Have you ever wondered what a blind person can actually see?

“I can tell you it’s definitely not black,” says Terri Sawkins, who has been blind for 35 years.

Or how about communicating with someone with an impairment, whether it is sight, sound or both?

Terri, 57, says: “The other morning I was looking for a place and asked someone on the street. They said, ‘it’s over there’, but I can’t see where they are pointing!”

It is simple, everyday questions like these that have prompted an Essex-wide organisation, Essex Cares, to launch a training programme to show people – individuals and employees of businesses from all sectors – how to communicate with and accommodate people who live with an impairment.

The programme, Sensory Awareness Training, is delivered by four trainers, three of whom have an impairment themselves, of which Terri is one.

It enables people to ask those questions deemed too embarrassing or awkward to ask at any other time, such as “what can you see or hear?”

The aim is to get past the embarrassment to the stage where people with impairments can work alongside others in the workplace, go shopping and have staff on hand who are educated in what it means to be sensory impaired.

Faye Gatenby, manager of Essex Cares’ Sensory Service, explains: “People with sensory impairments do not necessarily have positive experiences when they try to get a job, go shopping or go out socialising.

Usually, it is down to a lack of understanding on the other person’s part, but that can be changed. It is easy for organisations to be more accessible to people with impairments.

“Organisations need to think ‘is our reception area accessible?’ or ‘do staff know how to communicate with someone with an impairment?’ Have businesses maintained or updated technology that would help people who are sensory impaired, such as colour readers, loop systems and text phones? All this just helps businesses access what is called the purple pound, money that could be spent by people who are sensory impaired but isn’t, because they don’t bother.”

The training would also benefit health care providers, residential care and transport providers, and voluntary organisations, says Faye, as well as banks, shops and theatres.

Essex Cares runs bespoke training sessions of one or two hours, half day and full day, and the training can be delivered in workplaces or at Essex Cares’ training centres in Chelmsford and Colchester.

Topics covered in the course include communication methods, promoting independence, social inclusion and best practice guidance.

The practical training includes the use of props, such as simulation glasses and ear defenders, in an effort to recreate impairments for learners.

Faye says: “Our training is unique because three of our trainers have impairments.

They can answer questions from first-hand experience, and talk through their journey from diagnosis, through each stage of deterioration, to complete loss.

“During the sessions, people seem to feel empowered to ask questions theymay not normally ask, even things like ‘how do you do your make-up?’ But that’s what this is about, breaking down barriers, creating understanding.”

With a growing elderly population, Essex is one of the counties with the largest number of residents with sensory impairments in the country.

This makes it more important for organisations and businesses in Essex to undergo the training, says Faye.

“We want to make access to this training as easy as possible, which is why it is bespoke. It can last two hours or a full day, be held at one of our centres or in the workplace,” adds Faye.

“The county already has one of the highest populations of people with sensory impairments across the UK, but as it continues to increase with an ageing population, it’s really important that organisations are equipped and confident enough to communicate with every member of the community, irrespective of the impairment theymay have.”