Jon Nixey - Deaf-BlindI'm sure you've seen someone with a long white cane or stick that has reflective red stripes on it. You may even have seen a guide dog with a reflective red and white sleeve on its harness, and not the usual yellow one. But you probably didn't realise that it actually is there for a purpose. It's giving people a warning, and a very important one at that! Red and white canes, sticks and harnesses are an indication to drivers, and of course the public in general, that the person using the stick or guide dog actually has a dual sensory loss, in other words, they are deaf-blind. This doesn't necessarily mean they have absolutely no sight and hearing, rather it is far more likely that they have a partial or significant loss of both senses. Of course, the degree of loss will vary from person to person. For example, I had a friend, Jeanie, who was completely deaf and had very little sight, and she worked with her guide dog, Trish. Then again, further along the scale, there's myself. I'm totally blind with a partial hearing loss. Needless to say, other people will suffer varying losses of both sight and hearing. Now, you're probably sat there thinking, 'well if someone is both deaf and blind, how can they communicate with other people?' Well, they use sign language, of which there are a few variations. The most commonly used is signing on the hand. I began to learn the deaf-blind alphabet not too long after being registered partially deaf, and, although I don't use it to a great extent, it has certainly come in very useful when I've found myself in noisy environments. And of course there's always the thought that, maybe in years to come, my hearing may worsen, and so I'm already prepared by having learned to sign. Something else you may not be aware of is that deaf-blind people use computers. This subject is covered on the Computers page on this website. It has to be said that, although I don't like the idea of totally losing my hearing, if the worst comes to the worst, I know I will still be able to enjoy a great amount of independence, thanks to Guide Dogs, sign language, and the ever developing world of computer technology. Related Links
Deafblind UK |