Performers at Osaka's Big Stage - Deafblind International

Super Contact Person“ I don’t feel sorry for deafblind people, because ifI did, I don’t think I will be able to help them withrespect. It would be as if I was looking down onthem, and not seeing them as human beings ”Positive results fromthe processAs I mentioned before, Ihave been working with oneparticular client for the last7 years. When I started, shegave me some rather newchallenges. She had beenusing very few tactile signs,as they were previouslycalled, but now she wantedto develop more. I gladlyaccepted the challenge,as I have experienced thefeelings of inadequacy whena deafblind person has beensitting and looking at theinterpreter, but wasn’t able tohave access to environmentalinformation. We know thatthe coffee is here, we knowsomeone has left the room,we know the woman satnext to me is bored, but thedeafblind person doesn’t.The feeling that I was unableto tell this to the deafblindperson was really annoying.So what an opportunitythis gave me! Together, wetook small one step at atime; I guess creativity wasthe keyword. Together, wewere thinking ”What are thesigns?” Together we tried tomake the signs on her back(Haptic Communication).Some signs work, some signsdon’t. It wasn’t for me thatthe sign has to work; it has towork for the client.Later we had theopportunity to attend alecture by the late Trine Næssfrom Norway. During thatlecture we both realized thatwe actually had come quitefar with this communication.Trine’ lecture was a greatinspiration for us to take thiseven further.Often I have to work withan interpreter. Betweenthe client, the interpreterand myself, we decide whodoes what. We clarify ourexpectations and roles, andwork together to supporteach other. If I know a signname for some one, I giveit to the interpreter and ifthey see something I missed,they support me. It is thedeafblind person who is ourfocus.How to maintain theprofessional distanceWhen working so closeto someone, especiallysomeone like my client,it can be difficult not tobecome best friends. Weexperience so many thingstogether. We develop ourown language; wehave ourown conversations. Howeverif we were to become bestfriends, it would somewhat“muddy” our roles, and makeour professional boundariesunclear. I wouldn’t be ableto provide the kind of helpthat will support her forher independencxe. I thinkit would be difficult, forexample, to meet socially,dine together, drink winetogether, and then behaveprofessionally the next day.So to remain professional,it is important that wedon’t see each other in asocial context, and we keepa professional distancebetween us. Of course, aswe often work together, myclient can sense if there issomething wrong. So I tellher that if I am behavingdifferently today, it hasnothing to do with her. Sherespects this, of course,and doesn’t ask any morequestions.Sometimes, when I thinkabout the future, I knowthat if I stop being a contactperson, I would still like to bea part of my client’s life, onlyas a friend. She has such aninteresting life and we havemany things to talk about,I have to say that I wouldmiss her terribly if she justdisappeared from my life.My job is very challenging,and it is a job which neverstops developing. Aswell as the language, thedemands and expectationsfrom deafblind peopleare changing. They are nolonger living as a passiveand dependant passenger.They want to play the leadpart in their own lives, andparticipate equally in society,and it is that which keep uson our toes.20 • DbI Review • Jan u a r y – Ju n e 2011