Facts About Deafblindness
Being deafblind
Some people are both vision-impaired or blind and hearing-impaired or deaf. The word for this is "deafblind". Helen Keller was the most famous deafblind person. There are lots of other deafblind people, too - more than 1,500 of them in New Zealand.
What can deafblind people see and hear?
It's different for different people. "Deafblind" doesn't always mean seeing and hearing nothing at all. Some deafblind people can see and hear some things. Only a few people are totally deafblind.
Why is being deafblind different?
Being deafblind is different from being just blind or just deaf. People who are blind use their hearing for lots of things - like knowing when it's safe to cross the road, or listening to talking books. People who are deaf use their sight for lots of things, like lip-reading or seeing sign language.
People who are deafblind can find it hard to use their sight or hearing for lots of everyday things.
Are people born deafblind?
Some people are born deafblind. Some people are born just deaf or blind, and lose the other sense later. Some people can see and hear when they are born but become deafblind later on.
How do deafblind people communicate?
Lots of deafblind people can talk. Some of them can also hear other people talk. If you meet a deafblind person who can talk, make you speak clearly and keep looking at them. You don't need to shout.
Some deafblind people use sign language - they use their hands to talk. Some of them can see other people signing back to them. If they can't see well enough, they can put their hands on top of the other person's hands. Then they can "see" the signs by feeling them.
Some deafblind people use different kinds of spelling. If you meet as deafblind person who uses "print on palm" you can use your finger to write letters on the palm of their hand. (Never use a pen - it takes ages to wash off!) Some deafblind people use "the deafblind manual alphabet" - this is a different way of spelling words onto their hand. You can see pictures of how it's done here. (In the pictures, the hand facing palm up is the deafblind person's hand. The other hand belongs to the person spelling the words.): The deafblind manual alphabet.