Communication and social life

The participants should have developed an understanding of different ways to communicate and how communication can be enhanced for people with deafblindness. This also includes an understanding of how social life is affected by deafblindness and how to support individuals with deafblindness to develop new methods and This includes direct communication in various social situations as well as indirect communication, such as reading and writing. Participants should also understand the reciprocal influence in interactions with others and recognise that good communication requires building a safe and trusting relationship. They must acquire knowledge of individual adaptations in communication and interaction.

General aspects of communication
- Verbal and non-verbal communication
- Differences between receptive and expressive communication
Early development of communication (pre-linguistic)
Shared attention (rhythm, beat, pulse, timing, and tempo—the musical elements are essential for good interaction)
Awareness and development of the ability to observe, interpret, and confirm bodily expressions

Shared experiences in meaningful activities
Exposure to language and the importance of being in a linguistic environment
Two-party and multi-party interactions and dialogues
Listening and talking hand positions – mediating and communicating hands
Different forms of communication and multimodal communication
- Sign language, spelling, spoken language, written language, and signing in a narrow vision field (the structure of signs and the signing space), etc.
- Tactile communication: social-haptic communication, tactile sign language, Braille, finger spelling, etc.
Adaptation from one modality to another (e.g., from visual to tactile sign language)
Use of interpreters and different interpretation methods
Technical communication devices and communication support systems