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In ChildVision, we work with children and young people from birth to 23 years of age with sight loss, but we also work with those who have a sight loss and additional disabilities, and those with two or more additional needs we refer to as multi-disabled visually impaired. We have a high population of MDVI children in our service, including deaf-blind and those on the ASD spectrum.
The Speech and Language Therapy team aims to support your child’s communication development. We focus on what your child CAN do and work from there. All assessment and therapy is unique to each individual child and their family.
There is no “one size fits all approach.” Our role is to support and develop a child’s understanding of language and to encourage their use of expressive language. This might include working on speech, sounds, gestures, body language, signs, using technology etc. Developing play, attention and listening and working with what your child enjoys-what motivates them-is vital!
Occupational Therapy at ChildVision works with you and your child or the young person to help them participate fully in all aspects of their daily life. It’s a personal journey for each young person, building on personal strengths and skills to set them up for the future as they grow and learn. Interventions might include sensory, physical, learning or interactive as the foundations for ‘doing’ in the everyday. OT sees the challenges some children with sight loss face in everyday life as an opportunity not yet created, and so we work to make everyday activities and environments more accessible and inclusive.
The Physiotherapy team will help develop your child’s physical development right from the time they are toddlers right through to their teenage years. We use fun, play based therapy to get the best results. Everyone has different hopes and goals for their child’s physical development and, for this reason, every child’s assessment and therapy is individual to them. We work as a team, with our colleagues right across campus in the classrooms and in our therapies to help develop a programme for your child or young person that can be practiced at home as well as in ChildVision. Everything we do is focused on the young people who spend their time with us. We want to maximise the child’s participation and enjoyment in class while having fun with movement.
How does a child with little or no vision manage to move around, walk, run and play like other children? It starts with encouraging your child to move their arms and legs, and explore the space around them. Our specially trained mobility teachers help them make those first moves and ultimately to learn to navigate their world successfully.
The Equine Assisted Activities provision at ChildVision provides one to one sessions for suitable students attending our education programmes. We also run ‘Horse Sense’, a program for children and adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorders run in the Equine Centre in ChildVision.
Using Equine Assisted Therapy, we have developed a program where children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders can benefit from caring for, being with, and engaging in specific therapy based activities with the horses. Equine Assisted Therapy involves the use of horses, and equine related activities to achieve therapeutic goals which will enhance physical, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioural and educational skills for people with disabilities.
The course runs during school terms and involves one hour a week. The children meet in the stables and the structured routine that they follow is:
Sensory preparation
The children carry out ‘heavy work’ in the yard, helping to prepare the horses for the session. They carry water and push wheelbarrows during this time
Horse riding
The children mount in the arena and then go on a trek to the magical tree and the sensory trail. The children engage in specific therapeutic activities during this section whilst on horseback
Grooming
On return to the stables the children engage in grooming with the horses. Individual goals for the children can be incorporated into this routine. There are up to 4 children in any group.
For further information or to reserve a place on this course please contact Maria on 01 837 3635 or email her on MariaColeman@childvision.ie
Music therapy for young people with Sight Loss sometimes unlocks a whole world of communication never accessed before, especially if those young people experience sensory difficulties too. Rhythm and repetition can be a communicative breakthrough for so many, and something shared as a group or on a one to one basis. The benefits of our music therapy programme at ChildVision have been extensive and growing each year as our student profile becomes more complex.
Our nurses on site mean that children with sight loss and complex needs can attend ChildVision for the specially designed education programmes we run to ensure that your child or young person can develop their particular talents to the best of their abilities and attend the schools adjacent to our campus, knowing that their medication needs are ensured throughout the day.
Our nurses are also available 24/7 for our term time residential living programme and available to answer any questions parents or guardians.
Our weekly Eye Clinic is run in association with Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, and is open to all children who attend ChildVision.
Our weekly Eye Clinic is run in association with Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, and is open to all children who attend ChildVision.
