Guide Dogs More Than Dogs

With achieving independence the main goal, Guide Dogs’ range of services help to provide individualised solutions to meet the different and changing needs of people who are blind or have low vision.

…helping our clients to realise that they’re not alone in experiencing changes to their vision is important

When you enter the new Guide Dogs office in the Sydney suburb of St Leonards, you’re automatically aware that the space is unique.

Its open-plan layout is brimming with natural light that floods in through the large windows.

What you may not realise, at first glance, is just how purposefully designed every feature is.

From the changes in floor surface to indicate to a person they have moved from, say, the kitchen area to the desks, to the incorporation of structural pillars into curve-edged bench spaces to eliminate obstacles.

For people who are blind or have low vision, the office is highly accessible and easy to navigate. For dogs, it’s also a comfortable space to be, with plenty of nooks for sleeping.

The level of thought and care that has gone into the conscious design of the Guide Dogs office extends to the work the organisation does in supporting people living with low vision or blindness.

“It all starts with the intake team, who take all the information in to get an idea of what an individual’s primary goal is and what services they would really benefit from,” says Caroline Yan, Guide Dogs Area Manager and orthoptist, Sydney Metro North team.

These services include occupational therapy, orientation and mobility, access to information services delivered by orthoptists and assistive technology specialists, as well as other specialty areas, such as children’s mobility training, and neurological vision services.

Support even extends to providing information about NDIS funding and My Aged Care.

“People don’t come to Guide Dogs and sit in one department. They become a client and have access to all the services we offer,” said Ms Yan.

One such client is Karen McIntyre. Having lost her vision during the first COVID lockdown period in 2020, at the age of 51, Ms McIntyre’s day-to-day life changed dramatically.

“I was living in the Blue Mountains when I went legally blind, so I moved to Penrith because things were more accessible. I contacted Guide Dogs to ask them a question and they started to tell me about their other services,” Ms McIntyre told mivision.

Like most people, Ms McIntyre was unaware of the breadth of services Guide Dogs offers. Since becoming a client in November 2021, she has accessed all but two services on an ongoing basis.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Occupational therapists (OTs) provide essential assistance to clients to support their day-to-day activities. Whether this be around the house, at work, or out in the community, OTs help clients feel more confident and independent when it comes to activities such as cooking and meal preparation, household responsibilities, and recreational activities.

“Our OTs work very closely with clients to understand what they’re struggling with in their normal day-to-day life. Then everything is tailored to work for them,” said Ms Yan.

Whether it’s how to make a cup of tea without over-pouring, or the best way to identify products at the supermarket, the daily living services are extremely important to enhancing a client’s independence.

“Once you achieve one thing it makes a huge difference,” said Ms McIntyre. “And then Guide Dogs will always come back and say, ‘Great, you’ve done it! Let’s work on this now.’”

When mivision spoke to Ms McIntyre, her OT, Claire Grennall, was due to visit the following day. Ms McIntyre said that while her right eye still has a small amount of vision, her left side has none, and consequently, she is often spooked when people approach from her left.

“Claire is bringing around a device that she says may help me with this issue,” said Ms McIntyre.

“We’ll also be doing some stuff in the kitchen. It will be the first time I’ll be attempting to cook on a gas stove in nearly three years.”

While the OT services present very individualised solutions to meet specific needs, and many clients, including Ms McIntyre, value the one-on-one assistance, Guide Dogs also recognises that this approach doesn’t appeal to everyone.

“Our AT Connect program is for people who are not able to read print anymore, they’re having to move to assistive tech, they might be nervous, or sometimes older clients who are reluctant to move to the technology.

“We run AT Connect groups so these people can come along and not feel quite so embarrassed or alone. It’s about building confidence in an inclusive environment,” said Ms Yan.

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY

As with all the services offered by Guide Dogs, mobility and orientation support is ongoing. A main component of this service is to assist clients to navigate the places they frequent with confidence, ease, and safety.

For Ms McIntyre, Guide Dogs stepped in to help with her orientation and mobility when she first moved to Penrith and was unfamiliar with her local area.

“I got a new cane, and we did a test run on its length and the size of the balls and the different tips. We went out for an hour walk and worked out what it was like on certain surfaces and how I’d react to it.

“Now they follow my progress and, in six months’ time, if I need a refresher with cane training, I’ll just book in with the same person. You can easily ring up and say you’re a client and they’ll book you in,” said Ms McIntyre.

Ms Yan says that continued cane mobility training is important to ensure clients can easily adapt to changes in their surroundings and routine.

“If they move to become a Guide Dog Handler the training is also ongoing. The trainer will help the client navigate their areas – the local gym, coffee shop, office, and if they move homes, they go and help them again,” she said.

While a cane is an obstacle detector, a Guide Dog is an obstacle avoider. This is a difference Ms McIntyre learnt when, six months ago, she was paired with Sophie, her Guide Dog. With the arrival of Sophie, Ms McIntyre has been able to access Guide Dog mobility services, where an instructor helps her train with Sophie and learn the skills and strategies to care for her.

Within Guide Dogs’ orientation and mobility service, there are also sub-specialties, with instructors specialising in neurological vision services and in early childhood services.

“Our early childhood service involves working with the family, childhood centre, or school, going in and making sure there are no obstacles in place and that accessibility is good, ensuring that the teachers or support staff are aware of the child’s vision needs, and what they can be doing to help with their development and learning,” said Ms Yan.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

When it comes to assistive technology for people who are blind or have low vision, it’s important to set each individual up with technology they’ll use, benefit from, and feel confident incorporating into their day-to-day life.

That’s when the assistive technology team comes into the picture. Guide Dogs provides clients with information about technology solutions and specific products, or step-by-step advice on how to use their existing technology, all over the phone.

Ms McIntyre uses assistive technology in almost every aspect of her day. From the very simple, yet very effective, tactile dots she sticks to surfaces around her home, to the more high-tech OrCam, a device which can sit on the side of her glasses, or around her neck, for using to read street signs or menus.

Even her computer is set up to meet her vision requirements, and her kitchen is well equipped with appliances designed to make cooking safe and easy.

Abby Jayasuriya is an Assistive Technology Specialist with Guide Dogs. During lockdown, when Ms McIntyre was first introduced to assistive technology, Ms Jayasuriya provided guidance over the phone.

“She gave me advice on a few phone apps that would be useful. There’s always follow-up and they ask if you want an extra one or two lessons and then they’ll check in too. Abby also put it all in an email for me so I could go back and refresh my knowledge,” said Ms McIntyre.

As a member of the Penrith City Council Accessibility Committee, Ms McIntyre is responsible for giving advice on how to solve accessibility issues in her local community.

This involves providing feedback on things such as upgrading tactile surfaces, wheelchair accessibility, and the contrasting on new building projects.

To assist her at these meetings, Ms McIntyre uses her portable Open Book, which works to scan hard copy documents then convert text to audio. Without such technology, she said she would be limited in her ability to fulfil such an important role, a commitment she also says gets her out and about and active in the community.

SOCIAL CONNECTION

Guide Dogs also has a strong focus on fostering social connections between clients, by hosting events and providing an online network – CatchUp – for people to connect.

“We’re often planning social themed events for our clients to be involved in. It’s about increasing accessibility but also providing an opportunity,” said Ms Yan.

Recently, for White Cane Day, Guide Dogs hosted a paint and sip event, and Ms Yan was also involved in a trip to the Art Gallery of NSW for an audio-described tour of the Archibald exhibition.

With the philanthropic support of The Bagnall Education Foundation, Guide Dogs also runs camps for school-aged clients, the most recent of which involved a range of group activities, including abseiling.

“The last camp built a lot of social connections and encouraged the kids to have ongoing relations with each other.

The social impact is something that we are very conscious of, so helping to break down the barriers and helping our clients to realise that they’re not alone in experiencing changes to their vision is important,” said Ms Yan.

FUNDING

Guide Dogs is philanthropically funded and is also a registered National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and My Aged Care provider. This means clients can access services through their NDIS or My Aged Care funding, or if they don’t have access to external funding, Guide Dogs can assist with philanthropic support.

“A lot of equipment can be funded through NDIS or My Aged Care, but if an application is unsuccessful, or the person is still in the process of applying, and our team think they  could really benefit from certain technology, we will seek philanthropic support,” said Ms Yan.

When Ms McIntyre was applying for NDIS funding for her OrCam, Ms Jayasuriya and her orthoptist worked together to handle the paperwork.

“Some technology is expensive, but the staff will always look at your budget and recommend what would work best within a client’s price range,” said Ms McIntyre.

INTEGRATED SUPPORT

Importantly, the support offered by Guide Dogs is not accessed as stand-alone services.

Each area is closely integrated to ensure an efficient and streamlined approach to managing each client’s needs.

For example, Ms Yan explained that, “if a client is working with an orientation and mobility specialist and they disclose that their vision has dropped and their magnifier is no good anymore, they will be referred back to the orthoptist who can reassess their vision”.

From a client perspective, this streamlined approach is invaluable.

“It makes a huge difference knowing everything is handled within one organisation,” said Ms McIntyre.

“All the staff communicate with each other and work together to come up with multiple different solutions.

“What I’ve found that is really helpful with Guide Dogs, is the staff sit and listen and work out what’s best for your needs. They ask you what you want and what you feel you can do, and what your limits are, and then they recommend technology and encourage you to try different things.

“They want you to get involved in the community, they want you to get out there and be active.

In the last year I’ve had basically all of their services and I couldn’t be happier,” said Ms McIntyre.

Whether referred by their optometrist, or making their own enquiry, anyone in Australia living with blindness or low vision can become a Guide Dogs client. A helping hand can make a world of difference!