Understanding Sensory Loss
Unit 4222-393
Understanding Sensory Loss
O 1-1
A range of factors can impact on individuals with sensory loss. We gather so much information from our sight and hearing. Talking, listening & reading are all things we do in everyday life, we rely on our senses to understand and process what is going on around us and to carry out our everyday living skills, so to lose any of these will have a massive impact.
Decreased vision and/or hearing can lead to a breakdown in communication, as we depend so much on non-verbal communications.
Being blind or partially sighted means losing the ability to see facial expressions and gestures making it difficult for the person to understand what is being communicated. Not being able to read information can put the individual at risk, for instance the information on medication packets, if this can’t be seen clearly or not at all it could lead to the individual under dosing, overdosing or taking the wrong medication which could lead to other health problems. Everyday tasks other people take for granted can become increasingly difficult for a person, the reading of labels on food packets where oven temperatures and times are written, the setting of the oven or microwave are examples of how hard things can become, not being able to read letters or bank statements and having to get others to do this can have an effect on maintaining confidentiality. Sighted people can go straight to a wardrobe or draw and grab the clothes they want to wear that day but being blind or partially sighted can make it really difficult and you may have to become reliant on somebody else to do this for you. Mobility can also be affected especially in unfamiliar surroundings the individual may become disoriented and be at risk by not seeing objects, people or hazards.
Deafness also has a range of factors that can impact on individuals again communication becomes really difficult. We use our hearing to gather allsorts of information and not
Understanding Sensory Loss
O 1-1
A range of factors can impact on individuals with sensory loss. We gather so much information from our sight and hearing. Talking, listening & reading are all things we do in everyday life, we rely on our senses to understand and process what is going on around us and to carry out our everyday living skills, so to lose any of these will have a massive impact.
Decreased vision and/or hearing can lead to a breakdown in communication, as we depend so much on non-verbal communications.
Being blind or partially sighted means losing the ability to see facial expressions and gestures making it difficult for the person to understand what is being communicated. Not being able to read information can put the individual at risk, for instance the information on medication packets, if this can’t be seen clearly or not at all it could lead to the individual under dosing, overdosing or taking the wrong medication which could lead to other health problems. Everyday tasks other people take for granted can become increasingly difficult for a person, the reading of labels on food packets where oven temperatures and times are written, the setting of the oven or microwave are examples of how hard things can become, not being able to read letters or bank statements and having to get others to do this can have an effect on maintaining confidentiality. Sighted people can go straight to a wardrobe or draw and grab the clothes they want to wear that day but being blind or partially sighted can make it really difficult and you may have to become reliant on somebody else to do this for you. Mobility can also be affected especially in unfamiliar surroundings the individual may become disoriented and be at risk by not seeing objects, people or hazards.
Deafness also has a range of factors that can impact on individuals again communication becomes really difficult. We use our hearing to gather allsorts of information and not