Health and science

Vision rehabilitation specialist

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Empower people with visual impairments to lead independent and fulfilling lives.

Summary

This occupation is found in the statutory, voluntary and private care sector including NHS trusts and local authorities. This could include adult social services sensory teams and early intervention teams. An employee in this occupation will work both indoors and outdoors in numerous environments including individuals' homes, places of work, care homes, shops and travelling on public transport to support individuals with vision impairment and deafblindness.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to support, train and coach vision impaired and deafblind individuals to lead independent and fulfilling lives. They will plan, implement, evaluate and review rehabilitative services for vision impaired and deafblind individuals to maximise and maintain their independence, safety, dignity and choice. They will conduct assessments and provide person-centred training and coaching for vision impaired and deafblind individuals to support their mobility, orientation, communication skills and independent living. They will understand the psychological aspects of sight loss and provide emotional support as part of the rehabilitation process to the individual, their family and carers to help them to positively adjust to living with vision impairment and deafblindness. They will be responsive to an individual's unique and complex situation and formulate and deliver a bespoke plan of action in a variety of settings. A vision rehabilitation specialist will support, design and influence the development of services, acting as an advocate to promote accessibility and equality for vision impaired and deafblind individuals. They will also provide information, guidance and support and make referrals to support agencies where needed. They support adults who have acquired or have congenital vision impairment to live independently. They help them access support and adapt new skills with mobility, life skills in the home, including personal care, communication skills, use of technology, housing, finance and social activities which are important to the individual. They support them to develop and maintain the independence and confidence they need to progress through life in the home, at work, socially or in higher or further education. This includes delivering training, support and coaching to develop the life skills needed to live independently, communicate effectively, travel safely and to build and maintain relationships.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with individuals, families and groups to provide recommendations in very specific and unique situations. They will work with multi-disciplinary teams, employers, welfare and employment services, care providers and the voluntary sector. They will also interact with primary and secondary care, public health services and ophthalmology, optometry practices and GP practices. Individuals with vision impairment and deafblindness may have a number of complex and additional needs that require bespoke interventions to provide a person-centred approach. An employee in this occupation will be subject to supervision and support, however on a daily basis they will work independently and act autonomously, making decisions based on their own assessment and professional judgement.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for conducting specialist assessments such as sensory, risk and safety adaptations and functional vision assessments to determine the most appropriate intervention to meet the individual's needs. They will design, plan, execute and evaluate a programme of interventions exercising autonomy with their judgement. They will be responsible for delivering training, providing specialist advice and making referrals to other organisations. They will also conduct environmental audits to support accessible and inclusive environments. An employee in this occupation would be responsible for keeping their knowledge and skills up to date which would include advances in specialist equipment, technologies and medical advances in the context of vision impairment and deafblindness. 

Typical job titles include

Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)

• Knowledge
• Skills
• Behaviours