Is your Small Business deafblind aware?
Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much”
Helen Keller (American author and disability rights advocate.)
Did you know that there are over 400,000 people in the UK today who are deafblind?
It’s a lot of people, and this figure grows significantly when you understand that there are also 2million blind people in the UK and 12million people who are deaf.
At Deafblind UK we are trying to make the world more friendly to all those with a sensory loss, so that they feel part of communities, and feel welcomed.
We have been doing this for 92 years, supporting those to live a life beyond sight and hearing loss, enabling them their independence and giving them the confidence to carry on living.
As Helen Keller, who was deafblind, said “Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much”, and for many people with dual sensory loss the world is a terrifying place — a prisoner in a room without walls and the darkness is infinite.
But we can help bring a little light into all of the lives affected by sensory loss, by learning about their challenges, and helping them, in our own small way, to overcome them.
How can your small business help
It could be making the lighting that little bit brighter in your establishments, or having a quiet area, where someone with hearing loss is able to communicate with confidence. Just understanding that some may rely on lip reading, so to talk to them directly without covering your mouth, or looking away.
It could be just understanding that they may need to use your bathroom, because for them, finding somewhere they can use, is far more difficult than for those that can see and hear.
The changes we make don’t have to be costly, just considered, and we would love to work with small businesses across the UK to help them establish a more deafblind friendly way of working.
Deafblindness can affect anyone, it does not discriminate. You probably know someone who is struggling with their own sight and hearing loss, maybe it’s your mum, your uncle, your neighbour, your customer, your employee? Deafblind UK can help at every stage of the sensory loss journey, helping them to prepare for what may come. If you take the time to think about what you would struggle with if you could not see or hear, you would realise that without support, there is very little you are able to do on your own.
But with the right support, the possibilities are only restricted by your imagination. We want to make sure that we can support everyone who needs us to face the daily challenges of living with deafblindness. But we really can’t do it alone.
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Please Note: This is a guest blog post by DeafBlind UK and it was originally published in 2020.
