Deafblind Services Society
of British Columbia

Communication

Communicating with an individual who is deafblind varies according to the needs of the individual. Often, when sighted/hearing people think of communication, they think of spoken, written or even signed language. Much of communication is non-verbal and even unintentional.

To communicate, we need:

• someone to communicate with
• something to communicate about
• a means of communicating

None of these need language or even the intention to communicate.

A huge range of communication methods are used by individuals who are deafblind - speech, gesture, sign language, body movement, changes in facial expression, objects, pictures and many more. Some of these are readily understandable to other people. Others require good observation skills and knowledge of the individual. Many require training to be used effectively.