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.
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Duty 1 Assess and evaluate the needs of vision impaired and deafblind individuals and make person-centred recommendations for interventions, equipment and technologies. |
K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K10 K11 K12 K17 K18 |
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Duty 2 Plan and deliver programmes of daily living skills training to vision impaired and deafblind individuals, including equipment and technologies. |
K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K13 K15 K16 K17 |
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Duty 3 Plan and deliver programmes of training to vision impaired and deafblind individuals to support independence in indoor and outdoor mobility environments, including equipment and technologies. |
K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11 K13 K15 K17 |
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Duty 4 Plan and deliver programmes of communication training to vision impaired and deafblind individuals, including equipment and technologies. |
K1 K2 K6 K8 K9 K11 K13 K14 K15 K16 K20 |
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Duty 5 Plan and deliver programmes of low vision training to vision impaired and deafblind individuals, including equipment and technologies. |
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Duty 6 Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams, stakeholders and family networks to support vision impaired and deafblind individuals, to include referrals and signposting. |
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Duty 7 Provide specialist information and advice on visual impairment and act as an advocate on behalf of vision impaired and deafblind individuals. |
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Duty 8 Manage and prioritise a caseload, store and share records in line with organisational procedures and general data protection regulation. |
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Duty 9 Assess and evaluate the needs of vision impaired and deafblind adults and deliver bespoke rehabilitation interventions. |
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Duty 10 Keep up to date with advances in legislation, specialist equipment and techniques, technologies, innovation and developments, in the context of vision impairment and deafblindness and maintain personal and professional development. |
K1: Anatomy, epidemiology, causes and impact of vision impairment.
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K2: Principles of the social and psychological impact, medical diagnosis and or disability and the impact of vision impairment.
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K3: Functional vision assessments and strategies to maximise the use of vision.
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K4: Principles of risk assessments to ensure activities are carried out safely.
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K5: Principles of developing environmental access audits to understand the impact of the wider built environment for individuals with vision impairment.
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K6: Learning styles and the relationship between teaching, coaching and mentoring.
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K7: Scope of own practice, professional boundaries and how to escalate or refer to appropriate individuals.
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K8: Person-centred strategies and interventions.
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K9: Principles and practice of teaching independent life skills.
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K10: Types of environmental adaptations to support individuals with vision impairment.
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K11: Types of communication methods and styles used by individuals with vision impairment.
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K12: Record keeping, legal policy and procedural requirements and data protection obligations.
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K13: Processes and techniques to manage and prioritise caseloads.
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K14: Referral services available to support individuals with vision impairment; social care, health, employment, welfare and education services.
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K15: Assistive devices, mobility aids, specialist equipment and resources available to support individuals with vision impairment in independent living.
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K16: Types of assistive technologies and telecommunications to support individuals with vision impairment and the suitability, benefits and disadvantage considerations in relation to differing learner requirements.
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K17: Duty of care, safeguarding and protection principles and the signs of neglect, harm and abuse and how to reduce the chances of them occurring.
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K18: Principles of consent and actions to take if consent cannot be obtained or is withdrawn.
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K19: Impact of acquired deafblindness.
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K20: How to teach grade one Braille to individuals with vision impairment.
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K21: Principles for assessing individuals with vision impairment.
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K22: The inter-relation between aging and vision impairment.
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K23: Orientation and mobility training for individuals with vision impairment to travel safely indoors and outdoors.
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K24: Types of mental health issues and cognitive impairment experienced by individuals with vision impairment and how to refer to appropriate services.
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K25: Legislation, policies, standards, local ways of working and codes of practice within adult social care.
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K26: Appraisal techniques and the use of reflection and CPD to develop own practice.
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S1: Identify an individuals vision impairment and the impact on daily life and wellbeing.
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S2: Provide person-centred interventions that meet individuals social, psychological, physical or disability needs.
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S3: Undertake function vision assessments to maximise any remaining vision and teach low vision strategies.
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S4: Conduct health and safety risk assessments.
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S5: Conduct environmental access audits.
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S6: Adapt delivery method to meet the learning style of the individual.
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S7: Work within the scope of practice and professional boundaries and refer or escalate to appropriate individuals when needed.
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S8: Identify and develop intervention strategies to support individuals with vision impairment.
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S9: Teach independent life skills relevant to individuals with vision impairment.
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S10: Make recommendations of environmental adaptations required by individuals with vision impairment.
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S11: Select appropriate communication methods and adapt to the individuals needs and preferred format including braille, deafblind manual, block alphabet, audio equipment and other low vision aids and strategies.
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S12: Maintain records in accordance with legal, policy and procedural requirements.
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S13: Manage and prioritise caseload.
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S14: Identify referral pathways suitable for individuals with vision impairment.
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S15: Source and teach the use of assistive devices, mobility aids and specialist equipment and utilise existing resources to promote safe and sustainable independent living skills.
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S16: Teach the use of assistive technologies and telecommunications to meet individuals needs.
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S17: Work in partnership with stakeholders to maintain the principles of a duty of care, safeguarding and protection.
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S18: Obtain consent from individuals or escalate when consent is not available.
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S19: Identify an individual with vision impairment acquired deafblindness and impact on daily life and wellbeing.
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S20: Teach Braille to grade one to individuals with vision impairment.
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S21: Conduct a person-centred assessment of individuals with vision impairment.
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S22: Recognise the inter-relation between aging and vision impairment.
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S23: Provide orientation and mobility training to individuals with vision impairment using appropriate techniques and equipment; pre-cane skills, sensory travel skills, cane skills, cognitive mapping, route-planning techniques, use of public transport and the use of technology to promote independence to travel safely indoors and outdoors.
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S24: Recognise mental health issues and or cognitive impairment in individuals with vision impairment and know when to refer to appropriate services.
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S25: Interpret legislation, policies, standards and codes of conduct of practice for adult social care.
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S26: Participate in appraisal, training and development activities, gain feedback, reflect and evaluate the impact of learning on own practice.
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B1: Treat people with dignity.
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B2: Show respect and empathy.
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B3: Be adaptable, reliable and consistent.
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B4: Act in a professional and ethical manner, embracing equality, diversity and inclusivity.
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B5: Be resilient under pressure.
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English and maths qualifications must be completed in line with the apprenticeship funding rules.
This standard aligns with the following professional recognition:
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