Children's Services
Vision Australia provides training and resources for families to help children who are blind or vision impaired to increase their choices and reach their full potential in life.
Through our services we aim to facilitate each child's development, access to education and independence, from birth to school leaving age.
Our specialist staff work with children and their families to develop programs that are tailored to individual needs in a sensitive and timely manner - whether the child was born with a vision impairment or their sight was affected later in life.
With Vision Australia’s support Danijela started school with confidence.
On this page:
Support for Every Child
Our range of services is designed to support children and their families during different stages of each child's life, focusing on learning, playing and daily living.
A team of therapists, educators, and counsellors assesses the degree to which vision impairment is affecting each child's development. The team can then work in partnership with the family to find the best ways to meet the child's individual needs.
Vision Australia supports children and their families by offering:
- Vision assessment and information
- Braille learning programs for children and their carers
- Advice about toys, books and equipment to suit each child's level of vision
- Life-skills programs such as independence skills, leisure, social interaction and sexuality
- Assistance with inclusion into community leisure and peer groups, childcare centres and preschools
- Assessment and training in keyboarding, specialist computer programs and adaptive technology for use at home and at school.
- Feelix Braille book library
Support Before Starting School
Vision Australia supports families and children from birth to school entry age, offering advice on a range of aspects including daily living skills such as dressing and eating with cutlery. Parent groups also meet regularly.
Support During a Child's School Years
We assist teachers in the students school to ensure they have access to the curriculum. As well as support academic skills we also offer specialiast skills programs in areas such as adaptive technology and independence skills.