50 college staff receive awareness training from Society of the Blind
50 staff from Coleg Grŵp Llandrillo-Menai attended an awareness training course held at the college site at Parc Menai, Bangor this week.
The course leaders were Dafydd Eckley, senior rehabilitation officer, and Nick Thomas, development officer with the North Wales Society of the Blind.
The purpose of the course was to teach how to be more aware of the various sight loss conditions and the impact they have on each individual in different ways.
Dafydd provided statistics showing that there are 1.7 million people living with sight loss in the UK and 20,000 in Wales.
He explained the various conditions including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.
He spoke about the work of the recovery officer and the registration and referral process and the beneficial services offered by the Society including our resources centre on Stryd Fawr, Bangor.
Dafydd said that some people have described receiving a diagnosis of blindness or sight loss as an "emotional washing machine."
Nick Thomas described his journey of vision loss and his diagnosis aged 19 - when his main interests were sports and driving cars.
He said: "My sight was deteriorating."
Nick was diagnosed with Stargardt macular dystrophy - a type of macular degeneration.
Nick said that sports helped him deal with his situation.
"That and the support I received from Dafydd and other members of the Society’s rehabilitation team – I didn’t know what was going to happen.
"Our positive message, our mantra is: ‘There is a life after losing sight.'"
Members of the course then wore special glasses to simulate the different conditions before donning blindfolds and receiving advice on how to properly guide a blind person by giving clear descriptions of the obstacles and the environment around.
Everything ranging from the Society’s available resources were discussed including guide dogs and the latest in Rayban Meta smart glasses.
Everyone present agreed that they had learned a lot from the courses.
If you would like to book awareness training for your company, agency, authority or association, call us at 01248 353604 or admin@nwsb.org.uk or visit our resources centre at 325, Stryd Fawr, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 1YB.
Blind: Coleg Llandrillo Menai staff awareness training
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- Group of people sat behind desks being given a talk by two people
- Group of people sat behind desks being given a talk by a man stood up in front of them
- Group of people sat behind desks being given demonstration by a group of people
- A group of people in pairs with arms linked. One of the pair wearing an eye mask. Two women can be seen leading the group.
- Two pairs of people with arms linked. One of the pair wearing an eye mask.
- Four pairs of people with arms linked. One of the pair wearing an eye mask.
- A group of people in pairs with arms linked. One of the pair wearing an eye mask.