PHARES

Visual impairment refers to a significant loss of vision that cannot be corrected by medication, surgical operation or ordinary optical lenses such as spectacles

Visual impairment ranges from mild to moderate to severe levels

Can read relatively large characters

No difficulty in identifying shapes, colors and brightness contracts

Can tell shapes and colors of objects and can distinguish between brightness and darkness

Can only read characters with larger size and broader strokes

Can only distinguish more obvious changes in brightness and darkness

May not see anything (completely blind)

Gain the person’s attention by speaking first and/or by a gentle touch on the arm

Introduce yourself and what you do

Always talk to the person directly, rather than their sighted companion

Use verbal responses, avoid nodes and head shakes

Verbalize your actions

Inform people when you are moving away from them or leaving the room

Ask if guidance or support is required

Provide information in an alternative/accessible way- audio, large print or braille

Use accurate and specific language when giving directions

Lack of facial expressions or body gestures

Non verbal gestures may not appear interested

Fear of offending the visually impaired

Standing too close and invading the personal comfort level

A look of detachment or disengagement

Dependency

Learning difficulties

Stigma or discrimination

Is a method of communication used by deaf blind individuals, in which the deaf blind person places their thumb on the speaker’s lips and their fingers along the jaw line.

The middle three fingers often fall along the speaker’s cheeks with the little finger picking up the vibrations of the speaker’s throat.

It is sometimes referred to as ‘tactile lip-reading’, as the deaf blind person feels the movement of the lips, as well as vibrations of the vocal cords, puffing of the cheeks and the warm air produced by nasal sounds such as ‘N’ and ‘M’.

In some cases, especially if the speaker knows sign language, the deaf-blind person may use the Tadoma method with one hand, feeling the speaker’s face; and at the same time, the deaf-blind person may use their other hand to feel the speaker sign the same words.

In this way, the two methods reinforce each other, giving the deaf-blind person a better chance of understanding what the speaker is trying to communicate.

In addition, the Tadoma method can provide the deaf-blind person with a closer connection with speech than they might otherwise have had.

This can, in turn, help them to retain speech skills that they developed before going deaf, and in special cases, to learn how to speak brand new words.

Any challenges?

IS NOT

INABILITY

Evening

Define the term Key populations

Identify risky behaviors in key population

Explain the concept of communication in interacting with Key populations

Explain challenges of communication in interacting with Key populations

Apply techniques of communication in interacting with Key populations