"I've got the best job in the world!"

Carol: a KAB Rehabilitation Worker

Carol, a KAB Rehabilitation Worker and Mobility Officer, explains how she came to work for KAB and what makes a good Rehabilitation Worker

Why do you enjoy working in Rehabilitation, Carol?
I love it because of the variety - no two days are ever the same: the tasks are different, the people are different, and I just love working with all different age groups. One day you're working with children, then you're working with an adult; you might be running an awareness session in the morning, and then providing mobility training for someone in the afternoon. It's this variety - and the fact that you're always learning - that keeps the work fresh.

You decided to train to be a Mobility Officer. What's the job like?
I love meeting people and getting out of the office. It's lovely when the weather's nice and you're out in the sun. But other times it can be pouring with rain and you're doing a mobility lesson. But that's part of the job.

Did you always want to work in Rehabilitation?
Not at all. Life's turned out to be very different from what I thought it would be. And I find it funny when I look back now over the last 12 years because, when I was at school, I never thought I'd have a career. In fact, the first time I worked with children with sight impairments I really surprised myself. I'd never really been interested in that sort of thing before. But then I thought, "There's another challenge ...", and I absolutely loved it.

So how did it start for you?
Well, I went to Grammar School and I got A-levels. Then, you know how it is, after school you kind of just get a job, don't you? And it suits you at the time, but you don't really think so much about the long-term future.

What jobs did you do?
I worked for the Civil Service for a time in London. Then I got a job at M&S. After that I spent 10 years at home with my children and doing some part-time work in a play school. When the children were older, I decided I wanted to work again, and I thought I would do Nursery School teaching. So I went to college for two years to train.

So what happened? Why aren't you doing Early Years teaching?
Well, towards the end of the course someone called me out of the blue from one of the schools I'd been doing a placement in, and told me there was a job going in a school where there was a visually impaired child. The idea of using the skills and knowledge I'd acquired on the course, but in a different context really appealed, so I applied for it.

What was the job?
I was a Learning Support Assistant for children with sight impairments. The school was a mainstream Primary school, but with a designated unit for children with sight impairments. It was a lovely job. The children were fully integrated into the school and they did everything the other children did. I liaised with the class teacher each week to get the lessons planned and I had to produce all the lesson materials in accessible formats for the children.

Does that mean producing texts in large print?
Yes, but a lot more too. For example, each week there was a chosen book that the children would read and sit around discussing, and I used to make a tactile version of it for one of the children I was working with. It had tactile pictures - illustrations that he could feel, and the words were in Braille. So he had his own book and could follow the words and pictures with the other children. There ended up a whole library of these books. Apparently the school's still got them!

What qualifications did you have at this point?
I had a BTEC in Childhood Studies and I had the RNIB Braille qualification.

Looking back on it, what do you think you needed to make a success of the job?
Well, one thing for sure was you needed to be a really good communicator; you had to be able to explain in a reassuring way to the children who couldn't see well what was happening when one of the other children got upset about something.

How long did you stay at the school for?
Five years. I used to see KAB staff come in to the school to teach mobility. I used to say, "That looks interesting ...", and I started making enquiries. Eventually, I applied to be a trainee Rehabilitation worker at KAB and got a job at the Gravesend office. Later on, I did KAB's Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care which has a specialism in Visual Impairment Rehabilitation.

And when did you train to become a Mobility Officer?
I started when I was on the Foundation Degree Course as two of the modules were on mobility. That's what I really, really wanted to do. In fact, that's why I joined KAB.

What actually does a Mobility Officer do, Carol?
We work with children and adults to give them the skills they need to be confident moving around. It might be getting around the school, or going to the shops or even using public transport. We help people to practise using a particular route, and they'll have as many lessons as they feel they need until they're really confident and know they're going to be safe.

You say skills; what kinds of skills are they?
Well, for example, we teach people how to recognise and use landmarks, such as a tree or lamppost, and ‘clues' - things like the sound of water from a fountain, which can be useful in helping someone locate their position. We also give people the essentials of protecting the upper and lower parts of their bodies as they're moving around. When it's appropriate, we also teach people how to use a long cane; depending upon the individual this can take from a couple of weeks to several months.

Finally, Carol, if you were a Careers Advisor, what would you say to someone are the key attributes someone needs to make a good Rehabilitation worker?
Empathy, definitely. You have to have the ability, when you're doing an initial assessment, to see where someone's coming from, to be able read their body language, to read between the lines, and hear what's not being said.

You also have to be able to step back and let someone become independent. So, whilst you have to step in to help, you also need to know when to step back and let someone do something for themselves. Otherwise you can ‘over support', and the person won't learn how to cope on their own.

Then, I'd say communication skills. People with sight impairments rely on you to be a good communicator because they can't necessarily see your facial expressions or your body language. That's the biggest thing in this job and the part that I really enjoy: working with people, using your creativity to find solutions to difficulties and seeing people succeed - I just love it. I've got the best job in the world.