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Call for participants: focus groups on sensory impairment, Self-Directed Support and social care

  • Area of Work: Scottish Sensory Hub
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 4th January 2024
an illustration of a newspaper with the word 'ALLIANCE' on it, a pink smart phone, and a purple laptop.

Get involved and attend the focus group most appropriate to you

Self-Directed Support (SDS) is how social care is delivered in Scotland. The ALLIANCE is carrying out research into accessible information in Self-directed Support and social care on behalf of the Scottish Government.  

Scottish Government and COSLA published the Self-directed Support (SDS) Improvement Plan in 2023. You can read the plan here. One key activity in the SDS Improvement Plan is to ensure SDS communications are in accessible formats.

The ALLIANCE is running a series of focus groups which will inform the Scottish Government’s work to improve people’s access to accessible information on Self-Directed Support (SDS) and social care. This includes communication about support planning and the promotion and signposting of appropriate tools and language services.  

We want to hear from any adult with a sensory impairment who accesses, wants to access, or who has been refused access to SDS or social care. If you’re interested in taking part, please get in touch with the team.

There are four focus group dates:

  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing (English language): 26th January 2024, 10am – 12 noon (online via Zoom)
  • Deafblind or with a dual sensory loss: 29th January 2024, 1-3pm (in-person at Deafblind Scotland, Kirkintilloch)
  • Deaf BSL users: Thursday 1st February 2024, 11am – 1pm (online via Zoom, led by Clare Canton in BSL)
  • Blind and partially sighted people: Friday 2nd February, 10am-12pm (online via Zoom, with Sight Scotland)

Communication support will be provided.

Please register your interest in joining by emailing sensory@alliance-scotland.org.uk and stating which focus group you would like to attend.

If you are unable to attend a focus group but still want to share your experiences, please email the team at sensory@alliance-scotland.org.uk and we will discuss other ways of taking part in this research.

The ALLIANCE is also running a survey on accessible information in Self-directed Support for people with sensory impairment.

You can find the survey here

The survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete and will be open until Friday 9th February 2024.

The following video is in BSL, and contains the same content as this news item. There is no voiceover.

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