Specialist Services for Children and Young People

We know there are times in your child or young person’s life when they may need more support, such as understanding a diagnosis, developing play, supporting communication, accessing education or taking part in social activities.

We also know the value and importance of families coming together, sharing ideas and experiences, and forging friendships.

About our specialist team

Our Sense Specialist Services for Children and Young People are provided by a team of specialist teachers of multi-sensory impairment (QTMSI) and MSI practitioners with a wide range of skills and experience working with children and young people who are deafblind/multi-sensory impaired.

Who do we support?

We offer specialist, individualised support for children and young people who are:

• deafblind/multi-sensory impaired.
• those who have medical conditions that are likely to cause combined vision and hearing loss as they grow older, for example, Usher syndrome.

We also offer some support to children, young people, and their families who have either a vision or hearing impairment combined with additional needs.

Learn more about the people we support and the different conditions most relevant to Sense, including deafblindness.

We don’t provide a diagnosis, but if you have concerns about your child’s vision and hearing, please do get in touch.

What support do we offer?

When a child or young person is referred to our service who is deafblind/multisensory impaired or who has a single sensory impairment (vision or hearing) and an additional need we will provide our core offer of support which includes:

• Access to pre-school groups (at one of our centres or virtually)
• Access to family events and groups (we run face to face and virtual activities)
• Access to a closed Facebook community to access support, develop connections and to share experiences
• A twice-yearly newsletter
• Advice, information and signposting.
• Access to Parent wellbeing sessions (virtual group sessions)

Children and young people who are deafblind/multisensory impaired can also receive additional individualised support from the team who are specialists in supporting children and young people who are deafblind/multisensory impaired. This support may include:

• Individualised information and advice from a named practitioner within our team.
• 1:1 support in the early years to support you and your child to develop play and communication strategies, to identify motivating activities and resources to promote play and interaction and to support your child to make sense of the world around them, using any residual vision and hearing they have as well as their other senses such as touch. These sessions may take place in your home, where you and your child are most comfortable.
• 1:1 support and assessment to identify your child’s needs and to advocate for their individual, unique needs
• Access to 1:1 virtual support when face to face support is not possible due to distance and health constraints
• Joint working with other professionals to support your child in all areas of their development
• Support with the Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) process. This may include attending educational meetings, joint working with professionals and provision of specialist advice to support access to appropriate learning environments for your child.
• Support at hospital appointments and health clinics. This includes support to access appointments, liaison with health professionals and specialist advice regarding your child’s multi-sensory impairment.
• Supporting letters and reports to help navigate the education, social care and health systems.
• Reports to help identify your child’s multi-sensory impairment to ensure they receive the specialist support they need.
• Holistic assessments to highlight your child’s individual strengths and identify the best way to support them to develop.
• Advice and support as your child transitions into adulthood.
• Signposting to specialist assessments, where appropriate.

Do get in touch with us if you would like to talk to a member of the team to see how we can support your child and family.

Are you a professional working with a child who is deafblind?

The incidence of deafblindness/multi-sensory impairment is low compared to other disabilities. We understand some professionals may have limited experience of supporting individuals with MSI and may have questions when supporting them.

We work in close partnership with professionals when supporting children and young people so that, together, we can provide a consistent, person-centred approach.