A family weekend of education and support
Many parents of children with vision impairment are not aware of the importance of mobility training in their child's younger years. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT recently brought some of these families together to learn more about mobility and the services available to the children as they progress to adulthood.
The following letter was sent to Guide Dogs' instructors by Carmel Hillier and her son, Jacob, after they attended our families' weekend in Wollongong.
Dear Karen, Alli, Dianne, Matt and Vanessa,
Thank you for an amazing weekend. We are so very grateful for a number of reasons. Not only are you all incredibly patient but you teach us so much with your wisdom and knowledge on how best to support our son.
The activities that were organised were both challenging and rewarding. You made us all step out of our comfort zones, something we often expect of our children and may not always do ourselves. Through these activities, not only did you highlight areas that I need to work on to better support Jacob, but you also showed me a little more of Jacobs' visual world.
The expertise and understanding of Eddie and Mel in introducing the Guide Dogs to the children and in encouraging them to become better acquainted with the dogs was a miracle for us. I was so proud of Jacob after he walked with 'Nadia' and I know that this was only possible by the work that Eddie and Mel had done in allaying the children's fears and by supporting them.
We came home absolutely exhausted, with smiles across our faces and memories that we will truly treasure forever.
Carmel and Jacob Hillier.