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Carly Brownlie
I am deaf and have communication needs but a
blind person might have mobility needs. Sensory Impairment is a medical term,
it is a label. I have discussed this term with other deaf people and we
don’t use this term.
What is Sensory Impairment?
Do I have five senses that are impaired? No, I
do not have a problem with five senses. Sensory Impairment workers do not work
with deaf or blind. There should be a deaf unit as well as a Sensory Impairment
unit. Labels can be extremely powerful and create divisions. We did not ask to
be deaf or to be born deaf. Look as us as individuals, we are not in the
Sensory Impairment category.
Please respect the individual’s needs.
Hilary Davies
I don’ t attach much value to the term
Sensory Impairment. I do not describe myself as Sensory Impaired but I do use
the term at work. I describe myself as Visually Impaired.
I disagree with Jackie that blindness is
blindness. I lived for 30 years not knowing that I had a visual impairment.
When people hear the term Visual Impairment they attach a label. I do not
choose to describe myself as blind. 82% of people who are registered blind have
some useful vision, 64% read large print.
The term Visual Impairment challenges other
people. It gives people more of a chance to engage with other people –
“Oh, what can you see?” I was walking around Glasgow at midday and a
drunk man approached me and said, “you’re not blind.” He is
correct, I am not blind because I don’t fit into the label walking around
with my dog and cane. I went to the changing rooms at the gym and a man said to
his son “stand aside” and the boy said “is that lady blind? But
her eyes are open.” This is the boy’s perception of blindness, when
he closes his eyes, he cannot see. All misunderstandings need to be challenged
– taxi drivers etc. We need more people to help understanding, like
signers etc. Each person has their own view.
Stephen Joyce
I accept what Carly and Hilary have said. I met
with people from West Lothian who did not realise I was deaf. I found an
interpreter to communicate with people, they thought I was only deaf. I deliver
Deafblind Awareness Training and I ask people am I deafblind? And people say
you look like a sighted hearing person.
I have Usher Syndrome and I have no peripheral
vision, I have tunnel vision. I have problems of information, communication and
mobility. When people hear the term deafblind they think that you must be
completely deaf and completely blind this is not the case. I look no different
to hearing and sighted people. As a result of my communication method people
might know that I am deaf. I was born deaf and developed Retinitis Pigmentosa.
This means that I have no peripheral vision. I lose information and bump into
things. I fit the definition deafblind. I registered blind 3 years ago. I
don’t like the term deafblind. It has a negative definition. I don’t
like the term Sensory Impaired but that is just my view. I am not criticising
people who agree with it. We have to identify three groups. Usually deaf and
blind are identified but not deafblind people.
Jackie Hicks said that we have to identify
deafblind people. I agree with her. |
