Specialist one to one support

Sighted Guides are trained and experienced in supporting people with a sight loss.

Communicator Guides are trained and experienced in supporting people with dual sensory impairments (deafblind).

Whether you want to go to the bank, shops, pub or a concert we can help. Our staff can support you with a huge range of activities and we are keen to help you stay independent, active and enjoying living the life you want.

Activities we have assisted with includes grocery shopping, clothes shopping, support to attend a beer festival, help reading correspondence and making appointments, supporting a visually impaired person to experience driving a car, support to attend a football match in London. The world really is your oyster if you have the right person by your side.

These services can be purchased either directly from your own funds or using a personal budget or in some cases they may be commissioned by Social Care if your needs are eligible.

People with a dual sensory loss are entitled to a specialist assessment through Social Care and may then be eligible to a budget to help maintain independence.

If you have a dual sensory impairment and you feel your communication needs are changing, a Transition Communication Support Worker will be able to work with you, and your family, to learn a new communication method to better suit your needs.

For example, if your sight is deteriorating and British Sign Language (BSL) is becoming difficult, we can help you move to using Hands-On BSL or deafblind manual finger spelling.

Our aim is to be here for you when you need, to help keep you communicating confidently and adapting to change.

We recognise the challenges of patient transport, finding your way around a hospital setting and communicating with health professionals. And we know this can cause anxiety, miscommunications and ‘no shows’ to appointments, or dependence upon family members of friends to help.

If you have a dual sensory impairment we can very likely support you to access health appointments across Essex and beyond.

We can pick you up from your home and then guide you to the waiting area where we will stay with you and make sure you are comfortable.

If you want we can join you in your consultation supporting you to ask the questions you need and get all the answers you want. We will ensure you have details of follow up appointments and any prescriptions and we will then drive you back to your home.

All of this is undertaken with the utmost respect of your dignity, privacy and wishes.

We can help you manage repeat bookings such as at the eye clinic and can book these in advance giving you peace of mind that all is in hand.

The hospitals fund this service as they recognise the difficulties you may face accessing your appointments and they do not want you to miss your appointment or leave unsure of what you have been told.

Our Intervenors are trained and skilled to support Multi-Sensory Impaired (MSI) children, young people, and adults to access the world in the best way for them. We are here to support development in education, social activities, communication, and any other adventure they would like to pursue. We understand the importance of family which is why our intervenors offer support within the family unit to ensure full inclusion.

Our intervenors are skilled communicators able to support MSI children, young people, and adults to effectively communicate their needs and develop their skills.

Our team of Specialist Assessors are trained and qualified in accordance with the Care Act 2014 to assess (and review) the current and potential future needs of deafblind people in:

• Communication
• Mobility
• Emotional Wellbeing
• Social Interaction
• Rehabilitation
• Assistive Technology

With many years of sensory experience within our team we offer a deep understanding of deafblindness along with the required qualifications and skills to meet legislation.

If you have a personal assistant (PA) but would like them to receive some sensory training to be able to support your needs, we can help.

How does it work?

One of our team will contact you to discuss your needs and then arrange to visit you / the customer to complete the necessary paperwork.

The service is available five days a week Monday – Friday and usual hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm, however we are flexible and will tailor our support where possible to allow for early or late appointments or events and weekend activities too.

Bookings can be made for a minimum of one hour up to a full day.