Today marks the launch of six new Braille and audio resources for children who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. This was done in collaboration with Vision Ireland (previously NCBI) and St. Francis Hospice.
The launch of the accessible versions of the books coincides with the ICBN’s Bereaved Children’s Awareness Campaign which aims to highlight the fact that ‘children grieve too’ and they need the adults in their lives to help them with the ‘big feeling’ that grief brings.
The original versions of the books, “Finding your way through grief: For teenagers and young adults” and “Always in My Heart: A book for children about grieving”, were developed by the social work team of St Francis Hospice in collaboration with some of the young people attending the hospice for bereavement support, and their parents. Following work with the Vision Ireland Library and Vision Ireland Counselling, Wellbeing and Emotional Support services, these vital resources are now available for children and families of children who are blind or vision impaired who may need to access them following the loss of a loved one.
Vision Ireland has converted three picture books, Badger’s Parting Gifts, The Heart and the Bottle and The Invisible String into Braille and audio formats, as well as ICBN’s guidance leaflet for parents
We are delighted to collaborate with Vision Ireland to bring forward some accessible resources to support families experiencing bereavement and loss. As adults we often are unsure of the words to use and how to have these difficult and emotional conversations. Vision Ireland and ICBN recognised the need to ensure that supportive and empowering information is accessible for all families, and we are delighted to expand our resource options within the Irish Hospice Foundation Library and on our website see here.
Anyone who wishes to avail of the accessible Braille and audio versions of both resources can do so through Library@ncbi.ie.
