Communication With Deaf Blind People

white people narrated by Alexander scorby script and demonstration by Annette B denmore program specialist in services for the deaf blind American foundation for the blind have you ever known a person who is deaf as well as blind my work has brought me into contact with many of them contact which have been extremely enjoyable I travel all over the country as a resource person uh to counselors caseworkers and teachers whose responsibility it is to serve death blind people in the total population of blind persons the proportion of those who are de blind is fortunately low they are widely scattered geographically and for this very reason professional workers as well as the family friends and people in the community must learn how to help a de blind person and above all must learn how to talk directly to him this is the first step and the most important step in offering service to him communication you and I take ordinary conversation for granted someone who is both deaf and blind cannot do this but he can learn to understand you by using one or more of various methods of communication and it is possible for him to take his rightful place among his family friends and other associates even strangers in this film you will see five different methods of communic communication and you will meet six death blind people you will see them conversing one using printing in the Palm one the alphabet glove two will be talking together with the one hand Manual Alphabet and another will be using a special device the teletouch the last shown will be the vibration method these are the most commonly used methods in this country there are others which we have not included here thank you miss denmore Larry Lost His sight and hearing in his early teens but he still has a memory of print letters therefore you can talk to him by printing in the palm of his hand this method can be used almost universally because most people know how to print using your index finger as if it were a pencil print capital letters in his hand with simple Strokes such as a l s and E make each letter as large as the size of his palm allows with a little practice he will be able to follow your conversation easily if he misunderstands a letter take his finger as if it were a pencil and print the letter on the table in front of him when he gets it right repeat it in the palm of his hand sometimes Larry will anticipate a word or a whole sentence when this happens you can save a lot of time by giving him a quick signal for yes and then going on with the following sentence on the other hand if he's wrong in a word or sentence he anticipates give him a signal for no and spell it out carefully in other words this is yes and this is no sometimes you may make a mistake yourself and then you can rub it out this always brings a smile would you like coffee yes think you how do you take it uh I like it back good almost everyone uses gloves of one sort or another for various useful or decorative purposes but the glove which may be new to you in its purpose and appearance is the alphabet glove the alphabet glove must be carefully marked while it is on the hand of the user so that the letters fall exactly on the ends of the fingers the joints and the palm the numbers are marked on the back of the glove on the nails and at the first Knuckles Marian has worn one of these gloves for years she was blind from Early Childhood at 20 when she lost her hearing too she preferred the glove for communication she had to memorize these letter positions but they soon became second nature to her now she can carry on a rapid conversation with anyone who can see provided they can spell words and sentences are spelled out by touching the letters in succession h e l l o and you can develop with practice a touch as if playing the piano just as with printing in the palem a quick signal for yes or for no can save time and make it unnecessary to spell out words when Marian anticipates them my my hobby hobby is music music ah what what is what is my hobby yes I have several my favorites are social dancing but not a Twist and Clay modeling did did you did I make this F yes yes I did all all by by your yes all by myself yes well Bob I started to make it all by myself but I made the mistake of taking it out to the park you know to work in the fish a as I was working on the fish many people sat on the bench beside me and each had a different idea as to how a fish should look so when I reached home I had a whale with long ears thank goodness the ears fell off too many kipes [Laughter] right this is is the on hand Manual Alphabet it has been used for years by deaf people in this country and parts of Europe Ben and Alice are having an animated conversation no one can tell what they're talking about because neither utters a sound they've never learned speech each was born deaf and last sight in adult life we suspect that Ben is telling Alice a joke of some sort for deaf blind people the one-hand Manual Alphabet is a rapid method of communication they must of course learn to read it by touch since they cannot see the position of the fingers of the five different methods of communication shown in this film this one-hand Manual Alphabet is the only one which requires learning on the of the speaker if you want to use this alphabet you must learn the position of the fingers in making each letter A B C D Etc in spelling words move your fingers smoothly from one letter to the next without extraneous movements the and cat dog Wiggly fingers make fuzzy letters for example the letter i with the thumb up turns into y the deaf blind person places his hand over yours and reads the words by following the movements of your fingers Miss dmore must read Ben's and Alice's spelling by touch too because she is blind also Ben has a light touch on Miss densmore's hand and so does Alice she can say the same thing to both of them at once for example what do you want for lunch but she cannot read their answers back at the same time or she will get mixed up and now after lunch the teletouch is a device developed by the American foundation for the blind with which you can talk to a deaf blind person by means of Braille even though you yourself know nothing about Braille John Lost His sight when he had just finished school and is hearing a few years later he has learned to read the teletouch rapidly for better viewing we are removing the cover the teletouch is a small portable machine with a typewriter keyboard on one side and a single Braille cell on the other a plate with six holes through which which metal dots are raised in various combinations when you press a letter on the keyboard the corresponding Braille character appears in the cell a g l w John places his finger on the cell to read the Braille letters use a Legato touch pressing each letter rather than striking it holding on to each letter in a given word until you press the following letter such as the word snow s n o w a slight pause between words makes it possible for John to understand you rapidly can you use the teletouch with anyone yes even with a child but the individual must familiarize himself with the sender touch on the keyboard This differs as penmanship does and as soon as he becomes familiar with it the death blind person can read more quickly and easily oh I see everyone is different on each side of the space bar are three blank Keys these six keys can be used by anyone who knows Braille to make many more characters than the 26 letters these save time and increase speed sensitive fingertips highly trained can understand the speech of others through touch the thumb rests on the lips while the four fingers spread out across the cheek and jaw to catch every movement and vibration Carol recognizes a friend by a familiar bracelet and ring and shows Delight in the contact she quickly looks her visitor over to check earrings haird dress Carol lost her sight and hearing when she was not quite two years old just about the same age Helen Keller was when she became both deaf and blind when Carol was old enough she entered a department for deaf blind children in a School for the Blind there she was taught to speak to understand the meaning of words and to understand the world around her gradually she mastered the language of this world and was able to speak it and also to read it and and write it in braille as her vocab she increased her skill in reading the Spoken Word by touch so that when she finished school she was well prepared to take her place in her family and social group her genuine interest in others is contagious and she is accepted warmly by all who know her now let's tune in the conversation did you have a nice birthday party I had a big and good how many people came oh and what did you [Music] wear a new yellow dress and green shoes that sounds very pretty well you're welcome indeed you have seen five of the most commonly used means of communication in the United States to use several methods and this enables them to converse with a variety of people and to develop broader and more effective relationships the number of persons in our population who are both deaf and blind is relatively small and they are widely scattered they urgently need your understanding and communication is the key when you have the opportunity talk directly with a deaf blind person you will find that this experience will give both of you real satisfaction and pleasure Lewis Hoskins Marian Geraldine Lorn Alice Mary Gilmore Ben anio truty John Sam chermac Carol Carmela Otero consultant in education American foundation for the blind Robert a Bowers cinematographer John R mccroy Jr producer and director Claren Schmidt American foundation for the blind 15 West 16th Street New York New York the end a spot Film Production