Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union - home page

About Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union

Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union (Únia nevidiacich a slabozrakých Slovenska, slovak acronym: UNSS) is a civic organisation established April 7th, 1990.

It pursues the objective to improve the quality of life of visually impaired Slovak people and to give partially sighted and blind citizens chance to live full-value life and participate in the development of an integrated society.

Among its missions belong the help to overcome the consequences of sight damage or loss of vision, it advocates the rights and creation of equal opportunities in each spheres of life, provides counselling and services, furthermore supports and develops activities - the purpose of which is a full-value life of people with visual impairment within the mainstream society.

The Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union operates within the whole country and offers it’s services to everybody who is interested in them.

Social counselling

The Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union offers its services on the basis of the Social Aid Act. Social counselling is designed to people for whom loss or damage of vision means the dominant problem of their life. It includes:

• advisory in the field of accepting the impairment itself;
• social and legal counselling;
• advisory when purchasing access technology or optical aids;
• counselling in the area of employment and education.

Social rehabilitation

Within the social rehabilitation a person with visual impairment is acquiring skills, that lead to re-gaining an independence. In fact a person is learning to do well-known things in a new way. Here is included:

• orientation and mobility in a safe way, not only at home, but also outside;
• performing daily-living skills like hygiene, self-care about appearance and household;
• reading and writing Braille, key-board competence, signing;
• training the usage of assistive technology and optical aids.

Beside the above mentioned individual-based trainings the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union regularly organises residential courses the main purpose of which is to improve skills, to motivate clients and to share experience. Among the most regularly prepared courses of this kind belong:

• summer integration camps for children and youth with and without visual impairment;
• information and sharing weekends for families having a visually impaired child;
• Christmas stay for elderly people and
• residential course for diabetics.

Centre of Technical and Information Services (CETIS)

The Centre of Technical and Information Services is one of the departments of the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union that provides technical support, information services and training of skills needed for education, employment and independent life of blind and partially sighted people. Among its activities belong:

• advisory in the selection of assistive technology and teaching their handling;
• advisory aimed at accessibility of web pages as well as other electronic documents for visually impaired users;
• courses aimed at working with assistive technology, seminars and counselling for teachers;
• dissemination of information about the possibilities of using assistive technology for educating and employing people with visual impairment.

Department for prevention of architectonic and transportation barriers

One of the basic conditions to achieve independence of people with visual impairment is to use adequate adaptations of the environment he/she is living in – that is removal of barriers. Another activity developed by the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union is counselling in the area of prevention and removal of architectonic barriers regarding people with visual impairment.

Activities of the department for prevention of architectonic and transportation barriers are:

• providing consultations and counselling when including debarrierisation principles into specific projects or when carrying out a building construction;
• realising seminars for people with visual impairment with the purpose to identify architectonic barriers, to introduce theoretical outcomes and practical solutions as well as to define the most frequent problems – all with the emphasis on a “design for all”;
• methodical activities;
• dissemination of information concerning the issue of removing architectonic barriers with the aim to inform professionals (architects and civil engineers), national and local authorities and also the wide public.

Guide Dog Training School

The Guide Dog Training School, as an another department of the Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union, is here especially for those, who are interested in having a guide dog. It's a full-right member of the International Federation of guide dog training schools with the seat in Great Britain. The guide dog training school ensures and offers:

• breeding and training of guide dogs starting from its purchasing and examining till it's given to its future blind owner;
• courses for those, who want to obtain a guide dog;
• training for new dog owner.

guidedog.unss.sk

Related Organizations

• WBU - World Blind Union
• EBU - European Blind Union
• ICEVI, European Region - International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
• O.N.C.E. - Organización Nacional de Ciegos Espanoles
• RNIB - Royal National Institute for the Blind
• NIACE - National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, UK
• AFB - American Foundation for the Blind
• Overbrook School for the Blind, Philadelphia
• International Guide Dog Federation