Meet Sarah

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About me

My name is Sarah Lenton and I am a Senior Specialist in the council’s Sensory Needs Service (SNS), and I provide help to residents who are visually impaired, d/Deaf, hard of hearing and Deafblind. 

How I help residents

Our team, which include staff able to communicate in British sign language, is available to assess the needs of residents and provide help and support.

For the visually impaired, this may include mobility training and help with kitchen skills, movement and orientation, as well as providing them with information about services within the community.

Support is also available for those with hearing loss, as well as those with dual sensory loss, who may be struggling to come to terms with acquired hearing loss as well as those managing conditions such as tinnitus.

The SNS team work in partnership with the council’s Technology Enabled Care (TEC) team to ensure that those with sensory needs have access to specialist equipment that could make their lives easier and enable them to remain independent within their home.

In addition to this the SNS and TEC work together to ensure integrated equipment such as alerts for carers and falls alarms are made available to meet resident’s sensory needs.

The team also work with other departments across the council to support those with a sensory impairment that may also have other needs such as physical disability, learning disability or mental health issues.

Stephen's story - resident case study

As part of this amazing team, I provide practical and emotional support to our residents to enhance their quality of life while allowing them to feel more independent and empowered.

As a resident with sight problems, Stephen has first-hand experience of how valuable adult social care is. 

He was helped by our team following a difficult time when he was struggling with glaucoma and Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear that can lead to dizziness and hearing loss. 

We supported Stephen by allowing him to retain his independence, while at the same time making it easier for him to carry out everyday tasks. This is what Stephen had to say about the help he received from our team: 

"I'd lost my job, I'd lost my driving licence, I'd lost my home. My confidence was so low and I needed that bit of confidence back. I needed that uplifting because I was feeling very down.

All this was the impact of my glaucoma and my Meniere’s disease. I'd heard about the Sensory Needs Team at Wokingham and got in touch and they came round to see me. The team picked me up if you like. They built up my confidence again and gained me back my identity. 

“The very first thing they spotted was the fact that I never had no handrail up on the stairs. They also put stickers round on the cooker and that was so that I could see properly when I’m turning the cooker on and off. They also gave me a level indicator so when I find myself a hot drink, off goes to buzzer and it stops me from burning myself.

“I had training in preparing vegetables. Some of them went on the floor but it did help and it gave me some kind of self-importance because I felt very useless at the time. We went cane training and we walked around the streets waving the cane around and making sure that the area was secure. 

“I was entitled to something they call ESA which is employment support allowance and another thing is I think called PIP, a personal independence payment.

"We applied and the first forms that came back was I was rejected but the team decided that I should appeal which I did and we were successful I was given eight hours a week so that I could do things like shopping.

"If I have to go to appointments to the hospital or the dentists or doctors I’ve been taken up there and supported. When I’ve got nothing like that on I can get into my keep fit. It keeps me mentally fit in the mind and the whole thing sort of lifted me if you like.

“I got the place where I'm living now again through the council maybe if they hadn't come along and Wokingham Borough Council hadn’t been there for me, I don’t know where I’d be now to be honest because I was feeling so low but now it's made me feel so much better.”

Get in touch with us 

For further information about the Sensory Needs Service you can contact them on:

• Call (0118) 974 6896
• Email sensoryneeds@wokingham.gov.uk