About DeafBlindness
DB vs D-B vs D/B
Texas DeafBlind Project
The combination of hearing and vision loss is referred to as “dual sensory loss” and/or “DeafBlind”. The term “DeafBlind” can mean many different things to different people. Sometimes it is a scary term which causes people to believe that DeafBlind individuals cannot hear or see anything. Sometimes it brings up images of Helen Keller since she is the most well known DeafBlind person.
However, the term DeafBlind, simply includes individuals that have a combination of hearing and vision loss.
DeafBlind may be seen spelled a plethora of different ways: DeafBlind, Deaf-Blind, Deafblind,Deaf/Blind, and those same instances spelled with a lowercase d and b as well. As the Kentucky DeafBlind Project, we use the spelling of DeafBlind to represent the community, culture, and the diversity within it. This is a shift to focus more on the community and identity rather than the medical view of it. We respect each individual’s choice of their identity, spelling, and who they are and will follow individuals’ leads, but for the postings on the KDBP website, we will use the spelling DeafBlind.
In 2016, the American Association of the DeafBlind changed the presentation of their name from Deaf-Blind to DeafBlind. In a Facebook posting on April 6, 2016, the group noted there “…is the need to shift from a medical view of being a DeafBlind person to a cultural one. We now view our community as a cultural community.” Helen Keller National Center has recently made this change as well.
Teaxs DeafBlind Project
You can read more on Texas Deafblind Project’s webpage About the Term Deafblind
What does deafblindness look like
Alex has CHARGE Syndrome which includes colobomas (blind spots) that are not clearly identified, but present. He wears glasses and has hearing aids but recently has stopped using them. Alex also has a g-tube and still is working on toilet training. He uses speech and some sign language to communicate. Most of his time is spent in a special education room where he works on grade-level academics, but he is mainstreamed for specialists, math and reading. Is he considered deafblind for services? Yes, because he has combined hearing and vision loss.
Maddie has many medical and health needs, wears a bone-anchored hearing aid and has cortical visual impairment. She also is an emergent communicator in sixth grade which means she does not yet use spoken or sign language to communicate and is identified as having severe multiple impairments including severe-to-profound cognitive delays. Is she considered deafblind for services? Yes, because she has combined hearing and vision loss.
Peter wears hearing aids and has a moderate-to-severe hearing loss. He also has optic atrophy. He communicates with speech and sign language. He has an interpreter in all general education classes. He also reads Braille and travels with a cane. Is he considered deaflbind for services? Yes, because he has combined hearing and vision loss.
Steven is profoundly deaf and has Deaf parents. He communicates using American Sign Language and attends the School for the Deaf. He is now in high school and was just identified with Usher Syndrome and has developed night blindness, so he struggles to see when the lights are off in the classroom, and has a smaller field of vision, but he says he can see fine. Is he considered deafblind for services? Yes, because he is deaf and blind