Services for People with Sensory Impairments
A sensory impairment is considered to be a difficulty with either seeing and/or hearing.
This covers a wide range of disability from partial loss of sight or hearing to profound loss, people who are deaf or blind or both, known as "deafblind".
Sensory impairment can be present at birth or occur at any time throughout life. Many older people are affected by increasing loss of hearing and/or sight.
The social inclusion envisaged by Social Care requires inter-agency collaboration in the planning, design and delivery of services tailored to meet individual needs, support through the transition from childhood to adulthood and rehabilitation strategies.
What Social Care Offers
Social Care employs a full-time Specialist Social Worker dedicated to the particular needs of people with sensory impairments including children and young adults.
Assessment is available for all categories of sensory impairment, for the deaf, hard of hearing, blind, partially sighted and "deafblind".
Social Care offers advice, information and numerous support services including contact with specialist organisations such as the "British Wireless for the Blind Fund" which provides free radios for blind and partially sighted people.
Social Care also offers access to a "talking book" service provided by the R.N.I.B and large print books.
Education services provide 2 full time teachers of children with a visual impairment, 2 full time teachers of children with a hearing impairment, 1 full time learning support specialist worker and a technology support technician (50% special educational needs). They also have a Visual Impairment Centre in Sandwick which offers specialist teaching to visually impaired pupils and has a facility to convert written text into Braille for that purpose.
It is envisaged that this facility will be used by many more members of the visually impaired community.
The Health Board provide a hearing aid clinic, support services from visiting eye specialists, occupational therapy services and a locally based ophthalmic nurse.
There is also a Low Vision Aid Clinic attended by a visiting specialist optician.
Sensory Impairment Leaflet
Other Services Available Locally are:
Shetland Library currently distributes three periodicals:
- Shetland Times
- Shetland Life
- New Shetlander (quarterly)
These are distributed on one or more c90 audio cassettes through a free postal scheme (sent in Velcro closing envelopes with a reversible address for return).
Contact: 01595 693868
They have a comprehensive selection of large print books available through mobile libraries and in Lerwick, (actual book size is now no more than a normal hardback) and a small selection of children's large print books.
Audio books are also available on audio tape at present. Both can be borrowed on ordinary tickets without any special membership restrictions or changes.
Shetland Club for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
This club meets monthly (usually 3rd Thursday) in the Freefield Centre.
It has a membership of around 25, made up of profoundly Deaf, partially hearing and some hearing people with an interest in deafness. It is a social club - members sometimes use the time for chat (in speech or sign), for teaching sign language to those who are not sign users, or have a game of bingo. There is usually an annual trip to the Scottish Mainland - funds permitting - to catch up with hearing impaired people in other areas.
Fund raising is through raffles, jumble sales and donations.
For more information contact:
Audrey Thompson, 20 South Lochside, Lerwick or Tel: 01595 692966
Useful Websites
www.rnid.org.uk - Royal National Institute for Deaf People
www.rnib.org.uk - Royal National Institute of the Blind
www.deafblind.org.uk - Deafblind UK
www.radar.org.uk - campaigning on disability & rehabilitation issues
www.bda.org.uk - The British Deaf Association
www.afbp.org - Action for Blind People
www.blind.org.uk - The British Wireless for the Blind Fund
www.sense.org.uk - working with deafblind people
www.ndcs.org.uk - National Deaf Children's Society
www.tnauk.org.uk - Talking Newspapers Association
www.deaf247.co.uk - Directory of British Sign Language and deaf related resources
For further information please see our Leaflets page and the Other Organisations page.