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Touching Lives

Across the generations

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The aim of the "Touching Lives - across the generations" project was to increase confidence and engender a sense of well-being in older deafblind people, who live uniquely isolated lives, by enabling them to acquire the necessary skills to become a valuable resource to their communities.  Older deafblind people have enjoyed the opportunity to:

  • Become more involved in their communities
  • Become a valuable training resource to their communities
  • Interact with the younger generation using tactile communication
  • Have increased confidence and a greater sense of well-being
  • Increase awareness amoung the general public of how they can help

The "Touching Lives" Project has enabled older deafblind people all over Scotland to have the opportunities to develop the necessary skills to become:

  • Trainers in dual sensory impairment
  • Speakers on deafblindness
  • Disability awareness-raising facilitators
  • Respresentatives on committees

Over three years, "Touching Lives" will enable older deafblind people to become deafblind awareness trainers.  They have taught deafblind awareness including tactile communication skills, to young people in schools and clubs, to businesses, GP surgeries etc, indeed to any group which was interested in learning a new skill.  Social care staff, doctors, nurses and other professionals have also benefitted from meeting and learning from deafblind people.  The project has created:

  • Deafblind awareness in a large population of people
  • A population much more able to meaningfully include deafblind people
  • A generation of youngsters who are able to competently use deafblind manual communication
  • A substantial number of adults who have learnt deafblind manual and would be able to use it should their own sight and hearing fail in later life
  • A group of professionals who can recognise the difficulties of deafblindness

If you are interested in getting a deafblind person to come into your school and deliver a presentation please contact us at info@deafblindscotland.org.uk or phone on 0141 777 5831 and ask for  John Whitfield.