It may look odd – a dog kitted out in an overall having his paws painted by a ten-year old girl, but it’s just one of many activities a child can enjoy during a session of Dog-Assisted Therapy. Tahnee Neesham has Asperger’s. She’s just finishing six sessions of Dog-Assisted Therapy at VisAbility and her mum…
We’ve held our first ever ‘Test Drive a Guide Dog’ workshop in Western Australia, for youngsters who may be considering a Guide Dog when they’re a bit older. Seven teenagers aged between 14 and 18 took part in the event held at VisAbility over the school holidays and all of them had some form of…
Last year we asked our staff three questions: What do others feel when they are with you? What do they learn from you? How do they grow and transform through spending time with you? The reason – to find out where our staff beliefs and sense of purpose lie. We wanted to give staff the…
The statistics don’t make comfortable reading. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three times more likely than non-Indigenous people to be blind or have low vision. They also wait much longer for cataract surgery, up to 63% longer. But now a planned initiative aims to reverse that trend and to help people experiencing vision…
VisAbility is committed in the support we offer to older Australians, ensuring our clients live the best possible life. Six years ago, the Australian Government introduced My Aged Care which was targeted to assist individuals aged 65 and over and those aged 50 or over from Torres Strait or Indigenous backgrounds. The aim of the…
“I rely on Braille technology as much as oxygen.” These are powerful words from student Ness Vlajkovic, a 21-year-old who can hardly hear or see. When she was just seven years old, Ness took charge of her first BrailleNote, a handheld computer for Braille users which enables her to communicate. This helped fuel her love…
VisAbility is a diverse organisation with a range of careers and occupations. Our staff include therapists, skilled support officers and professional managers. We aim to promote strategies and policies to ensure both women and men are equally valued and rewarded. In 2015, we opted to register and report to the Workplace Gender Equality Act, proving…
Reunion stories can be so uplifting, when people meet as friends, form strong bonds, but then circumstances mean they lose touch before meeting again. At VisAbility we have our own reunion story with an unusual twist. Holiday program As a child Marija Clark, Social Worker at VisAbility, participated in school holiday programs held by the…
VisAbility’s Manager of Therapy Services Seb Della Maddalena explores what it means to be an Early Childhood Intervention professional, and how this is changing with the roll out of the NDIS. Disability professional service providers typically employ allied health professionals (therapists) from backgrounds in occupational therapy, speech pathology, and physiotherapy. Therapists working in Early Childhood…
Are you a young person with vision impairment? Have you thought about your future beyond school? Your ability to move confidently and safely in and around the community as a person with vision impairment will empower you for the rest of your life. Whether that be attending TAFE, university, going to work, getting to the…