Habilitation (Mobility & Independent
Living Skills) research project
What is Habilitation training?
Habilitation training includes: the teaching of early
movement skills; sensory, spatial and body concepts;
cane training, route learning and independent living
skills; and can significantly help a child or young person
with a vision impairment to develop the necessary skills
to get around and care for themselves safely and
independently.
What is Habilitation training? cont.
However, habilitation training is not currently available for all
children and young people in the UK.
Guide Dogs and Blind Children UK fervently believe that all
children and young people with sight loss in the UK should
have access to habilitation training that adheres to the
Habilitation Quality Standards as and when they need it – be it,
in school, the home or the community.
Habilitation research
In 2013, we scoped two projects to explore the accessibility and
quality of current habilitation provision for CYPVI in the UK:
Case studies work: of habilitation provision in local authorities
for each of the four UK countries, and to benchmark the
provision against the Habilitation Quality Standards.
Survey work: to ask CYPVI and young adults, and parents of
CYPVI what they require[ed] from habilitation training, and to
consult them on their past and present experiences of
habilitation training.
Habilitation research: Case studies
Firstly, we commissioned Dr Clare Thetford and team from
the University of Liverpool to carry out a qualitative
exploratory study in relation to Habilitation services for CYPVI
in the UK.
12 detailed case studies were carried out as examples of
current practice across the UK in the provision of habilitation
services to CYPVI aged 0 to 18 years, and benchmarked
against the Quality Standards in the Delivery of Habilitation
Training (Quality Standards) (Miller et al., 2011).
This project was completed in September, 2014.
Habilitation’ research: Survey work
Secondly, we are currently undertaking an in-house research
project involving CYPVI aged 12 to 25 years, and parents of
CPVI aged 1 year to 18 years.
We wish to obtain CYPVI’ first-hand experiences of habilitation
training; along with the experiences and perspectives of
parents/guardians of CYPVI.
Our project involves CYPVI taking part in a 30 minute
telephone interview or completing an online survey, as well as
parents/guardians completing a separate online survey.
Our project sample is made up of the service users of Blind
Children UK, which amounts to almost 4,000 CYPVI and their
families.
Habilitation’ research: Case studies
The objectives of this study were to identify and explore:
 (i) notions of quality and what can be achieved when
recommended standards are met;
 (ii) whether and how providers have achieved all or some
of the learning outcomes in the Quality Standards;
 (iii) the problems that CYPVI and their parents continue to
face in accessing habiltation services;
 (iv) issues faced by professionals working in this field in
delivering habilitation services to CYPVI.
Habilitation research: Case studies
Notions of quality and key factors in effective habilitation
services:
 An underlying ethos of holistic service provision, tailored to
the individual and their family.
 Flexible services, provided in a wide range of environments
and during school holidays and outside school hours which
facilitated accessibility.
 Effective communication and a collaborative approach
between the range of professionals involved in the delivery
of habilitation, providing integrated services.
Habilitation research: Case studies
Notions of quality and key factors in effective habilitation
services, cont:
 Positive communication and engagement with parents.
 Staff delivering habilitation were suitablly qualified and
experienced.
In addition to specific features of the services, a range of
contextual factors common to services where service users
reported high levels of satisfaction and service providers
reported comprehensive provision.
Habilitation research: Case studies
The main implications of the findings
There is a lack of clarity surrounding exactly what habilitation
is; whether it is a form of education, or a social service. The
lack of clarity of exactly what it is and who is responsible for
delivering its various components it is at the heart of the
problems of responsibilities for funding and delivery.
The provision of habilitation services within the UK is highly
variable; this variation appears to be due to local level
decision making and models of service delivery.
Habilitation research: Case studies
The main implications of the findings. cont:
Whilst there are examples of excellent practice, CYPVI and
their families continue to experience considerable difficulties
accessing the habilitiation services they believe they need
within the UK.
Habilitation research
Research outcomes
 To inform Guide Dogs’ CYPVI service provision.
 To inform the UK Vision Strategy Children’s group.
 To provide some of the evidence for a good practice
guidance document about effective local habilitation
provision for CYPVI and their families. (The National
Sensory Impaired Partnership (NatSIP) and Guide Dogs).