Guide Dogs are offering free development sessions to young children with visual impairments

Hampshire families with children affected by sight loss are being encouraged to take part in a free Guide Dogs ‘My time to play’, which are starting this October.

The sessions, which will start on October 31, are designed to support children’s development as well as aiming to have an early intervention for children with sight loss in a bid to have a positive impact on their future.

The sessions will also provide parents with an opportunity to network and find out more information surrounding their child’s diagnosis.

Julie Fairey, Support Services Manager at Guide Dogs, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to offer My Time to Play to children in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.

‘These sessions will help children with sight loss aged from birth to four years old, to develop a broad range of skills through play in a group setting, with each of the seven sessions based around a sensory story and including songs, movement, and related activities.’

The sessions will be held at Portsmouth Library and there will be five key development areas that will be focused on including concept development, sensory skills, fine and gross motor skills, self-help, and independence and communication skills.

There will be seven sessions in total, running every other week for two hours, with each session hosting a different theme, and two of the sessions will be held on Zoom.

Children will all receive an individual assessment, and families that are struggling to fund the travel to get to the sessions can go to the Guide Dogs website to see the complimentary funding available.