Children's Mobility Service
Helping young people achieve their potential
Guide Dogs Victoria provides a specialised service for vision impaired and blind students currently completing their primary, secondary or tertiary education. We believe Orientation and Mobility training should be seen as an ongoing part of children's education to enable them to enhance their confidence, develop age appropriate skills and achieve their potential in all aspects of life.
Individual programs, camps, group programs, consultant services and workshops are all provided free of charge.
Who could benefit?
If your child or a student at your school has a vision impairment, you may have observed the child:
- colliding with obstacles or people;
- becoming lost in the school or home environment;
- experiencing problems walking on different surfaces or going up or down stairs;
- experiencing problems walking through brightly lit or poorly lit areas.
If you have recognised any of the above difficulties, he or she may benefit from an assessment by one of our professional Instructors and subsequent Orientation and Mobility training.
Our professional Orientation and Mobility Instructors work in cooperation with the Visiting Teacher Service and programs may be conducted in the school, home or community. Alternatively, the child can participate in one of our intensive residential programs.
All of our services, including the Children's Mobility Service, are offered free of charge.
Road knowledge and road safety skills are essential for independent mobility.
Individual O&M Programs
Individual programs may be provided on a domiciliary basis or it may be most appropriate for students to stay in our residential centre in Kew, Arnold Cook House, for a few days. Where appropriate, parents are encouraged to stay with their child and work with the Instructor during the program.
Camps
The CMS runs four to five camps per year that offer students the opportunity to develop social networks while further developing their O&M skills. Our Occupational Therapists are involved in every camp, encouraging independent living skills such as food preparation, kitchen safety, personal care and money handling. Some of the camps are based on site at GDV. Off-site venues have included Bright, the Grampians and Sydney CBD. Recent camp themes have included 'Shop 'Til You Drop', Measurements and Road Safety for junior students, and 'GDV Goes CBD' and VCE programs for senior students.
For further information contact:
For a free assessment and confidential consultation:
Phone: (03) 9854 4444
Email: referrals@guidedogsvictoria.com.au
Private Bag 13
Chandler Highway
Kew Victoria 3101
All enquiries from health professionals, family members and individuals are welcome.
Look Out, Marcus!
Growing up with low vision
An activity book for children aged 8-14
Find out about Marcus, a 10 year old boy with Stargardt’s Disease. His central vision is deteriorating, but he is definitely not blind.
Meet the extra people Marcus has in his life because of his vision impairment.
Do the activities to learn more about low vision.
Kids may like to work through Look Out, Marcus! independently; teachers can use this resource in the classroom with minimal preparation. 
