Lottery cash means two new support workers to help children with sight loss
Support for newly diagnosed blind and partially sighted young people is to be boosted by a major Big Lottery Fund grant to the country's largest sight loss charity.
RNIB Scotland has been awarded nearly £400,000 to employ two support workers in west and central Scotland.
The three-year pilot project will deliver emotional and practical support to help families come to terms with a child's sight loss.
Currently around 3,000 people under the age of 20 in Scotland live with a significant visual impairment.
Dominic Everett, education and family services manager for RNIB Scotland, said: "For many parents, learning that their child has a visual impairment can be a huge shock. It can be a hugely difficult and emotional time.
"The most common question they ask is 'what can my child see, and what can I do to help?’
I think we would have struggled without RNIB Scotland's help
"This award will allow us to provide wider, personalised help, when it is most needed, to newly diagnosed children across 14 local authority areas. It will ensure they develop the strategies and skills for success in life.
"We will help families to enable their child to maximise their personal independence."
The charity will work on play strategies, which can help children to improve their social skills, make sense of their environment, and improve their confidence.
Kim and John Somerville's family live in Stenhousemuir. Their 13 year-old son Kyle has no sight in his left eye and the condition Nystagmus in his right eye.
"When we first learned of Kyle's eye condition we had no idea how much it would affect all our lives," Kim said.
"One of the first things we were given advice on by RNIB was mobility and making our home safe for Kyle by installing more lighting and other simple things.
"We were also given advice on which benefits Kyle would be entitled to, which meant I could stay at home to look after him.
“I think we would have struggled without RNIB Scotland's help."
Big Lottery Fund Scotland chair Maureen McGinn added: "This is life-changing money that will benefit those people and communities most in need.”
