Meet our panel of speakers who led this session:
- Emma Williams, Independent Living Skills Teacher from New College Worcester – Sharing strategies to promote independence at home.
- Carol Prescot, Rehabilitation Officer for Visual Impairment – Offering expert advice on movement, mobility, and safe navigation within the home.
- Abbie Reddington, LOOK Mentor with Lived Experience of VI – Providing personal insights and practical tips from a firsthand perspective.
The panel discussed practical ways to make your home more accessible for your VI child. Topics included simple changes to everyday spaces to improve accessibility, the best technology and assistive tools to support independence, and how lighting and contrast can make a big difference. We also explored how to tailor solutions to your child’s individual needs and share strategies to encourage independence at home.
How to Help Your Child Become More Independent with Self-Care.
In this video, Independent Living Skills Teacher Emma Williams shares her top tips for supporting your child to develop essential self-care skills.
From brushing teeth and hair care to showering, getting dressed, and managing periods, Emma offers practical advice to help your child build confidence and independence in their daily routine.
Resources
Below is a list of links to the resources mentioned in Emma’s video.
- Cleaning teeth:
- Toothpaste Pump
- Mouthwash
- Describe to the child what areas of the mouth need cleaning
- Showering:
- Identify the different products with hair bands
- Use a pump dispenser
- Towelling headband to prevent shampoo from getting in the eyes.
- Hair wraps to absorb water
- Hair Styling:
- Getting Dressed:
- Pen Friend label recorder
- Shaped buttons
- Hickies – Elastic laces
- Periods:
- Accessible Technology:
- Amazon Fire TV Stick – to control your TV using an Alexa smart speaker
- Sky Glass with accessibility settings
- VocalEyes: A Charity that provides audio descriptions of shows.
Home Modifications and Technology That Can Help.
In this video, LOOK mentor and Occupational Therapist Abbi shares how she and her family have made simple, practical changes to their home to make it more accessible.
From room layouts and adapting lighting, to using smart tech and navigation tools, Abbi offers real-life examples of how thoughtful adjustments can support independence both at home and when you’re out and about.
Resources
Below is a list of links to the resources mentioned in Abbi’s video.
- Bus App used to identify buses – BusTimes.org
- Be My Eyes
- Seeing AI
- Chat GPT app
- Smart speakers
- Smart bulbs
- Alexa games:
- The Magic Door: An interactive storytelling game where the child makes choices to explore a magical world.
- 20 Questions: A thinking game where Alexa asks yes/no questions to guess what the child is thinking of.
- Spelling Bee: Helps children practice their spelling by asking them to spell words out loud.
- Math Mania: A fun way to practice age-appropriate maths problems
- Audio Books:
Tools To Support Your Child’s Independence In The Kitchen.
In this video, Rehabilitation Officer Carol shares her go-to tools and strategies for supporting your child to safely and confidently navigate the kitchen on their own.
Resources
Below is a list of links to the resources mentioned in Carol’s video.
- Liquid level indicator
- One cup kettle
- Talking microwave
- Talking Scales
- Talking thermometer.
- Talking airfryer
- Bumpons
- Onion holder for slicing – Knife guide
- Soup Maker
Q&A
Our team of speakers answered questions from our parent/ carer community. These questions covered:
- Cooker recommendations
- Layout and organisation suggestions for bedrooms.
- Sewing tools
- Top Tips on supporting your child to butter toast independently.
We would like to say a huge thank you to our expert panel, Emma Williams, Carol Prescot and Abbie Reddington, and to the parents who joined this session. We look forward to seeing you at the next Parent Support Group panel event.
Join us online for our next Parent Support Group Panel Event on 30th June at 7pm.
In partnership with Retina UK, this session will focus on how to talk to your child about inherited progressive sight loss, offering guidance, support, and shared experiences from our expert panel of speakers.