Training
Insight
Insight is an exciting new 6 week course that is being piloted in Torfaen and Newport. It is an informal course, run by Rehabilitation Workers, designed to give you information about equipment and services that are available in your area. Insight has run in different areas for many years and has proven to be a successful tool in supporting people who are newly experiencing sight loss. The support that you can receive from others in a similar situation is invaluable and quite often we pick up tips and tricks that we didn't know about!
Each week has a theme and enables you to gain information about services, techniques and equipment that you can try. There is also the chance for you to try different gadgets to see if they are suitable for you. Finally it provides the opportunity for you to speak to other people who are in a similar situation and to find out about how they overcome problems experienced during every day tasks.
The weekly courses cover registration and eye conditions, kitchen skills, daily living skills, keeping in touch, mobility and benefits, concessions and leisure activities. All of the information provided within these sessions is area specific and aims to provide you with as much relevant information as possible.
There are also speakers who attend some of the sessions. They will provide a short talk about the service that they offer and allow you to ask any questions that you may have. If you want them to, they may also take your details so that they can talk to you in more depth about your specific requirements.
At the end of the course you will be offered a home assessment from a Rehabilitation Worker. This is so that we can support you within your home and provide you with specific advice about areas that we could not do in a group setting, such as lighting.
To access the course you can be referred by a Rehabilitation Worker, GP, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist and your Consultant to name but a few. Alternatively you can refer yourself. If you don't live in either Newport or Torfaen we would still like to hear from you as it may be possible to extend these areas or to include you on another group. Please contact Emma Kirby on 01495 763650 for more details.
Braille Training
Despite lots of high-tech equipment, many people who struggle to read because of sight loss still find Braille to be useful. It's particularly good for labelling things - tins, records, cds and much more. It is also good for communicating things that you might prefer to keep private and most banks, building societies and other large organisations will happily provide Braille material for you if you ask.
Braille is based on a cell system: imagine a domino with six dots as the basic cell. Each alphabet letter is represented by a combination of those dots.
If you are a Gwent resident, we can teach you Braille if you want to learn. GAB believes that Braille users are the best Braille teachers, so you can be sure that the person teaching you knows what it's like to be visually impaired. We also loan you a Perkins Brailler for the duration of the training and will help you source a machine afterwards.
How do we teach Braille? We use a variety of methods and these will depend on how sensitive your fingers are, how easy you find it to remember the Braille alphabet and how willing you are to learn. We tend to start people off in small groups as it's much more enjoyable to learn in an environment where everyone is working together. However, we usually then progress on a one to one basis. We use various tools, games, books, audio cassette courses and lots of repetition and encouragement.
If you think you'd like to have a go, telephone GAB on 01495 763650 for further information.
Computer Training
We are offering the opportunity to enjoy hands-on experience of the various accessibility software programs available. These are designed for use by individuals with a visual impairment. The computer programs either read back what is displayed on the computer monitor, or enlarge it to a size that suits the user. Some of the programs do both. Whether you are an experienced computer user, a novice, or have never used one before, we are offering you the chance to learn more and develop your understanding. We operate a computer buddies scheme when we feel it will be of benefit, whereby an experienced computer user with a good knowledge of a particular accessibility software program will team-up with a client to help them through the process of finding their way around the software. We do not apply any pressure to learn beyond your requirements and aim to always support you in what you wish to achieve from the learning process.
We also offer informal workshops, for any clients who wish to attend, on the different accessibility technology that is available; offering practical experience using the equipment to assess for themselves how useful they feel it would be.
None of these sessions follow a set plan, but develop along with the individual's requirements; so do not think of it as a formal training course, more an opportunity to enjoy and share a learning experience in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Should you wish to find out more, or apply to attend a session, please telephone (01495) 763650 or