Explore the Professionals Tent
Lorna’s crash course on
beating stress
Assistive technology trainer and life coach Lorna Payne delivers some great tips and advice on stress management and how we can live in the present moment.
Bhavna Tailor, charity CEO, shares her story
Bhavna Tailor, charity CEO, discusses the emotional rollercoaster from getting her son’s diagnosis at age seven and how she founded Stargardt’s Connected with a view to not only helping herself and her family, but also to help others with a shared sight condition.
Karen Newell, Toy Like Me
Karen Newell from Toy Like Me, introduces herself and her children, Avah and Fred. Fred was born with a rare condition called FEVRE, Karen explains how she navigated the early years emotionally and talks in depth about how her response to Fred’s condition evolved.
Karen is the co-founder of the organisation Toy Like Me, established in April 2015 after writer and journalist Rebecca Atkinson noticed the lack of positive disability representation in toys. Rebecca had spent 20 years working in TV production and print journalism (including Children’s BBC) and had always been interested in the way these industries represent disability and difference.
“For kids with disability, growing up being the only one in your class to rock hearing aids or roll on wheels, and rarely seeing anyone like you positively reflected in toys, books, TV, films can lead to a sense of isolation and low self esteem.”
Karen uses her experiences with Fred to change the world to make it more inclusive!
Sharing parent’s stories
Parents who have been supported by the Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) share their stories.
How the RSBC can help
Positive Futures North West
Positive Futures North West bring you a series of Q&A sessions around mental health. They have provided a series of resources to support you further which you can also download below.
Positive Futures North West | Facebook
How to support your child’s mental health
Love – Be there for your child and show care and love.
Exercise – Encourage play, exercise and sport.
Be proud – Tell your child you’re proud of them.
Patience – Be patient. Don’t pressure your child.
Educate – Educate yourself about mental health problems.
Coping – Help your child to learn simple coping strategies such as relaxation.
Conversation – Encourage your child to engage in conversation.
Behaviour – Keep an eye out for changes in behaviour.
Support – Regularly support, encourage and praise your child.
Rest time – Help your child manage stress by factoring rest time into your days.
Help – Don’t be afraid to seek professional help.
Feeling – Get to know how your child is feeling.
Problem solving – Help your child to effectively problem solve.
Listen – Make sure you make time to listen to what your child has to say.
Symptoms – Be aware of signs and symptoms.
Environment – Provide a positive environment for your child where they can thrive.
Downloadable resources
Compassion fatigue > Worksheet >
Worksheet negative thoughts > Mental health support lines >
Mindset Matters >
A parent’s perspective on mental health
Impact of sight impairment on mental health
Techniques for better
mental health
How are sport and mental health linked?
Find out more about British Blind Sport and how you can improve your child’s access to sport and how it can benefit their mental health.
LOOK’s services supporting parents
LOOK UK supports visually impaired children, young people and their families to thrive.
Download the Word document to find out more about LOOK’s services >
RNIB – Emotional support for children, young people and families
Download the RNIB’s PowerPoint presentation to find out more about their services supporting families. These include emotional support and counselling, podcasts for families of children with vision impairment about different aspects of emotional support and other information and resources for families to help with wellbeing, social inclusion, activities for children and other general advice.
Download the RNIB presentation for more information >
Share your feedback on the VICTA Virtual Parent Wellbeing Retreat to help shape future events
