Deafblindness
Encyclopedia
Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful sight
and little or no useful hearing
. Educationally, individuals are considered to be deafblind when the combination of their hearing and vision loss causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they require significant and unique adaptations in their educational programs. Deafblind people have an experience quite distinct from people who are only deaf or only blind
.
(in a visually modified or tactual form). Others who grew up blind and later became deaf are more likely to use a tactile mode of their spoken/written language. Methods of communication include:
Multisensory methods have been used to help deafblind people enhance their communication skills. These can be taught to very young children with developmental delays (to help with pre-intentional communication), young people with learning difficulties, or older people, including those with dementia. One such process is Tacpac
.
Amateur radio
deafblind operators generally communicate on 2-way radios using Morse code
.
, a prominent activist recognized for her important contributions to the blind population, serves as the perfect example of the complexities of a deafblind individual’s identity.
Keller first captured the public's attention when she graduated from Radcliffe in 1904, when she began advocating for both the blind and the deaf populations. After several years, she found advocating for both the deaf and the blind was too complex. Keller changed her focus to the needs of the blind. As a result of this transformation, her identity as a deaf woman began to vanish. To further emphasize her new identity, in Helen Keller’s Journal, 1936 - 1937, she wrote a controversial statement suggesting being deaf was more burdensome than being blind. Additionally, Keller’s close relationship and work with Alexander Graham Bell
, which included sensitive topics such as eugenics
and oralism
, contribute to the skepticism many culturally deaf individuals feel about her. By choosing the blind identity, she lost an important connection to the deaf community. Though Keller felt the need to choose her identity, not all deafblind individuals feel the need to do so. Using Keller's situation as a case study, it is possible to observe issues raised by identity within a minority group.
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
and little or no useful hearing
Hearing (sense)
Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses...
. Educationally, individuals are considered to be deafblind when the combination of their hearing and vision loss causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they require significant and unique adaptations in their educational programs. Deafblind people have an experience quite distinct from people who are only deaf or only blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
.
Communication
Deafblind people communicate in many different ways determined by the nature of their condition, the age of onset, and what resources are available to them. For example, someone who grew up deaf and experienced vision loss later in life is likely to use a sign languageSign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
(in a visually modified or tactual form). Others who grew up blind and later became deaf are more likely to use a tactile mode of their spoken/written language. Methods of communication include:
- Use of residual hearing (speaking clearly, hearing aidHearing aidA hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Earlier devices, known as "ear trumpets" or "ear horns", were passive funnel-like amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and...
s) or sight (signing within a restricted visual field, writing with large print). - Tactile signingTactile signingTactile signing is a common means of communication used by people with both a sight and hearing impairment , which is based on a standard system of Deaf manual signs.-Kinds of tactile signing:...
, sign languageSign languageA sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, or a manual alphabet such as the American Manual Alphabet or Deafblind Alphabet (also known as "two-hand manual") with tactile or visual modifications. - InterpretingInterpretingLanguage interpretation is the facilitating of oral or sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between users of different languages...
services (such as sign language interpreters or communication aides). - Communication devices such as Tellatouch or its computerized versions known as the TeleBraille and Screen Braille Communicator.
Multisensory methods have been used to help deafblind people enhance their communication skills. These can be taught to very young children with developmental delays (to help with pre-intentional communication), young people with learning difficulties, or older people, including those with dementia. One such process is Tacpac
Tacpac
Tacpac is multi-sensory process created in 1995 that can be used to promote communication and movement through touch and music. Originally designed as a process for young children with sensory impairment Tacpac is multi-sensory process created in 1995 that can be used to promote communication and...
.
Amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
deafblind operators generally communicate on 2-way radios using Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
.
Prominent deafblind people
- Francisco GoyaFrancisco GoyaFrancisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
(1746 – 1828): Spanish painter, deaf and blind by the time of his death. - Victorine Morriseau (1789 – 1832): first deafblind person to be educated in Paris.
- James Mitchell (1795 – 1869): congenitally deafblind son of Scottish minister.
- Sanzan Tani (1802 – 1867): Japanese teacher who became deaf in childhood and blind later in life, communicating with students by touch.
- Hieronymus Lorm (1821 – 1902): inventor and novelist.
- Laura BridgmanLaura BridgmanLaura Dewey Lynn Bridgman is known as the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, fifty years before the more famous Helen Keller...
(1829 – 1889): first deafblind child to be successfully educated in the US. - Mary Bradley (? – 1866): first deafblind child to be successfully educated in the UK.
- Joseph Hague: second deafblind child to be successfully educated in the UK.
- Yvonne Pitrois (1880 – 1937): French biographer.
- Helen KellerHelen KellerHelen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
(1880 – 1968): author, activist, and lecturer, first deafblind person to receive a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree. - Alice BetteridgeAlice BetteridgeAlice Betteridge is known as the first deafblind child to be educated in Australia....
(1901 – 1966): first deafblind Australian to be educated. Teacher, traveller, writer. - Jack ClemoJack ClemoReginald John Clemo was a British poet and writer who was strongly associated both with his native Cornwall and his strong Christian belief. His work was considered to be visionary and inspired by the rugged Cornish landscape...
(1916 – 1994): British poet who became deafblind as an adult. - Richard KenneyRichard KenneyRichard L. Kenney is a poet and professor of English at the University of Washington. He is the author of four books of poetry: The Evolution of the Flightless Bird, Orrery, The Invention of the Zero, and The One-Strand River....
(1924 – 1979): educator, lecturer, and poet; third deafblind person to graduate from an American university; president of the Hadley School for the BlindHadley School for the BlindHadley School for the Blind is a distance education school for blind and visually impaired people, their families, and blindness service professionals. The school is located in a suburb of Chicago: Winnetka, Illinois....
from 1975 to 1979. - Robert SmithdasRobert SmithdasRobert Smithdas is a deaf-blind teacher, advocate and author.-Life & work:For many years, he was the director of Services for the Deaf-Blind at the "Industrial Home for the Blind" in New York. He began his career there in 1950 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, cum laude, from St....
(1925 – ): first deafblind person in the US to receive a master's degree. - Mae Brown (1935 – 1973): Canada’s first deafblind university graduate; developed services for the deafblind at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).
- Theresa Poh Lin ChanTheresa Poh Lin ChanChan Poh Lin , also known as Theresa Poh Lin Chan, is a writer, teacher, and one-time actor. Born in Singapore, she was known in her youth as "the Helen Keller of Southeast Asia", as a reference to indicate that, like Keller, Chan is a highly accomplished deaf and blind person...
(1945? – ): SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an teacher and writer.
Identity
It is often assumed deafblind individuals accept both identities. As with most individuals who identify with more than one group on the basis of a single characteristic, a deafblind individual’s identity is similarly complex. Helen KellerHelen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, a prominent activist recognized for her important contributions to the blind population, serves as the perfect example of the complexities of a deafblind individual’s identity.
Keller first captured the public's attention when she graduated from Radcliffe in 1904, when she began advocating for both the blind and the deaf populations. After several years, she found advocating for both the deaf and the blind was too complex. Keller changed her focus to the needs of the blind. As a result of this transformation, her identity as a deaf woman began to vanish. To further emphasize her new identity, in Helen Keller’s Journal, 1936 - 1937, she wrote a controversial statement suggesting being deaf was more burdensome than being blind. Additionally, Keller’s close relationship and work with Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
, which included sensitive topics such as eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
and oralism
Oralism
Oralism is the education of deaf students through spoken language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech instead of using sign language within the classroom...
, contribute to the skepticism many culturally deaf individuals feel about her. By choosing the blind identity, she lost an important connection to the deaf community. Though Keller felt the need to choose her identity, not all deafblind individuals feel the need to do so. Using Keller's situation as a case study, it is possible to observe issues raised by identity within a minority group.
See also
- Congenital rubella syndromeCongenital rubella syndromeCongenital rubella syndrome can occur in a developing fetus of a pregnant woman who has contracted rubella during her first trimester. If infection occurs 0–28 days before conception, there is a 43% chance the infant will be affected. If the infection occurs 0–12 weeks after conception, there is a...
- TadomaTadomaTadoma is a method of communication used by deafblind individuals, in which the deafblind person places their thumb on the speaker's lips and their fingers along the jawline. The middle three fingers often fall along the speaker's cheeks with the little finger picking up the vibrations of the...
- Tangible symbol systemsTangible symbol systemsTangible symbols are objects or pictures that are used as symbols by individuals who are not able to communicate using more conventional symbol systems. Tangible symbols bear an obvious and concrete relationship to the visual or tactile properties of the entities that they represent...
- Tommy (rock opera)Tommy (rock opera)Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
- Usher syndromeUsher syndromeUsher syndrome is a relatively rare genetic disorder that is a leading cause of deafblindness and that is associated with a mutation in any one of 10 genes. Other names for Usher syndrome include Hallgren syndrome, Usher-Hallgren syndrome, rp-dysacusis syndrome and dystrophia retinae dysacusis...
- White caneWhite caneA white cane is used by many people who are blind or visually impaired, both as a mobility tool and as a courtesy to others. Not all modern white canes are designed to fulfill the same primary function, however: There are at least five varieties of this tool, each serving a slightly different...
(used by blind people to assist them in walking)
External links
- The National Consortium On Deaf-Blindness
- Deafblind UK supporting deafblind people in the UK
- The Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults
- Sense Scotland Scottish charity for Deafblindness
- Sense - UK charity for Deafblindness
- Sense International (India), an NGO working with deafblind people
- The Center for Deaf-Blind Persons
- Frequently Asked Questions About DeafBlindness - Detailed info about what it's like to be deafblind (communication, mobility, cultural identity, quality of life, etc.)
- World Federation of the Deafblind
- American Association of the Deaf-Blind
- Sense International (India) - working with Deafblind people in India
- Canadian Deafblind and Rubella Association
- New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative - working with Deaf-blind youth, families, and service providers in New York
- Oklahoma Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project - working with children & youth with DB, their families, educational teams, and agencies