New free learning and play sessions from Guide Dogs launch in Burnley to support children with sight loss
Lancashire families with children affected by sight loss are being invited to take part in free Guide Dogs ‘My Time to Play’ habilitation sessions starting in October, designed to support their development.
My Time to Play is a free service run by sight loss charity Guide Dogs, aiming to provide early intervention with very young children with sight loss that can have a positive lifetime impact, as well as provide information, support, and networking opportunities for parents.
The sessions, which will run fortnightly from Thursday 9 October at the Tay Street Family Hub in Burnley, will be run by Guide Dogs’ expert team of habilitation specialists and will focus on five key areas of the children’s development: Concept development; sensory skills; fine and gross motor skills; self-help; and independence and communication skills.
Jenny Hampson, Habilitation Specialist at Guide Dogs, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer My Time to Play to children in Burnley 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 six sessions based around a sensory story and including songs, movement, and related activities.”
There will be six sessions in total, running every other week for two hours, each with a different theme and an assessment of each individual child.
One family said Guide Dogs’ My Time To Play sessions have supported her and her daughter. She said: “The My Time To Play sessions have definitely helped with my daughter’s confidence. Being able to speak to other parents is quite a big thing. To be around parents that know about it and are in similar situations is really important”.
To sign up for the sessions get in touch with Guide Dogs via guidedogs.org.uk/mttp or email [email protected] or call 0800 781 1444.