How do Deaf-Blind people communicate?

Types of Communication

People who have deaf-blindness use a variety of different communication methods. Which method they choose depends upon how much useful sight and hearing they retain. Other factors include the causes of their deaf-blindness and for how long the person has had sensory impairments. And in some cases a deaf-blind person can make use of a combination of techniques to communicate. Here are some of the most common types of communication used by deaf-blind people.

Hands-On Signing

Based upon Israeli Sign Language, in this method the deaf-blind person follows the signs made by placing his hands on top of those of the signers hands and feels the signs as they are formed.

Tracking

As many people with deaf-blindness retain some useful sight, they follow the signs with their sight while using hands on signing at the same time. This method is particularly useful in helping people with Usher syndrome to communicate as their sight reduces.

Clear Speech

Speaking clearly is amongst the most effective ways to communicate with someone who has acquired hearing loss. Research indicates that this method can be highly effective in communicating with a deaf-blind person as they often retain some useful sight. It’s necessary to control several environmental factors to ensure the method works well. For example it’s important to check with the deaf-blind person which position is best for you to be in. Similarly it’s important to minimize background noise and avoid noisy places. It’s also recommended to hold a conversation in an area with good lighting. This allows your face to be seen more clearly and people with poor sight can often see more in a well lit place. In this method it’s crucial to adapt the conditions to suit the individual and make sure to speak slowly and clearly.

Tadoma

Tadoma, also known as tacticle lipreading, is a method of communication for deaf-blind people in which the deaf-blind person places their hands on the speakers lips, jawline or neck in order to feel vibrations. The middle three fingers usually fall along the speaker’s cheeks whilst the little finger is used to pick up the vibrations in the speaker’s throat. In this manner the deaf-blind person can feel both the movement of the lips as well as the vibrations in the vocal chords. It’s also useful to feel the puffing of the cheeks and warm air which is produced by nasal sounds when saying letters like N and M. Tadoma is a relatively difficult method to learn and is not commonly used. However some deaf-blind people can successfully use Tadoma to retain speech skills which they had before becoming deaf.

Braille

The Braille method is a system which is commonly used by blind people to read and write. Each Braille character is made up using six dot positions which are arranged in a rectangle. Dots can be raised at any of the six positions and can be used to form up to 64 permutations. Braille can help deaf-blind people access information in books and magazines, although it is not intended for use in one on one conversation. Some deaf-blind people do choose to use Braille as a method to communicate with others.

Print on Palm

Print on palm is another form of manual communication in which words are spelled out onto the palm of the deaf-blind person's hand. As opposed to other forms of manual signing, print on palm makes use of tracing in order to spell the words on the palm. Letters are placed on top of each other and there are slight pauses to signify the end of a word. Although learning print on palm requires very little training, it isn't as fast and is less popular than other signing methods due to the limited speed at which information can be imparted.

Lorm

Lorm is a tactile method of communication named after its founder, Hieronymous Lorm, who became deaf-blind at age 15. The Lorm alphabet assigns letters and numbers to different parts of the fingers. “Talking” takes place by touching the deaf-blind person’s hand to spell out words. Even a person who is not familiar with this system can use it to communicate with a deaf-blind person through the use of a thin glove, worn by the “listener,” that indicates the location of each letter and number.

Deaf-Blind Manual Alphabet

Also called finger spelling, this method represents the letters of an alphabet using only the hands. This type of signing makes use of touch by spelling out each word onto a deaf-blind person’s hand. Although the Deaf-blind manual alphabet can take a while to learn it’s much faster to use than other methods such as print on palm. Due to its speed and fluency, this method is one of the most commonly used worldwide. The manual alphabet can be used to denote complex words by spelling individual letters or quickly express simple information such as ‘yes’ and ‘no’ through use of quick signs.