Information about Deafblindness
The term deafblind describes people who have a combination of
deafness and visual impairment. This causes difficulties with:
- Communication
- Access to information
- Mobility.
Deafblindness is a unique disability that affects people in
varying ways and can also be referred to as a 'dual sensory
impairment'. The needs of people with a dual sensory impairment
cannot be met by services for single sensory impaired people.
Definitions of deafblindness focus on the effects of the
combined loss of hearing and sight on everyday life - not on the
degree of deafness or blindness a person experiences.
The loss of both can affect a person's ability to communicate,
to get around safely and to access information.
Assess your needs
We provide specialist services, support and
equipment for people who are Deafblind including a Guide
Communicator Service.
To find out if you are eligible for our
services and support your will need to receive an assessment of
your needs by:
or
Find out more about deadblindness
If you would like to find out more about deafblindness and the
impact it can have on people's lives, view the following pages
for more information:
- Deafblind communication
Further details about the different ways in which a deafblind
person may communicate.
- Types
of visual impairment
We describe some of the most common eye conditions and
provides pictures of what people with different sight impairments
might see.
- Deafblind Conference
2011
The conference provided an opportunity to hear from deafblind
people about their experiences and what steps can be taken to
improve their access and involvement with services.