Help is at hand for sensory loss

"You don't need to struggle on with sensory loss in silence - there are aids and people out there to help."

That's the message from Orkney Health and Care's sensory loss Rehabilitation Officer, Anne Donnelly.

Anne is the Visual Impairment, Hearing and Dual Sensory Worker for adults and children in the community with OHAC's Selbro Resource Centre - and is visually impaired herself.

Most local folk know Selbro provides equipment and aids to help people maintain their confidence and independence as they adjust to physical mobility loss. But they may not know Selbro offers free home visits for people with sight and hearing loss with Anne, a qualified rehabilitation officer. Anne can visit folks in their home, or nearby, and chat with them about what they want to be able to do and any specific problems they are having related to their sensory loss, assess their needs and develop action plans.

Anne is visually impaired since birth and understands the life-changing impacts of sensory loss. Anne is assisted in her work with the Council by her support worker, John Donnelly (John is her husband and is also a qualified rehabilitation officer), to enable her to use her experience and skills to provide sensory loss services in the community. (John’s role is funded by the UK Government’s Access to Work Scheme which is aimed at ensuring that anyone with a disability can be employed or remain in employment with specialist equipment or additional human support, as needed.)

"I have witnessed many times the grief, isolation and loss of self-confidence that can accompany sensory loss and of course have directly felt some of those impacts myself.

"For some people it can be a slow progressive loss that reaches a tipping point. For others it can be a sudden loss. Either way, people can find themselves overwhelmed and isolated.

"Our message is this - there are aids, adaptations and support which can help to make a huge difference in the life of people with a sensory loss.

"Many items of specialist equipment are free on a long term basis from Selbro. Where there is a cost we can direct people to funding, including schemes for those in financial hardship and help them through the process of applying."

Anne learned braille from the age of five, and at age 16 studied at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford - at that time the only college of Further Education for Visually Impaired students in the Commonwealth. She was nominated by the College for - and personally received from Prince Charles - the Prince of Wales award for outstanding commitment and capability in her studies.

It was while there she met a young lady called Fiona, who was adjusting to sudden and complete sight loss following surgery to remove a brain tumour. "Fiona went through several rounds of surgery and chemotherapy with so much courage and determination.

"Sadly during her fourth round of treatment Fiona passed away. However, her courage and determination inspired me so much, I promised myself, when the time was right, I would qualify to be able to work with people who were affected by sensory loss. To this day, Fiona remains my inspiration in helping others to maximise their independence, despite the onset of Sensory Impairment.”

Anne brings a wealth of professional experience to the role, including nine years with the RNIB (Royal National Institute of the Blind) as a braille tutor, and 13 years working in Councils as a rehabilitation officer.

"I have now worked in this field for over two decades - and with that comes a good understanding of the wide range of aids and technology available and the simple adjustments that can make such a huge difference to people, and equally importantly how to sensitively and positively help people assess their situation and take practical steps to regain confidence and independence.

"This includes supporting members of the community with wider needs to establish appropriate care packages of support.

"We'd urge anyone in the community who knows someone struggling with sensory changes, or who is perhaps struggling themselves, to take that first step - get in touch with us at the Selbro Resource centre for a chat."

Anne can be contacted at the Selbro Resource Centre on 01856 873535 ext 2668 or you can email Anne directly. Visits to Selbro Resource Centre are possible – by prior appointment only.

More about how Anne can help people with sight and/or hearing loss:

Anne's role is to promote and enable independence for people with sight and/or hearing loss. This includes working with people on daily living skills, and delivering Orientation and Mobility instruction - advising people with sensory impairments how to maintain awareness of their surroundings and move about safely.

Anne can also help with individual communication needs - from helping people with sight impairment to source larger print, to running Braille instruction and advising on assistive computer technology and Apps. For people with hearing loss, Anne can provide amplified doorbells with flashing indicators, amplified telephones with large buttons (also useful for the visually impaired), personal listening devices and radio aids.

Anne can also provide Sensory Awareness Training for professionals, and has been working to develop links with practitioners across the islands and with other Rehabilitation Officers in the North East of Scotland, including those in Education.