A FAMILY from Tavistock has been featured in a new report released by charity, 'Sense'.

Deafblind Awareness Week was held last week (June 22-28), in an attempt to spread understanding of the barriers deafblind children face in completing everyday activities.

Sense is a national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind or have sensory impairments.

The main theme for this year's awareness week was 'play'.

In an attempt to educate local communities a new report, 'The case for play', was shared, which calls for an inquiry into play and the challenges to play faced by deafblind children.

Sense has said that play is a vital part of child development and its aim is to work with child development professionals, academics, families and sector colleagues to bring greater focus to the issue.

'The case for play' report uses powerful stories of personal experience to highlight the importance of a greater understanding.

One of the families featured in the report is three-and-a-half-year-old Isaac McLean and his mum Kelly from Tavistock.

Isaac has Charge syndrome and a cortical vision impairment, as well as significant hearing loss.

He can't speak, but recently started to communicate using signs.

Isaac, like all children who are deafblind and have complex needs, is entitled to an early assessment from a specialist.

Sense said that through research they have identified areas in which local authorities could provide better support to meet the needs of deafblind children.

Kelly said: 'Isaac only started receiving support when he was two. Before then, our paediatrician kept writing referrals to our local authority, but nothing came of them. I was trying to get speech and language therapy for Isaac and really struggled.

'I was lucky I was at home and had time to do some research. We bought or made sensory toys for him ourselves — things like a magnet board with pictures, which I printed off and laminated at home.

'I also did my own sign language training and made sure I learned two to three signs every week. I couldn't afford to go on a sign language course and the local authority couldn't fund it.'

Isaac's children and family support worker Sarah was the first person to speak to Kelly about his multi-sensory (MSI) needs.

Isaac is very sensory seeking and he likes to play with anything that has a distinctive surface.

Sarah focused on touch and brought some specialist toys with her.

Kelly continued: 'The equipment helps to develop the senses, using touch and music. When Sarah introduced us to them, it gave me a chance to bond with Isaac, taking into account his needs.

'This gave me the opportunity to begin stepping into his world and I think it helped us both feel less isolated from one another.

'It is fantastic to have such a range of facilities on our doorstep. We know other families are not so lucky, this is why we are so keen to support Sense's campaign.'

Sarah was able to explain how Isaac experienced things and why he behaved in certain ways. This enabled Kelly to gain a further understanding of how he experiences life.

The family is now supported by a multi-sensory support worker, who has been working with Isaac since last March.