Offers support and advice for children and young people with a vision impairment
How it can help
This team are part of the Physical and Sensory Impairment Specialist Teaching Service at Essex County Council.
The team support children and young people with VI and their families, including:
- home visits to assess and keep track of how well your pre-school child is doing
- help develop residual vision
- identifying what visual help they need using a tool called Functional Vision Assessment (FVA)
- identifying what habilitation support they need
- teaching of pre-cane and cane skills and routes at school where necessary
- teaching of tactile, pre-braille and Braille skills and special ICT skills
- advice for One Planning and Education and Health Care plans on what your child or young person needs
- advice and support when your child with VI or young person moves from one educational setting to another
- advice around general development, literacy development, social and emotional development
The team also support schools and settings, including:
- advice on helping children with VI to access the curriculum or exams
- specialist equipment
- training on how to use specialist equipment
- advice on making changes so that your child or young person can take part at school (reasonable adjustments)
- general vision impairment awareness training
- training around the specific needs of your child in their setting or school
- advice to promote independence for children with VI
Age
0 to 25
Eligibility
Children and young people who have been diagnosed by an orthoptist, ophthalmologist or paediatrician with visual impairment. This includes children:
- registered as severely sight impaired or sight impaired
- whose eye condition is deteriorating
- not eligible for sight impairment registration but who have a recognised permanent bilateral eye condition which cannot be corrected by glasses
- who have a reduced level of sight with an associated condition where the level of vision cannot be corrected by glasses
How to access
Your child's ophthalmologist refers your child to the service.
Families cannot refer children directly, but the team are always happy to speak to you. Please let them know your query is for the Vision Impairment team when emailing the service.
Opening hours
Term time only