News

Reaching beyond physical boundaries

Physical distance is not a boundary that limits how Guide Dogs can help you.

Guide Dogs Queensland is committed to providing personalised support for people with low vision and blindness, no matter where they live. This includes regular visits to regional areas and tailored residential programs at the Bald Hills campus to help Clients achieve their mobility goals. Each year, our Orientation and Mobility Specialists visit areas like Mackay, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Emerald, Yeppoon, and Biloela to provide much-needed support and training.

Rural locations are covered on a rotating schedule to ensure Clients across all corners of the state are supported regularly. During 2024, they’ve made 12 regional trips, alternating between the Mackay region and the central Queensland towns of Rockhampton and Gladstone with each trip lasting about a week. These trips ensure that Clients in regional areas can access the same high-quality support as those living in major cities, without the need to travel long distances for assistance.

At Guide Dogs Queensland, we offer on-site residential programs for individuals with low vision or blindness to enhance mobility and independence. These intensive, hands-on courses run from three to five days and are ideal for rural Clients who are unable to connect with the team during their regional trips. Our group classes provide valuable opportunities to interact with others facing similar challenges, creating a social setting where Clients can learn from each other’s experiences. Our classes include:

Foundations Class:
This program teaches essential skills for traveling with a long cane. It covers body protection, trailing indoors, human guide training (which Clients can then teach their family and friends), and cane techniques. Learners practice in a quiet residential area, progressing to street crossings and indoor travel environments like shopping centres.

Advanced Class:
For those with foundational skills, this class focuses on advanced travel, including navigating public transport (bus, train, ferry) and busy urban environments. It also covers complex road crossings and airport navigation.

Sensory Class:
Designed for learners who rely on their remaining senses, this course develops sound, touch, and smell skills to aid navigation. It also focuses on straight-line travel and orientation.

Night Class:
This class is for individuals who have low vision and find it challenging to navigate in low-light or nighttime conditions. It includes blindfolded exercises during the day and focuses on techniques for safe travel at dusk and night.

We recently had a Client attend from Longreach who participated in the cane foundations course. While many residential programs are designed for groups, this Longreach Client’s course was individualised to meet her specific needs which included, “learning the cane from the very beginning, perfecting cane techniques and using the cane on a simple route”, Orientation and Mobility Specialist Jess explains. Given this Client lives in an area with few footpaths, the training emphasised techniques for navigating without them, ensuring she could use her cane effectively in all types of environments. The residential format allows for immersive, hands-on learning, with Clients practicing their skills in real-world scenarios such as public transport, daily routes traveled and how to receive information from their cane to navigate new routes and spaces.

Alongside the residential programs, we also run affordable school holiday mobility camps, where students can engage in intensive mobility training.

While NDIS funding covers training, the accommodation, travel, and food are often self-funded or covered by grants. We are continually seeking additional funding to help expand these services, and we hope to offer more regular residential programs in the near future.

If you or someone you know would benefit from these services, please reach out to clients@guidedogsqld.com.au for more information on how to access our regional programs and residential courses.