Protactile, Co-Navigating, and Working with DeafBlind Leaders

 Autonomy. Co-Presence. Protactlie Language. Resistance to distantist behavior.  these are the pillars and building blocks of any authentic work with DeafBlind folks.  Work that values and respects DeafBlind leadership and recognizes the paradigm has shifted for individuals working with DeafBlind folks since the early days of the helper model, to the role of SSP (Support Service Provider), and now, to the integrated and evolved model of the Co-Navigator. 

There are many sighted folks who are averse to working hands on with DeafBlind folks.  Some even say "I don'd do DeafBlind."  What that statement actually conveys is distantist and oppressive.  This webcast is more like a crash course in some fundamentals when working with DeafBlind leaders and an awareness of variance in communication and support modifications.  The DeafBlind population is incredible diverse and this webcast zeroes in on the Protactlie friendly or fluent population and will also discuss how to avoid and abandon distantist behaviors for true inclusion, equity, and access.

Guiding techniques and Protactile language will be introduced. 

Educational Objectives:

• Define and provide five examples of distatist behavior
• Define protactile language and the cultural implications of autonomy
• Explain the difference of distatism and audism
• Explain five key cultural differences and values in the DeafBlind community
• Identify five environmental modification for DeafBlind individuals

Presented in Voice and Closed Captioning