‘Living Well with Sight Loss’ is a four week course ran by Joshua who is an enablement officer at Henshaws. The course helps participants to understand what services are available to them both locally and nationally but as Joshua explains, ‘the biggest part of the course is for our participants to be able to connect with other people with sight loss and to learn from each other’. He adds ‘the peer support of the network is invaluable to people. Quite often our participants have never spoken to another person with a visual impairment so connecting them through the group is massive for them. The sessions also make people aware of the different support opportunities available to them. It’s so rewarding for me to be able to share this information with the participants.’
A wide range of subjects are covered in each session, such as how technology can be helpful for people with a visual impairment and what to expect from hospital visits, however today’s session was tailored to meet the needs of the group and focused on education and employment opportunities. Before the course begins, the participants are asked to complete a survey which helps Joshua to find out what they know already and enables him to tailor the course content to their needs. Couse attendees are also asked to complete the same survey at the end of the course to find out if any of their answers have changed and to collect their feedback.
The course receives great feedback as one participant shares ‘I found living well with sight loss to be really informative and enjoyable. I said to my husband before taking part that I was a little unsure whether it was right for me. He told me that if I only took one thing away from the session, then that would be one thing more than if I didn’t do the course. As it happens, I’ve taken much more than one thing away from the sessions. Thank you so much for inviting me to take part, I’ve really enjoyed it!’
To find out more about the Living Well with Sight Loss course and the work that Henshaws does visit https://www.henshaws.org.uk/courses/living-sight-loss/
