Ellie Russell – Family Practitioner South Wales

I’ve worked as RSBC’s Family Practitioner for South Wales since November 2019, We provide support to families with blind and partially sighted children aged between 0 – 25 years across England and Wales.

It’s a varied and exciting role, and no two days are the same. As well as providing targeted therapeutic support to children and young people, we work closely with parents, carers, schools, and other professionals to ensure the best outcomes for the families we work with.Working closely with our colleagues across the organisation has been brilliant during lockdown when families in Wales have been able to engage with the online sessions, learn new skills, gain more confidence, and they have made new friends.

Our work with the children and young people varies hugely and we use different techniques and strategies depending on the age of the children and the challenges they are facing.We have lots of opportunities to be creative and work hard to make sure the sessions are rewarding and fun.Recognising the importance of mental health, supporting emotional wellbeing, improving confidence and self-esteem and building resilience at a young age can have a positive impact well beyond childhood, giving blind and partially sighted children life-long skills that will help them face challenges in the future.

It is so rewarding to be doing this work with the most incredible families and seeing the huge progress being made.