Habilitation (Mobility

1
Habilitation (Mobility Independent Living
Skills) research project
2
What is Habilitation training?

• Habilitation training includes the teaching of
  early movement skills sensory, spatial and body
  concepts cane training, route learning and
  independent living skills and can significantly
  help a child or young person with a vision
  impairment to develop the necessary skills to get
  around and care for themselves safely and
  independently.

3
What is Habilitation training? cont.

• However, habilitation training is not currently
  available for all children and young people in
  the UK.
• Guide Dogs and Blind Children UK fervently
  believe that all children and young people with
  sight loss in the UK should have access to
  habilitation training that adheres to the
  Habilitation Quality Standards as and when they
  need it be it, in school, the home or the
  community.

4
Habilitation research

• In 2013, we scoped two projects to explore the
  accessibility and quality of current habilitation
  provision for CYPVI in the UK
• Case studies work of habilitation provision in
  local authorities for each of the four UK
  countries, and to benchmark the provision against
  the Habilitation Quality Standards.
• Survey work to ask CYPVI and young adults, and
  parents of CYPVI what they requireed from
  habilitation training, and to consult them on
  their past and present experiences of
  habilitation training.
•  

5
Habilitation research Case studies

• Firstly, we commissioned Dr Clare Thetford and
  team from the University of Liverpool to carry
  out a qualitative exploratory study in relation
  to Habilitation services for CYPVI in the UK.
•  12 detailed case studies were carried out as
  examples of current practice across the UK in the
  provision of habilitation services to CYPVI aged
  0 to 18 years, and benchmarked against the
  Quality Standards in the Delivery of Habilitation
  Training (Quality Standards) (Miller et al.,
  2011).
• This project was completed in September, 2014. 

6
Habilitation research Survey work

• Secondly, we are currently undertaking an
  in-house research project involving CYPVI aged 12
  to 25 years, and parents of CPVI aged 1 year to
  18 years.
• We wish to obtain CYPVI first-hand experiences
  of habilitation training along with the
  experiences and perspectives of parents/guardians
  of CYPVI.
• Our project involves CYPVI taking part in a 30
  minute telephone interview or completing an
  online survey, as well as parents/guardians
  completing a separate online survey.
• Our project sample is made up of the service
  users of Blind Children UK, which amounts to
  almost 4,000 CYPVI and their families.
•  

7
Habilitation research Case studies

• The objectives of this study were to identify and
  explore
• (i) notions of quality and what can be achieved
  when recommended standards are met
• (ii) whether and how providers have achieved all
  or some of the learning outcomes in the Quality
  Standards
• (iii) the problems that CYPVI and their parents
  continue to face in accessing habiltation
  services
• (iv) issues faced by professionals working in
  this field in delivering habilitation services to
  CYPVI.
•  

8
Habilitation research Case studies

• Notions of quality and key factors in effective
  habilitation services
• An underlying ethos of holistic service
  provision, tailored to the individual and their
  family.
• Flexible services, provided in a wide range of
  environments and during school holidays and
  outside school hours which facilitated
  accessibility.
• Effective communication and a collaborative
  approach between the range of professionals
  involved in the delivery of habilitation,
  providing integrated services.

9
Habilitation research Case studies

• Notions of quality and key factors in effective
  habilitation services, cont
• Positive communication and engagement with
  parents.
• Staff delivering habilitation were suitablly
  qualified and experienced.
• In addition to specific features of the services,
  a range of contextual factors common to services
  where service users reported high levels of
  satisfaction and service providers reported
  comprehensive provision.
•  

10
Habilitation research Case studies
The main implications of the findings There
is a lack of clarity surrounding exactly what
habilitation is whether it is a form of
education, or a social service. The lack of
clarity of exactly what it is and who is
responsible for delivering its various components
it is at the heart of the problems of
responsibilities for funding and delivery. The
provision of habilitation services within the UK
is highly variable this variation appears to be
due to local level decision making and models of
service delivery.
11
Habilitation research Case studies
The main implications of the findings.
cont Whilst there are examples of excellent
practice, CYPVI and their families continue to
experience considerable difficulties accessing
the habilitiation services they believe they need
within the UK.
12
Habilitation research

• Research outcomes
• To inform Guide Dogs CYPVI service provision.
• To inform the UK Vision Strategy Childrens
  group.
• To provide some of the evidence for a good
  practice guidance document about effective local
  habilitation provision for CYPVI and their
  families. (The National Sensory Impaired
  Partnership (NatSIP) and Guide Dogs).