I’m A Deafblind Mother of 2. Here’s 10 Things I’d Like You To Know.

http://goo.gl/vJXKan

First off, the term “Deafblind” isn’t always “totally deaf, totally blind”, there are various degrees ranging from being hard of hearing and some usable sight, to being deaf and little to no usable sight. It is more complex than just having blindness or deafness alone. For more information on Deafblindness check out the American Association of the Deafblind’s FAQ page.

10) Please do not question our ability to see or hear.

I label myself as a Deafblind person, yet I wear glasses, with limited correction, and use a white cane. I also have a Cochlear Implant and can identify environmental sounds, but cannot understand speech without close lipreading. Others may speak very well and can carry a conversation on a cell phone, but have trouble in noisy areas or with strangers as their voices are not familiar.

9) If you’re in our space please do not move things around.

We need things exactly where we’ve placed them so we can quickly find them again. There’s no “scanning” visually for it, so if something’s moved, it takes us a long time to find it by touch. If you do move something, tell us where you’ve put it.