Vision UK publishes Starting Point leaflet

Vision UK has published a new resource that aims to support parents and families of children who are newly diagnosed with a vision impairment.

The revamped Starting Point leaflet was launched at the British & Irish Paediatric Ophthalmology & Strabisimus Association conference in Edinburgh last week.

The resource, which was originally introduced in 2016, is designed to be given to families by clinicians at the point of diagnosis to help signpost parents to appropriate resources and professionals.

The revamped leaflet now includes weblinks to online information such as the Sight Advice FAQ, a website that pulls together useful information from across the sight loss sector and features the answers to frequently asked questions by people with visual impairment.

The organisations that form Vision UK, which includes the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), SeeAbility and many others, collaborated to reproduce the resource.

Assistant UK lead for children, young people and families at the RNIB, Sarah Holton, explained: “Starting Point is a vital resource that clinicians can give to affected families at the critical point of diagnosis, so that they can read through it in their own time and better understand crucial aspects of their child’s care and development. It’s especially important that parents understand where they can go for further support and how crucial early-intervention in sensory impairment can be in improving outcomes for their child.”

The Starting Point leaflet can be downloaded from Vision UK’s website.