Guidelines for prescription of assistive devices – with case study discussion

Name: Guidelines for prescription of assistive devices - with case study discussion
SKU: 8078
Availability: InStock

R195.00

Clare will guide attendees through some developed guidelines for healthcare professionals on the prescription of assistive devices, drawing on the World Health & UNICEFs four key steps. She will discuss what a scoping review of prescription processes revealed and highlight key processes, including user and caregiver involvement, user-centered assessments, and comprehensive training, including use and maintenance. Key principles, including the field of low vision, include ensuring the device is appropriate, affordable, safe, and well-maintained, with user feedback being integral throughout the entire service delivery. She will illustrate the principles though discussion of a few cases of low vision learners/children. Disclaimers: The photographs and videos used in the presentation, are used with written consent of patient/guardian/parent for educational purposes, and wherever possible the identity of the learner is protected.

Please note: The information and views expressed in the slides are solely those of the presenter and not of the national or provincial Department of Education. The presenter is presenting in her private clinical and professional capacity, not in her Departmental capacity. The speaker has no affiliations to any supplier of low vision aids, assistive devices or assistive technology in the low vision field.

Category: Online Webinar

Description

Clare graduated with a BSc in Occupational Therapy from WITS University in 1991 and has worked in both South Africa and the UK. Her expertise includes neurodevelopmental therapy (paediatrics), inclusive education, early childhood intervention, and research into push-in therapy models in mainstream schools.

She has recently renewed her focus on low vision, driven by the need for improved eye health services in the Eastern Cape and the impact that low vision has on learning. In her current role with the Eastern Cape Department of Education in Inclusive Education. Clare coordinates therapeutic services to mainstream learners, through District based Support Temas. She is passionate about inclusive education, children’s rights, therapeutic support, assistive technology, and supporting teachers to implement classroom accommodations.

Clare has experience and expertise in assistive devices, and technology, having worked for CE Mobility for 12 years and the Eastern Cape Department of Education for 8 years, with a special interest in assistive technology for learners with visual impairments. She has written 3 articles for the Focus Magazine on supporting low vision learners in the classroom (April, August and December 2022). Currently she also offers consultancy services to the WHO Assistive Devices GATE project.

A life-long learner, she completed a short course in AAC, completed her master’s degree in occupational therapy in 2013, a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare Professions Education at UCT in 2021 and an accredited Diploma in Remedial Education with UJ in 2024.

Clare has served on several intersectoral and professional committees advocating for disability rights and access to quality services. She continues to champion the role of Occupational Therapy in inclusive education, working to expand access and impact across diverse settings.