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Basic Sensory Impairment Awareness - a resource

Contents …
i. Background to this resource
1. What is sensory impairment?
Causes of sensory impairment
Recognising sensory impairment
2. Visual impairment
What does it mean?
Statistics
Maximising communication and access
3. Deafness/hearing impairment
What does it mean?
Statistics
Maximising communication and access
Hearing aids – benefits and limitations
4. Deafblindness/Dual sensory loss
What does it mean?
Statistics
Maximising communication and access
5. Practical communication
Fingerspelling
Points for good communication
Guiding awareness
Communication support services
6. Useful contacts and resources

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Basic Sensory Impairment Awareness - a resource

i. Background
Basic Sensory Impairment Training for NHSScotland Frontline Staff
In 2009 NHS Education for Scotland commissioned Commtacs Training and Development to develop and deliver basic sensory impairment awareness training
to receptionists, administrative and frontline staff across the NHS in Scotland.
The main tasks were:
• improve understanding and raise awareness of issues relating to
visual impairment with solutions to enable people to manage their daily
lives and remain independent
• provide introductory-level knowledge and understanding about deafness
and introduce basic skills that can be used to assist communication
between hearing impaired and hearing people.
• provide introductory-level knowledge and understanding about
deafblindness and introduce basic skills that can be used to assist
communication between deafblind and hearing people
In 2009/10 and 2010/11 over 500 receptionists, administrative and frontline staff
across NHSScotland took part in training sessions delivered in each Board area.
The training was very successful and places were oversubscribed indicating a
continuing need for this training. In order to meet this need and sustain the
existing training, the training materials have been adapted to produce this stand
alone web...