Specialized Services

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Specialized Services

 

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Image removed.Achieving long-term personal goals

 

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Our Specialized Services are all about achieving big independence goals. Whether someone wants to learn to be fully independent at home, to navigate the world with skill and confidence, or to be an assistive tech whiz, our Specialized Services are here to help them.

 

Delivered after an individual has completed their Primary Services[SS1] , these services support the needs of clients who require a greater number of visits to achieve their identified goals, and may include one or more of the following:

 

 

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Essential Skills for Daily Living

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Our certified specialists help clients build the skills they need to live safely and independently with vision loss. This may include helping clients to: 

  • Learn safe methods of pouring a cup of coffee, preparing a meal and using household appliances
  • Discover simple techniques for labelling medications, identifying money, using the phone, and organizing household items
  • Learn how to use large-print, braille and audio products, and adaptive technology as a part of day-to-day life
  • Find community programs, financial subsidies, and other helpful resources available in their local area  

 

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Travel and Mobility Instruction

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Learning to travel independently with vision loss is an essential skill. Our certified specialists can help clients learn how to:

  • Use the sighted guide technique (a comfortable way to walk with a sighted person) and use remaining vision and other senses to travel
  • Use a white cane and other mobility tools
  • Find and cross intersections
  • Ride public transit with confidence to reach community resources like the grocery store, bank or shopping mall
  • Navigate new environments like a workplace or school campus

 

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Early Intervention Services

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Low vision and blindness can limit a child's incidental learning and development. Our early interventionists work with children, families and community partners to address concerns and support success in the early years by:

  • Helping families understand their child's vision or blindness, and how it might affect their functional development
  • Helping families identify specialized services, information and materials that can support them, as well as facilitating opportunities for counselling and contact with other families
  • Addressing parents' concerns in a number of areas, including socialization, mobility, play skills, communication, literacy and sensory awareness
  • Supporting children and families with transitions into community activities, daycare, pre-school and school settings

 

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Image removed.Assistive Technology Services

 

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These services help clients discover a world of exciting technology products – from accessible audio book players, to video magnifiers, to computer screen readers and other items that can help make life with vision loss easier. Our certified specialists can:

  • Provide clients with an assessment and provide recommendations on assistive technologies that meet their specific needs
  • Show clients how to use their assistive technologies, to help make the process as easy as possible
  • Help clients get the tools they need for their workplaces or schooling
  • Help clients find out what financial supports they might be eligible to receive for the purchase of assistive products

 

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Specialized Services are delivered through a blended approach of in-person sessions with our specialists, as well as virtual sessions wherein the client and the specialist talk over the phone, or through an online platform like Zoom. These services conclude only when the client has achieved their goals, and they are welcome to come back for more Specialized Services at any point if their needs and goals change.