Sight Loss
Effective communication with volunteers with visual impairments is one of the key issues for a good volunteer experience. It is important for you to understand how you can support a volunteer with a visual impairment.
Top Tips
Speak first and introduce yourself.
In a group situation, introduce the other people present.
Look at the volunteer during the conversation and adopt the same level of position as the volunteer, i.e. sitting or standing.
Use normal language and include words like ‘look’, ‘see’, ‘read’, remembering that blind and visually impaired people have exactly the same vocabulary as sighted people.
Explain noises and silences and do not shout.
Talk directly to them and not through a third party.
Always check first if help is needed.
Be precise if giving instructions – giving directions by pointing and saying, ‘it is down there’, is not of much help and is thoughtless.
If a volunteer is accompanied by a guide dog, the animal must never be distracted. Do not pet a dog guide while it is ‘on duty’.
Let them know when you are leaving.
If you are going to guide a volunteer, let them take your arm. Don’t grab theirs.
Mention any potential hazards that lie ahead and say where they are; watch out for things at head height.
When approaching kerbs or steps, say if they rise or descend as you approach them.
Explain changes in ground surfaces, pointing out uneven ground.
If you are guiding someone into a seat, place their hand on the back of the seat before they sit down, so they can orientate themselves.
Recruitment
You may wish to consider outreach into the disability community to let potential volunteers know about the opportunities in your organisation and that you would welcome their participation. The best way to recruit visually impaired volunteers is to go to educational institutions, organisations or institutions working with people with visual impairments. You can also approach them directly, reaching out to potential volunteers and organisations working with visually impaired people.
Scenario
Background: The volunteer Janet has complex comorbid physical health conditions in addition to sight loss and is registered blind. She has an assistance dog to help her navigate the world outside of her home. Janet has volunteered for the charity since her retirement from general nursing due to ill health many years ago.
Volunteer Role: Community Visitor & Carers Respite Sitter.
Volunteer Recruitment: Janet was recruited many years ago and at the time all written information was issued to her in a very large font format using A3 paper and verbal explanations and guidance.
Support provided to the Volunteer: The charity enables Janet to travel to her placements on a weekly basis by whatever mode is suitable to her situation each time. At times and if the timings are advantageous to her, she likes to take the bus from where she lives, escorted by her assistance dog. Other times she uses the community car scheme run by the charity she volunteers for, travelling with a driver who is happy to transport her guide dog. This volunteer has two placements, one as a carers respite sitter for an elderly lady with dementia and her son as a carer; the other as a community visitor to a gentleman who uses a wheelchair and with cognitive impairment following an acquired brain injury sustained over thirty years ago.
Impact:
The person-centred approach means we have always offered Janet placement opportunities in just the same way as we do to someone without her limitations, respecting and believing her own assessment of her abilities to carry out the roles.
Provided the clients are comfortable with having a guide dog in addition to the volunteer visiting, all placements she has been involved with are very successful.
In addition, Janet's guide dog is additional bonus for clients who love dogs but are not in a position to care for one themselves. Whilst not a registered ‘PetsAsTherapy’ dog, she provides additional comfort and care, instinctively knowing which side to sit when the client has only use of one arm to stroke and pat for example.
This has enabled Janet to continue her volunteering caring role for many years after ceasing her professional nursing role.