Deafblind

Around one in 200 people in Salford are deafblind - with both sight and hearing loss. Research by Sense shows that the numbers of deafblind people are likely to increase over the next few years.

As well as giving you information and advice about buying every-day living equipment and managing your sight and hearing loss, we can find out about how your are managing now and what you are finding very difficult. This is called an assessment.

What happens after the assessment?

If you are eligible for support, we may suggest some of our services:

Daily living equipment or assistive technology
Simple pieces of equipment such as liquid level indicators to help you pour drinks, talking clocks and screen magnifiers.

Mobility training
We will help you to plan the main, regular journeys you make, such as to the shops, to work, to a social group or health centre. We will plan the safest route and work out what landmarks are on the way, so that you know where you are. We will help you re-learn how to use public transport - for example, knowing when it is your bus stop. We will give you a cane and help you learn how to use it.

Daily living training
We can help you re-learn tasks such as cooking and cleaning and show you how to use some of the daily living equipment you may want.

Guide-Communicator support
The guide-communicator service can support you however you need. Some of the ways we can help you keep your independence are:

• supporting you to find out about and join groups you are interested in
• helping you to get your utility bills in a way you can understand
• coming to doctor's appointments with you, so that you don't miss your turn and can understand the doctor.

Longer term support

If you need longer term support, part of your assessment may be making a support plan which lists:

• changes you want to make to your life
• the goals you want to achieve
• what support will help you

We will use your support plan to help you decide the support you want. This could include equipment, help with every day tasks or help with finding work. It is up to you.

How much do services cost?

The services and equipment we provide such as mobility training, daily living training and the long-term loan of equipment are free.

If you need longer term support, you will have a personal budget. This is based on the amount of support you need. We work out how much we will pay towards your personal budget and how much you will have to pay based on your finances.

What other support is there?

We support and work with other health and social care organisations and voluntary groups including:

Deafness Support Network
Telephone: 0161 607 1499
Minicom: 0161 607 1490
Mobile (text only): 07970134894
Email: social.services@salford.gov.uk

Sense
Telephone: 0113 205 9500
Minicom: 0113 205 9502

Deafblind UK
Telephone: 01733 358 100
Minicom: 01733 358 858
Help line: 0800 132 320

This page was last updated on 4 January 2012