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Independence through Senseability

If 95% of what we learn comes from our eyes and ears, imagine what it must be like to be deafblind.

Deafblindness – A Unique Disability

If 95% of what we learn comes from our eyes and ears, imagine what it must be like to be deafblind.
Deafblindness is a complex disability that combines varying degrees of both hearing and visual impairment, making it unique to each individual.
The world of an individual who is deafblind extends only as far as their reach. Through the specialized touch of our highly trained Intervenors, the world is brought closer to them.
Although a person who is deafblind may not be completely deaf or completely blind, they do not have enough of either sense to navigate their environment independently.
All individuals who are deafblind experience challenges with communication and mobility and most have additional physical disabilities and medical issues.
Individuals with congenital or early adventitious deafblindness lost their sense of sight and hearing prenatally or shortly after birth, so they have no reference or memory of what it’s like to have either sense.
About 7,000 Ontarians live with deafblindness.

DeafBlind Ontario Services Residents

Since 1989, DeafBlind Ontario Services has enabled individuals who are deafblind to live more independently by providing residential and other specialized services.

Without the support of our specially trained staff, called Intervenors, our residents have no understanding of every day concepts we take for granted.

For instance, an individual who is deafblind cannot understand the difference between a wall versus a closed door, or why you would sit on a chair and not a table.

Even with this severe disability, our residents have the capacity to build their life skills, gain independence and contribute to the greater community with the support of specially trained Intervenors and specialized housing that caters to their needs.

Intervenors – A Specialized Profession

Intervenors are specially trained to act as the ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ of the resident.

Intervenors provide information about the environment and what is happening, assists the individual who is deafblind to communicate, form accurate concepts, make appropriate decisions, and anticipate coming events, assists with life skills and most importantly, assists the individual to achieve as much independence as possible.

Intervention is a process, not a means to an end. It is required for a lifetime.

The process of intervention must always provide the individual who is deafblind with the information required for anticipation, motivation, communication and confirmation. The key to participation is intervention.

Without intervention, our residents would not be able to understand and navigate their environment or communicate effectively with others, and will become isolated and withdrawn.

Specialized Training for a Unique Disability

The need for high quality, specialized training for this profession is imperative to the success of our residents. Intervenors are expected to become proficient in the preferred mode of communication of the person they are working with e.g. Signed Exact English, Adaptive Interactive Tactile Sign Language, American Sign Language, Fingerspelling, etc.

Individuals who are born deafblind often have additional cognitive and physical disabilities, and other medical issues. Therefore, Intervenors are trained to not only provide critical communication support, but to also address these additional physical, cognitive and medical challenges.

DeafBlind Ontario Services has developed a unique comprehensive training program that trains our Intervenors on the many techniques used to communicate with individuals who are deafblind.

Our residents cannot hear alarms or see flashing lights, which poses a significant security and safety risk. Therefore, unlike other assisted living programs, our homes require Intervenors be present 24/7.

One-on-One Intervention

Because of the complexity involved in having two sensory impairments, individuals who are deafblind require services that are unique from those designed exclusively for either blind people or deaf people.

Since every individual who is deafblind has a varying degree of sensory loss, they will have their own unique individual way of communicating – such as through tactile symbols, objects of reference, various forms of sign language or Braille.

For hearing and sighted people, knowing where you are, understanding what is going on around you, knowing who is with you, communicating with other people, making decisions and getting around are all taken for granted. Deafblind people need specialized services to do all these everyday things.

Because each resident has their own unique way of communicating, it can take months to establish a bond with their Intervenor.

A one-on-one Intervenor/resident relationship establishes the trust and communication flow needed to help the individual who is deafblind gain more independence. With the support of an Intervenor, our residents are able to volunteer and participate in community programs that they couldn’t have otherwise.