[NFB-DB] FW: a piece for the blog

[Penny Leclair]

My response is that given that Deafblind is not going to describe a person, it is not a tag most want! Whether or not a person  says they are Deafblind it matters that once you reach the point of truly struggling to communicate and get around, it is the time to go  into action to learn all the ways or tools to use so that you are not more isolated than you need to be, and that you continue to be stimulated to be active in thinking and creative in solving those little problems that come up.

Take our technology, it changes and keeps us involved! No, I wish things would not change once I learned all the things to get my system to do what I want! But I know we have people who are deafblind that don’t have technology. Counting my blessings.
Penny

Sent from Mail for Windows

From: Doula Jarboe via NFB-DB
Sent: August 20, 2021 4:51 PM
To: 'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List'
Cc: doula.jarboe at gmail.com
Subject: [NFB-DB] FW: a piece for the blog

Hi All,

     I originally wrote this article for The Blind Coloradan, the Colorado affiliate’s newsletter.  But I thought people here might appreciate what I wrote in light of the discussion about identifying personally as being Deafblind.  Enjoy.
Warmly,
Doula
Secretary National Deafblind division
President of the Colorado Association for the Blind, Hard of
Hearing, and Deafblind


How Do You Know if You Are Deafblind?

     Until a few years ago, I didn’t really consider myself to be Deafblind.  However, once I thought about it, the amount of hearing loss I have without hearing aids is enough of a deficit for me to feel like I’m deaf.  But when I filled out the application for I Can Connect, I was very confused about if I qualified for the hearing loss part, because there wasn’t a clear statement for level of hearing loss.

     For those of us who happen to be blind, we have a clear legal definition.  If your vision is 2200 or less, then legally you are considered blind.  This definition exists for the Social Security Administration, SSA to have a clear cut way of qualifying blind people for assistance.  But when it comes to defining deafness, there isn’t anything so clear cut.  From a medical perspective, deafness is broken into categories based on levels of hearing loss.  As far as a legal definition of deafness, that is a bit more complicated.  Such definitions can be different from the ADA to different states’ laws.

     I think this is the other challenge with hearing loss and the word deafblind.  Hearing loss is so gradual, that it can be difficult to detect.  Even for someone like me who has had hearing loss all of my life, my loss is so gradual it’s difficult to detect.  That’s why it’s important to get a yearly hearing test.  But I think the other issue is the stigma of semantics and what people are comfortable with.  Some may be more comfortable with saying they are hard of hearing, or don’t hear well.  And when someone says they are Deafblind, many times people don’t know what that means.  Because just like with blindness, it covers a broad spectrum.  There simply needs to be more education both within and without the blindness community so there is a better understanding and more of a comfort level with this subset of the blindness community.

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