World Sight Day 2007 - 11 October

 

 

 

'Our Vision for Children'

 

 

Background

The Australian Blindness Forum (ABF) was first formed as an unincorporated body in 1992. In 2007, it was registered as an Australian public company limited by guarantee, funded only by its members and governed by a board of directors.

 

The ABF is a partnership of organisations of and for the blind.

 

Through their low vision and rehabilitation services, members of the Australian Blindness Forum provide services to help children and young people with vision loss lead full and active lives.

 

 

ABF MESSAGES FOR WORLD SIGHT DAY 2007

 

Maximum independence and integration

The Australian Blindness Forum has the goal of achieving maximum independence and integration of people who are blind or vision impaired in the Australian community.

 

Systematic development of essential skills throughout the growing years at home, at school and in the community

Vision loss is a critical issue for Australia’s children and young people and their families. More than 660,000 Australian school-aged children are estimated to have some form of undetected vision defect. Early diagnosis is essential for immediate treatment or ongoing assessment or to enable essential decisions about support and education to be made.

 

Unlike those with sight, children and young people with vision loss are unable to learn lifeskills through observation and incidental learning; they must be taught in a systematic and sequential manner at critical developmental stages of life.

 

Children and young people who are blind or vision impaired must be assisted to systematically develop skills essential for their life at home, at school and in the community, throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence. Failure to do this leaves them at high risk of leading lonely, isolated, unproductive lives.

 

Vision 2020 Australia, in conjunction with the Australian Blindness Forum, has called for a National Vision Loss Rehabilitation Strategy that will assist with the future development of services to people who are blind or have low vision. For more information, go to http://www.vision2020australia.org.au/home.htm.

 

Implementation of the National Unified Lifeskills Model (NULM)

The NULM, endorsed by the Australian Blindness Forum, is a coherent and centralised framework for families, educators, therapists and service providers to maximise the independence and potential of every child or young person with vision loss.

 

It will provide families with essential information about the skills and attitudes that a child who is blind or vision impaired needs to develop throughout childhood and adolescence.

 

The NULM will be launched in Adelaide on 13 and 14 October at a National Parent Summit, hosted by the Australian Association for Parents of Vision Impaired Children. For more information, go to http://www.nulm.org.

 

August 2007

Contact:
Margaret Verick
Project Officer (Australian Blindness Forum)
Phone 02 6283 3214
Email margaret.verick@nds.org.au