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Sight loss: Children in Wales missing out on 'vital services', charity says

Nell said finally being able to open a packet of her favourite crisps was among her new skills

Children with sight loss are missing out on vital services in some parts of Wales, according to a charity.

Guide Dogs Cymru said some local authorities in the country offered no habilitation support.

Families have said the support - which helps young people learn key life skills otherwise learned through sight - has been "life-changing".

The organisation that represents Welsh councils said they needed more funding.

Six-year-old Nell has glaucoma and is blind in one eye while has very little vision in the other.

Since she was about one, Nell has received habilitation support through Guide Dogs Cymru - and recently learned a new skill.

"I'm now able to open a packet of crisps on my own," she said. "Then I eat them all in one go!"

She also said she was been able to learn to use her cane, and "how to do pointy finger" to help navigate new spaces.

Like everything else, the support has moved online during the past year. It does present challenges but the family, from Gwynedd, still value the service.

Guide Dogs Cymru Nell and RachelGuide Dogs Cymru
Nell's mother Rachel says the support gives blind children the "chance of independence they really deserve"

Rachel, Nell's mother, said the support the family had received had been "life-changing".

"From that first contact when Nell was a baby, it's just been so lovely to have an habilitation officer there to help us," she said.

"We had a difficult first year and straight away we felt like we had that support.

"It makes me really sad to think that some families aren't able to access these services. I just think for parents, who haven't got that, they're really missing out on vital support.

"It gives blind children that chance of independence which they really deserve."

Branwen Jones is a habilitation specialist for Guide Dogs Cymru, and works with social services across north Wales.

She said: "It's not the same in every local authority across Wales and there are gaps in provisions, especially for habilitation services.

"Early intervention for children with an impairment is key and is really important for children and their families.

"The sooner we can work with them and provide that support the better."

A Welsh Local Government Association spokesman said: "Supporting children and young people's needs continues to be a top priority for local authorities.

"Long-term sustainable funding is needed to enable councils to provide specialised services to enhance their ability to do this and to better meet needs."