Deaf-blindness is a condition in which a person is struggling from a combination of both hearing and visual impairment and/ or loss. This term doesn’t necessarily mean that the deaf-blind person is actually deaf or blind, but rather they have significant trouble hearing and seeing to the extent that it affects their social or educational, lives. This condition can come about in a variety of ways, and results in varying degrees of deaf/ blindness. “About 50% of the deaf-blind community have Usher Syndrome. This is a genetic condition where a person is born deaf or hard of hearing, or with normal hearing, and loses their vision later on in life from retinitis pigmentosa” (aadb.org). A person can also be born with normal hearing and sight, and then gradually lose them both later on in life. Others can lose their vision or hearing due to illness or injuries. Dead-blind people would have a more difficult time learning to communicate and function in society than people who suffer from only one of these conditions, although each is challenging enough on its own. People suffering with this condition would have to put in a greater effort to figure out the world around them and get used to surroundings they can neither see nor hear.
One modern form of technology for deaf-blind people is Braille Sense Plus. It is a compact multimedia device that has many functions such as: sending and receiving emails, managing files, making word documents, listening to and creating audio files, surfing the web, online chatting, and sharing files with PCs. It also has an alarm clock, schedule, GPS, address book, calculator, and much more. It comes in two keyboard choices and also has a braille keyboard at the bottom. It seems to be a very convenient way to access everyday tasks that would’ve otherwise been more difficult to achieve. There seem to be two downsides to this device, the first being the weight. At two pounds, It’s heavier than the tablet equivalent of it would be. But considering it’s also like a mini laptop, two pounds isn’t too bad given the benefits. The most obvious negative part about the Braille Sense is the price. Although it was difficult to get an exact pricing, similar products from the same company ranged from $3,000-$6,500. Having outrageous prices seemed to be a common trend among tools that could assist deaf- blind people with everyday prices.
NexTalk Text Service is a free way for deaf-blind people to keep in contact with others. It has an option to allow users to make TTY calls to another person with a TTY device. A TTY is basically a phone that has a qwerty or Braille keyboard that will relay the message of the person making the call to the person they are trying to reach. This is useful for people who have trouble speaking verbally, so they can still talk long distance. NexTalk has this system built in for added convenience and to help relieve a otherwise huge financial burden on a person needing a TTY communicator. Users can send instant messages, make calls, and use the video service. There is also a toll free number that can be used to assist a hearing person in communicating with deaf a deaf person, without the need for them to also figure out how a TTY works.
Perhaps in the future, assistive technology for deaf-blind people will be more readily available and affordable. It seems as though ipads and other computer tablets are becoming more popular as a learning tool for children with disabilities. “There are devices that plug into a phone and turn text messages into moving braille for the fingertips to read. There are GPS devices that provide talking maps. Apps that use the camera on an iPhone to read the denomination of a bill to the user” (usatoday). There are also apps that serve as motion detectors, which are useful if someone or something is approaching a blind person. The Color ID app tells blind people if fruit are ripe based on their color, if their outfits match, and identify colors in general. Some apps that can sense if the lights are turned on or off, and others tell the user how many bus stops they have left before they have to depart. These are just some of many apps that have been created to make everyday tasks simpler for blind people, which can also be used in the blind- deaf community.
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