News
Deaf/Blind Awareness Tips
Thursday 3rd October 2024
Penny Gunn
As I was walking down the staircase with a Deaf/Blind friend of mine at the Tunsgate Quarter shopping centre in Guildford last year, I was stopped by Marie from Radio Jackie. We were there for the BSL Fest that year - one of its aims is to celebrate British Sign Language (BSL) with the public. Marie asked me the best ways to communicate with a Deaf/Blind person. Here are some of the things my friend and myself shared with her.
1. Understand the Diversity of Deaf-Blindness
Deaf-blindness is a spectrum. People may have varying degrees of vision and indeed hearing loss so it’s important to ask how best to communicate or assist. I, for instance have Usher syndrome but do have some sight.
2. Effective Communication Techniques
I was able to show Marie some tactile sign language. I demonstrated this by drawing the shape of a room on her back as I would if I was letting a Deaf/Blind person know about the layout and physical objects say in a dining room. I also showed with my friend how we communicate using a form of BSL - we do this by holding each others hands to make the hand shapes. Other tactile communication methods we discussed for Deaf/Blind people can include Braille, using communication cards, writing in large print, or using physical objects to convey messages. The key, as we said to Marie, was always to ask how the Deaf/Blind person likes to communicate, to be patient and to give them time to respond.
3. Accessibility
We also talked about making sure that spaces are accessible. This might involve using contrasting colours for better visibility, providing written materials in Braille, and using vibrations or other tactile signals as alerts.
4. Raising Awareness
Deaf/Blind people face many challenges and we need to keep raising awareness. We are desperate for DeafBlind guides. Marie was interested to learn about our own work at Sign For Thoughts. I explained about our different courses - we are one of a very few centres to offer Deafblind Communication courses. We also offer BSL courses Levels 1 - 6 and Deaf Awareness Training. You can see our courses here:
As I said to Marie, our Deaf/Blind courses can be done by Deaf and Hearing people.
The tips we shared with her can help to create a more inclusive environment for those who are Deaf/Blind and, I hope, increase public awareness of their experiences.