Care Case Study: Alison Rowe
Alison Rowe had been living with multiple joint and bone conditions for years before she was introduced to a revolutionary bathroom solution that would go on to transform her life. Alison’s Story Alison, was diagnosed with multiple conditions including Bile Acid Malabsorption, Osteoarthritis, Spinal Stenosis, and Degenerative Disk Disease which affected her joints, spine and bowel, leaving her in constant pain, with limited movement and struggling to manage her own personal hygiene. Constantly worrying about cleanliness and struggling to use toilet paper because of the agony it caused was extremely tiring and put a huge strain on Alison both physically and mentally. Embarrassed by her conditions and constantly relying on the help of others, Alison had suffered in silence for many years before finally feeling as though she could open up to her Occupational Therapist about her concerns and the challenges she was facing with her own hygiene. The Solution Alison’s OT recognised how incredibly important it was to give Alison not only her confidence but her freedom and independence back. She went on to introduce Alison to the concept of washing with water, recommending the Geberit AquaClean shower toilet as an effective solution to replace the toilet in the downstairs cloakroom of Alison’s home. Following referral from her council OT, the Coastline Housing Association installed the AquaClean Mera Care shower toilet, and the new addition has completely overhauled Alison’s life. Initially Alison was a little dubious of the technology, however once she’d got used to it she’s never looked back. The ease of operating the AquaClean Mera Care and changing the settings as required to suit has been a breeze and Alison couldn’t imagine life without it now. Alison urges people in the same position not to be afraid of the technology, encouraging them to speak out and seek help. She said: “This hasn’t just made a physical difference for me, it’s massively improved my mental health. I feel more confident, dignified and I’m happy now to leave the house safe in the knowledge that I’m clean. “I only wish I’d had the bravery to take that first step sooner as I could have been living life with this sense of freedom for many more years if I’d spoken out sooner. I’d urge anybody who may be in the same position I was to speak out, reach out to your OT and ask for help, this solution is wonderful and anybody in the same boat as me should have one. You get one life and you’ve got to make the best of it, don’t delay taking that step. Geberit AquaClean Mera Care Geberit’s AquaClean Mera Care is specially developed for independent living, and includes a host of features to aid personal hygiene, including individually adjustable water spray settings, an oscillating spray that cleans you at the touch of a button with a jet of warm water, an automatic flush function via user detection, remote control, warm air dryer, programmable user profiles – for multiple users – and a continuous flow heater for constant warm water. Geberit has taken every ounce of its 150 years of experience, in helping to understand the wants and needs of its customers and put that into creating a product that can make a guaranteed difference to the way customers live day in day out. Everything is designed with comfort and convenience in mind and the Geberit development team are constantly evolving and enhancing every aspect of the product to ensure it meets the needs of the customer. Richard Wheeler, Area Sales Manager – AquaClean Care, commented: “The difference the Geberit AquaClean Mera Care has made to Alison shouldn’t be underestimated. “The difference it’s made, both physically and mentally is outstanding and we are delighted we were able to facilitate the installation and make the difference. “During these exceptional times, Geberit has continued to do everything we can to support the OT services and the clients within, working with individuals on a case-by-case basis. The team has and continues to actively carry out home assessments following guidance from the government and social services.” The Future Since the Geberit AquaClean Mera Care has been installed Alison has had a new lease of life and the future is certainly looking much brighter. She said: “I can’t believe how much the AquaClean has revolutionised my day-to-day life. I was always worried, self-conscious and anxious before, but now I have the AquaClean installed I don’t worry any more. It’s brilliant. “I love to get outdoors and I feel confident doing so, even heading out to the shops was once a real ordeal but now I can happily mooch around the shops, safe in the knowledge that I’m completely clean. “My grandchildren were already having a field day when they came to my house before, taking it in turns to travel up and down the stair lift. I know have them wanting to have a go on my fancy shower toilet too. I think they think they’re at the fairground! Alison added: “If I can help one person get their freedom and confidence back by sharing my story, then it’s totally worth it!”
A children’s hospital helps design lip-reading transparent mask
· Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and award-winning South Yorkshire manufacturer Bluetree Medical have launched a new medical grade lip-reading transparent mask that significantly and safely improves communication with young patients · The BrillianSeeTM face mask was designed by an Alder Hey Speech & Language Therapist who saw the need to overcome barriers to delivering therapy while wearing a standard surgical mask · The BrillianSeeTM face mask is the only one of its kind that is clinically safe to support communication with those who have hearing difficulties, patients or service users with cognitive problems, younger or vulnerable patients and those with learning disabilities BrillianSeeTM came to life after Alder Hey Speech & Language Therapist Wendy Blumenow found children in her care had difficulties in her speech therapy classes because they could not see her face during therapy sessions. Alder Hey set about designing a transparent mask to address Wendy’s issues and worked with Bluetree Medical to bring it to market. Taking delivery of the first masks, Wendy said: “This will make a huge difference to the children in my care– they will finally be able to see my face and benefit from their speech therapy while staying protected from Covid-19”. The new transparent masks will also be rolled out across Alder Hey, being used by numerous teams, not just for Speech & Language therapists. Hospitals and health care professionals will still be able to require patients and visitors to wear masks unless they are exempt, after Public Health England (PHE) said existing guidance on Covid infection control will continue beyond 19 July. Around half of Brits (46%) are believed to lip read as part of everyday communication, with a third stating seeing whole faces makes them feel more comfortable (29%). A recent 2,000 person survey on face mask wearing found 26% people believe they miss important information; 23% say they have difficulty understanding when they can’t read lips and 22% put it down to not seeing the whole facial expression. This is particularly important in a healthcare setting, where doctors and nurses may have limited time to relay information to their patients. The BrillianSeeTM mask offers improved communication compared with other masks as you can see the face clearly, allowing for improved reading and interpretation of non-verbal cues. It is comfortable to wear and allows for unencumbered movement of the lower face. These features are essential when the patient has difficulties such as deafness and other communications issues which mean they need to lip read in order to understand what is being said to them. Iain Hennessey, Consultant Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon and Clinical Director of the Innovation Hub at Alder Hey said: “This partnership is a great example of what can be achieved when we work collaboratively. We’re delighted with the result. BrillianSeeTM gives healthcare professionals and patients a much better experience while keeping them safe. We plan to introduce these masks across the hospital all paediatric departments soon as possible.” Co CEO of Bluetree, James Kinsella said: “We’re proud to have worked closely with Alder Hey to bring BrillianSeeTM to market and to see the difference it can make to patients and healthcare professionals.” Bluetree Medical, based in Wath upon Dearne, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, researches, develops and manufactures high quality medical consumables. The first UK manufacturer to deliver Type IIR surgical masks to the NHS during the pandemic, Bluetree has invested over £18m in establishing its UK based manufacturing facility which includes an onsite laboratory and in-house melt blown production. Bluetree is an innovator, investing time collaborating with the NHS and health care professionals to develop products that truly meet the needs of their users. With 1 in 4 adults projected to have some form of hearing loss by 2050[i], the BrillianSeeTM mask is an ideal way for healthcare professionals to support the needs of their patients while remaining safe. The NHS has recently provided guidanceii confirming that NHS settings will continue to require healthcare professionals and patients to wear face masks after July 19th. The product is a UKCA marked medical device registered with the MHRA and offers protection comparable to a Type II surgical mask.
Mencap welcomes announcement that some children with learning disabilities will be offered Pfizer vaccine
Mencap welcomes the announcement that 12-15 year olds with Down’s Syndrome or profound and multiple learning disabilities will be offered the Pfizer vaccine, but urgently calls for clarity around whether adults with a learning disability will be prioritised for booster jabs this Autumn. Dan Scorer, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Mencap, said: “We welcome today’s important new guidance that some groups of children with a learning disability will be offered the Pfizer vaccine – this will be a huge relief to many families feeling fearful about the easing of restrictions and the vulnerability of their unvaccinated loved one. “It’s also critical that the Government prioritises all adults with a learning disability for booster jabs this autumn. Recent findings published in The British Medical Journal showed that people with a learning disability with COVID are five times more likely to be admitted to hospital and eight times more likely to die compared with the general population of England. These findings are further evidence of the shocking health inequalities facing this often forgotten group. Yet despite this high death rate, it’s not yet clear whether people with a learning disability will be prioritised for booster jabs.”
Independence Day? How Disabled Rights Were Won
Independence Day? How Disabled Rights Were Won (w/t) is based on the remarkable true story of the people behind an irrepressible campaign of direct-action that lead to significant steps forward in the battle for disabled civil rights in Britain. Written by multiple BAFTA winner Jack Thorne and award-winning actor-turned writer Genevieve Barr, the film tells the story through the eyes of Barbara Lisicki (Ruth Madeley) and Alan Holdsworth two disabled cabaret performers who met at a gig in 1989 and would go on to become the driving force behind DAN – the Direct Action Network whose fearless and coordinated protests pushed the campaign for disabled rights into the spotlight. The film will be directed by Bruce Goodison and Amit Sharma. Bruce is a BAFTA winning director whose credits include BBC Three’s Murdered by My Father and BBC One’s hit drama Doctor Foster. Amit was one of several directors for BBC Four’s Prix Italia winning and BAFTA nominated Crip Tales and has previously been associate director of Graeae Theatre Company. About Ruth Madeley Ruth Madeley is a BAFTA nominated actress, named as one of BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits in 2017. In 2016 Ruth was also nominated for a Leading Actress BAFTA award for her role as ‘Anne Watson’ in the BAFTA award-winning BBC Three drama Don’t Take My Baby, written by Jack Thorne, the hour-long drama follows a young disabled couple fighting for custody of their new-born daughter. In 2019 Ruth played one of the key roles in critically acclaimed BBC One/ HBO series Years and Years written by Russell T. Davies. Ruth recently finished filming The Almond and The Seahorse alongside Rebel Wilson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Trine Dyrholm, Meera Syal and Celyn Jones. Ruth can also most recently be seen in the BBC series The Watch, directed by Craig Viveiros and Brian Kelly. Next, Ruth can be seen in The Cleaner a new BBC comedy series written by and starring Greg Davies. Ruth Madeley, actress said “To have the opportunity to play such an incredibly powerful character and tell such an important story is honestly a dream, especially within the context of disabled, deaf and neuro-diverse history. As soon as I saw the script I knew this was going to be something so special and I am couldn’t be happier to work with Jack and Gen on a drama that deserves to be front and centre on screen.” Patrick Holland, Director, Factual, Arts & Classical Music said “This is an incredible group of creatives who have come together to tell a remarkable and ground-breaking story. We couldn’t be more proud to commission this film for the BBC.” Jack Thorne, writer said “Ruth Madeley is one of those rare actors who take scripts and turns them into something else. She does things with words and makes human and fragile even the smallest thing like putting on a kettle. I emailed two people when I was offered the chance to tell this incredible story – one was Genevieve and the other was Ruth. We wrote every word for her and we love her and I’m so excited to work with her again.” Tom Pullen, executive producer said “It’s such a privilege to see Ruth and our incredible directing team coming together to bring Jack and Genevieve’s extraordinary script to life. Their combined creativity, talent and personal passion for the subject matter is certain to make this an unmissable film.”
Case study: Smashing boundaries, one creative class at time
Inspirational, creative and inclusive leader, Leanne Evans, founder of FTM Dance, overcomes early struggles to create leading Midlands performing arts service for children and adults with a range of diverse abilities and needs. Leanne Evans is the founder of Forward Thinking Movement and Dance, a provider of immersive performing arts groups and classes for young people with additional needs and diverse abilities. Motivated by her own experiences of growing up alongside family members with disabilities, combined with the support of an inspiring childhood dance teacher and the financial backing of the Prince’s Trust, Leanne opened her first centre in Leicester in 2013. She was just 23 and was still studying at university. The idea for FTM Dance was borne out of a desire to help children and adults and understanding the transformative power of dance. The venture was inspired by Leanne’s own experiences at home and in her role as a care worker, which she tirelessly undertook alongside her university studies. Leanne grew up in Leicester and learnt how to build and grow an arts organisation the hard way. After studying Psychology at university, Leanne turned to the Prince’s Trust for support and guidance, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Prince’s Trust’s support,” she says. “They helped me to realise my potential, and provided the practical support required to transform an idea into a viable business model.” The route to success was a tough one, involving late nights, lots of planning and plenty of uncertainty. Her earliest classes saw just a few people attend, but a slow start only fuelled Leanne’s determination to make the venture work. She credits her ultimate success to tireless ambition and the knowledge that through her work, she would make a real difference to young peoples’ lives. And the hard work paid off. FTM Dance serves more than 600 pupils across Nottingham and Leicestershire, providing meaningful sessions for children and young adults with a range of needs and for a wide range of abilities. FTM provides a fully inclusive environment, where children and young people can engage with social, fun and learning opportunities. They recently opened a new centre in Nottingham. Support staff are highly skilled in a variety of areas, including enteral feeding, epilepsy, colostomy and moving and handling – and the centres are fully equipped with hoists, changing beds and more. FTM Dance delivers meaningful, high quality, regular performing arts sessions, activities and workshops using a person centered approach and provide social inclusion through community events in the local community. Crucially, FTM Dance provides a respite service to give parents a much needed break, weekday adult services, creative therapies and school holiday clubs. Leanne believes that it’s crucial that children and young people with additional needs are provided with regular classes and with opportunities to explore their unique abilities, unleash their creativity and bring joy to their peers and community. “These children can do so much,”says Leanne. “Parents with non-disabled children think nothing of dropping their child off for a dance class. We wanted to give our children and young adults similar, regular support.” “We also provide them with a performance focus, giving them a goal and ultimately a sense of achievement at the end. FTM’s students have performed at Disneyland, Demontfort Hall, the Curve Theatre and the renowned Leicester Caribbean Carnival. They shouldn’t be limited by their additional needs, but rather be allowed to explore their talents, and share them with the world.” Leanne’s progressive ethos permeates everything she does. She firmly believes that if participants are able to contribute towards a creative process, they will progress emotionally and developmentally, and gain important life skills which will stand them in good stead for the long run. For our students, classes are unadulterated fun and freedom. The learning comes naturally from there.” FTM Dance has continued to operate throughout lockdown. Its recreational offering quickly moved online providing interactive Zoom sessions, while the social care continued face-to-face, with full PPE, for its most vulnerable families in small groups, with one-to-one support. “Covid and the lengthy lockdowns have had a significant impact on children across the board,” says Leanne “but isolation is a pervasive problem for children with additional needs and for their parents too”. “Some are isolated because many services can’t, or don’t want to, meet their needs. Many are on borderline deprivation because of the high cost of raising a child with special needs. Food Banks are already a normal thing in the world we work in. Maybe Covid has made the mainstream population wake up to the massive social injustices in 2021 in the UK. It’s made everyone else feel what our families go through all the time.” Leanne’s venture has grown quickly and she’s now a real success story. But for Leanne, pridecomes in looking at what her young students have achieved. “I love seeing them progress and grow,” she says. “There is nothing more satisfying than seeing someone realise their potential, and the pride this gives both them and their families.”
Online therapy and psychotherapy subscription
Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 May), therapy platform UK Therapy Guide launches a monthly therapy subscription service, offering private mental wellbeing support at a more accessible cost. The launch addresses the increased demand for top-quality online therapy as the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on mental health. The new service adds to the platform’s launch of half-price therapy for NHS and care home workers in 2020, where it responded to the need for supplementary support for workers on the frontline of the pandemic. The two monthly service options provide access to highly qualified and professionally accredited therapists, psychotherapists and counsellors across the UK. The low-cost subscription service costs £89 for four sets of thirty-minute online sessions – similar to the cost of many single therapy sessions. For £99, clients will receive hour-long sessions every other week. Will Hargreaves, CEO of UK Therapy Guide says: “The impact of COVID-19 on the medical community’s wellbeing has been huge – reports suggest almost 60% of frontline healthcare workers experienced a mental health disorder in the first lockdown. “Our monthly subscription model responds to the clear need for support from qualified, verified and ethical therapists at an affordable cost. We want to help the people who have given so much over the last 15 months.” Floss Knight, Founding Director of UK Therapy Guide and psychotherapist says: “The last year has forced healthcare workers to adapt to the unthinkable – but there are limits to what people can cope with alone. One in four of us experiences poor mental health, and as a psychotherapist, I know that just 30 minutes once a week can have a hugely powerful impact on how someone feels.” The subscription model therapy is available by video call or phone to people living in the UK and British expatriates. For more information, please visit: https://store.uktherapyguide.com/
Free activity resources now available to support people with complex disabilities
The national disability charity, Sense, has launched a new, online platform offering a range of free art, sport and wellbeing activities developed to support people with complex disabilities. The activity finder, available on the Sense website, currently lists over one hundred activities tailored to the different needs of people with complex disabilities, and activities can be carried with families, carers and support staff. The resources currently come in multiple different formats, including, video content with British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, captioning and auto description, Easy Read resources, and live zoom sessions that can booked in advance. Later in the year, as the country moves out of lockdown, physical events will also be added to the website. The content includes activities ranging from inclusive yoga to sound baths, and was created together with partners across the disability, sports and arts sectors, as well as with disabled artists, practitioners, instructors and coaches. Sarah Newton who cares for and supports her 20-year-old disabled daughter Phoebe, said: “We are constantly looking for new things to do with Phoebe. It is so important to us to find accessible, appropriate activities for Phoebe. Thanks to the free resources by Sense, we now have the confidence going forward, to be able to set a programme of activities for Phoebe which work perfectly alongside the programme she is following at college. “As a family it’s easy to get depressed about all the things Phoebe can’t do or can’t access. But we remedy this by working really hard at ways in which we can keep Phoebe alert and to fill her day with exciting activities. We were so grateful to Sense to now have so much to choose from, what to repeat, and how we could adapt the suggestions for Phoebe.” Alissa Ayling, Head of Sport and Physical Activity at Sense, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching the new platform, which provides a fantastic opportunity to improve health and wellbeing for people with complex disabilities by supporting them to be connected, creative and active. “Taking part in art, sport and wellbeing activities is beneficial for everybody, but we know that people with complex disabilities are less likely to be active. This has worsened throughout the pandemic with many disabled people forced to stay at home due to social distancing, self-isolating and shielding. “The last 12 months have been extremely challenging but have also shown how we can adapt our services and connect in new ways. The new platform represents a major change in how Sense supports people with complex disabilities and we are delighted to launch it at a time when it’s most needed.” For more information on the Sense Activity Finder visit: www.sense.org.uk/find-your-activity About Sense: Sense is a national disability charity that supports people living with complex disabilities, including those who are deafblind, to communicate and experience the world. Sense supports children, young people and adults in their home and in the community, in their education and transition to adulthood and through its holidays, arts, sports and wellbeing programmes. In addition to practical support to families, Sense also offers information advice, short breaks and family events, and campaigns for the rights of people with complex disabilities to take part in life. For more information, please visit www.sense.org.uk
Elizabeth Muchechetere shares her in-depth insight on Strokes and recovery
“My personal view on stroke is that it is a challenging, complex and difficult condition to treat and manage, and it requires both the healthcare and public to play a part in preventing, treating and managing it. This May we need to help raise awareness of Strokes and recovery, so that we are ready to tackle it ” Timing Is Everything! With one in four people being affected by Stroke, these numbers are too high and we need to get them down. I believe stroke is still such a big issue within the UK due its complexity. We know it is an issue and we know the information is out there, but we are not ready and if we are not ready, it can be detrimental. It can be disabling and is known to be one of the leading causes of death if one does not receive immediate and timely medical attention in the UK (Stroke Association Statistics). Treatment Treatment and rehabilitation in my experience is slow and challenging and many take some time recover, but there is always hope. I have also noticed that those who have previously lived an active lifestyle tend to see more improvement than those who have not. One big issue is that there can be long waiting lists for rehabilitation following discharge from hospital and discharge from follow up early supported discharge (ESD) rehabilitation in the community. Frustratingly some patients still require more rehabilitation, but may not be able to access it. As a result, 65% stroke survivors leave the hospital with a disability (The National Report – Stroke Association). Types There are two main types of stroke; ischaemic, which is due to a blocked blood vessel in the brain, and haemorrhagic, which is following bleeding in the brain. According to the national clinical guideline for stroke by the Royal College of Physicians (2016), about 85% of all strokes are ischaemic and only 15% are haemorrhagic. Thoughts British Home is a neurological care home with 80 residents. 34% of our residents have been affected by Stroke, and they all present differently, and therapy is tailored to suit presentation. These are people who never thought a stroke could happen to them and they are all from different walks of life. Engaging in rehabilitation can be challenging for our residents as they realise life has changed and they are required to put in a lot of work in their rehabilitation with the help and support of our dedicated therapy and care staff, and family input. I have seen how devastating this could be as at times during rehab, it is important to stop a session and give emotional support and explanation why rehabilitation is important as some may lose hope as the effects of stroke will have caused big changes in their lives. I have also noticed that those who have previously lived an active lifestyle tend to see more improvement than those who have not. Anyone can be affected by stroke!The effects of stroke affect not only the person who has had a stroke, but families at times struggle to come to terms with the sudden vast changes and the teams supporting can also go through many challenges in giving treatment and rehabilitation. Tackle According to Blood Pressure UK, stroke is a major cause of death in the UK and the largest cause of disability, but six out of 10 strokes could be prevented by managing blood pressure to a healthy level. So it should be easy to prevent? However, for every 10 people diagnosed with high blood pressure, 7 remain undiagnosed and untreated, and this is more than 5.5 million people in England – data collated by the (NCVIN, 2016). Meaning, not all cases are tracked so can’t be prevented. We now know the treatment of HBP significantly reduces the risk of strong among other conditions (Stroke statistics, 2017), however the number of people diagnosed as having HBP has consistently increased since 2005, (NHS Digital, 2016) and is not slowing down. To tackle stroke and its effects, both the public and healthcare must have a part to play. The healthcare continues to speak about stroke and how it affects individuals, but the public need to listen and be more aware of the vast information around stroke, its effects, symptoms, management of risks like high blood pressure, diabetes to mention a few. Diabetes is reported to double the risk of stroke (a paper on Cardiovascular Disease Outcome Strategy by the Department of Health, 2013). High cholesterol can increase the risk in developing a blood clot which can lead to a stroke therefore it is important to treat and manage it. Alcohol consumption in large quantities increases the risk of having a stroke while smoking doubles the risk of death from stroke. With all that in mind, the best way to help prevent a stroke is manage those underlying conditions, avoid smoking and alcohol, and eat a healthy diet, not forgetting regular exercise. Moderate exercise can reduce one’s risk of stroke by up to 27% (Lee CD et al., 2003), while inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle increases risks of an ischaemic stroke by 50% (WHO). The Future While there is hope as innovation in the healthcare industry is increasing and improving, there is still a need in the public balancing the stroke risk factors; high blood pressure (HBP), diabetes, high cholesterol, increased alcohol intake, smoking and lack of physical activity (Stroke statistics, 2017), which pose more challenges in stroke occurring and recovery. We all know what we need to do to help prevent stroke, so it is important we start practicing it. Sadly some people leave home for work daily, possibly have a stroke at work and never return home. With stroke, life can vastly change without a warning and we all need to do better to change this. It is everyone’s duty, where possible to take ownership of our health and well-being.
World’s first LEGO Braille Bricks event at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre, part of MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS, Europe’s number one and the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator, is supporting children who are blind or have low vision by introducing them to LEGO® Braille Bricks for the very first time. The first of the LEGO Braille Bricks special events to take place at one of Merlin Entertainments’ LEGOLAND Discovery Centres took place in Melbourne, in partnership with Vision Australia, the LEGO Foundation’s official partner for the distribution of LEGO Braille Bricks in Australia. Over 20 families were welcomed to the attraction for the special event to discover the new range of LEGO bricks, which have been designed to offer blind or low vision children a first opportunity to discover braille from a young age. Each LEGO Braille brick has raised bumps that have been modified to correspond to a letter or character of the braille alphabet. Each brick also has a printed letter or character to allow those children who are blind or have low vision to learn and play alongside sighted classmates, family members and educators. During the event, families enjoyed playing with LEGO Braille Bricks and exploring LEGOLAND Discovery Centre’s LEGO model of Melbourne, various building zones, two rides and 4D cinema. Merlin Entertainments Group’s COO for Midway Attractions Group, Fiona Eastwood, comments: “We are proud that LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is supporting the launch of LEGO Braille Bricks. One of the foundations of LEGO and our LEGOLAND attractions is helping kids learn through play, so it’s amazing to see how this project is helping children who are blind or have low vision learn braille in a playful and engaging way. At all of our attractions in Merlin, we aim to make our experiences accessible for as many people as possible and working with LEGO Braille Bricks is an excellent tool to help us take another step in achieving this. We hope to roll out events like this one at more of our LEGOLAND Discovery Centres in the future.” Ron Hooton, CEO of Vision Australia, adds: “We were thrilled to be able to introduce LEGO Braille Bricks to so many clients at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre. Braille is vital in supporting children who are blind or have low vision to develop literacy skills, and LEGO Braille Bricks are a great way to expose children to braille at an early age.” LEGO Braille Bricks will be provided to schools or other education institutions that have a student, or students, who are blind or have low vision and are learning braille. LEGOLAND Discovery Centre hopes to facilitate more LEGO Braille Bricks events in the future at its attractions across the globe, spanning over four continents.