impairment. The result is staff who feel more confident in working with people with visual impairment and have a greater degree of understanding and empathy when doing so.
One of the participants had this to say: “Great course! It was very helpful to try the sight guidance from the perspective of the blind person. Good to find out about variety of types of sight loss. Very helpful and clearly delivered”.
If you are a public facing service provider and you think that Sensory Awareness Training is something that is of interest to you, please get in touch with YorSensory on enquiry@yorsensory.org.uk or call 01904 202292.
Our training is delivered by a skilled and experience trainer; a qualified Vision Rehabilitation Specialist who has over 10 years experience in their field and can be tailor made to your organisations requirements.
The Wilberforce Trust is dedicated to helping those with visual impairment, sight loss, hearing loss and other disabilities across York, North Yorkshire and the surrounding areas.
