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77
Sheltered Workshops
The Council is responsible for one employee in a sheltered
workshop at Waterloo under the auspices of the Royal School for the
Blind.
Mobility - Long Cane Technique
In recent years there has been introduced into this country
a longflr white cane for the assistance of the blind. This
followed successful trials in the United States, and gives
greater independence in walking for some blind people than has
previously been possible with the shorter white cane.
An intensive course of instruction is essential to ensure
a safe and satisfactory outcome, and blind people are not all capable
of benefiting from the course and the new technique, but it is considered
that eight to ten registered blind persons in the borough each
year could learn and use the new system.
Qualified instructors, of whom there are very few available
as yet, are necessary as tutors and each can deal with up to nine
blind candidates. Consequently meetings have been held with officers
of the London Boroughs of Merton and Sutton and it has been agreed in
principle that a joint appointment of an officer be shared between the
three boroughs and it is hoped that a tripartite arrangement can
operate from 1st April 1971.
Kingston upon Thames Association for the Blind
This Association, which is a registered charity, has continued
to support the borough council with its work for the blind and partially
sighted persons within the borough and has provided many extras which
might not otherwise have been available through normal welfare channels,
such as parcels of groceries, toiletries, bedding, fuel, fires, repairs
to wireless sets, door bell installations, telephones, carpet cleaning etc.
Welfare of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Register
The number of persons with total or substantial hearing loss
registered with the department shows a decrease of one from the previous
year and the total number on the register at the present time is 103.