Digital inclusion for persons with deafblindness – a human right   

The Nordic Welfare Centre and the Nordic Network on Usher Syndrome recently held a webinar offering insights into the opportunities and challenges of technology for individuals living with Usher Syndrome. The webinar is now available on our Youtube channel, for those who missed it live.  

This webinar was led by experts Jenny Widmark, PhD student, and Moa Wahlqvist, a researcher at Örebro University and the Swedish National Resource Center for Deafblindness. A key point made during the webinar was that digital inclusion is not just a technological issue, but a human right.  

– Digital participation according to me, is a human right. And it is our responsibility to support the very different and individual needs among persons with deafblindness, said Jenny Widmark, audiologist and PhD student. 

Leave no one behind in this revolution 

Giving people with deafblindness the right to digital participation means understanding and meeting their specific communication to enable them to take part in society, just like everyone else. 

– It’s crucial that no one is left behind in this digital revolution. Using digital tools for communication, retrieving information, and mobility is not just a convenience; it is essential for inclusivity, said Jenny Widmark, highlighting the accessibility advances inspired by legislative frameworks, including the UN Agenda 2030 and the European standard.   

The impact of technology during the pandemic   

The pandemic demonstrated the serious consequences for people with deafblindness not having access to digital communication and information. Many people were often completely isolated from the outside world. The digital divide became particularly evident during this period, when access to information and communication was crucial to avoid social isolation.   

– It was painful to see how some persons with deafblindness couldn’t get in touch, they couldn’t retrieve any information, and they were stuck at home totally isolated, said Jenny Widmark.  

Technology as a path to independence   

The speakers point out that we are in the midst of a technological revolution that also offers great opportunities. Ensuring that people with deafblindness are not left behind in these developments is a key task for society and technology developers. 

Technology can offer new opportunities for people with deafblindness to take control of their own information and independence. The webinar highlighted how online access to information can reduce the sense of disability.   

– Seeking information independently online provided a greater sense of independence, and this increased independence contributed to a reduced sense of disability when they were online, said Jenny Widmark.  

The need for more research   

To create sustainable and effective solutions, we need to understand how individuals with deafblindness use their sense of hearing and also the technology and what they need in terms of technology and support to be online.   

– There is a lack of research on assistive technologies specifically aimed at people with combined vision and hearing loss. We tend to focus on doing research on either the vision or the hearing loss, said Jenny Widmark.  

Driving research for the future   

The mobile is the most important thing. I can use the camera when looking for things at home. I make a better use of my vision that way, get a bigger area to scan.

The webinar also highlighted the perspectives of persons with Usher, voicing different experiences of digital usage and the persons views on what policies are necessary to drive positive change. Explore the film from the webinar to listen to the quotes from the persons with Usher.