From Deafblindness to Multiple Sensory Impairment: a few explanatory notes on definition, terminology, and historical context

Abstract

In deafblindness (DB), the consequences of visual and hearing impairments are not additive, but multiplicative creating unique problems in information, communication and mobility, hence the need to recognize it as a distinct disability. There are three types of approaches that depend on several factors, taking into account the structure of educational and support services for people with DB/MSI and the nature of human, technological and financial resources. In our country, according to the law, the broadest approach is promoted, meaning the inclusion of other disabilities in addition to sight and/or hearing. In other countries there are other names that, depending on the context or user, are synonymous with DB. The huge variability of DB/MSI cases causes some specialists to refer to a spectrum disability in which there are different weights and different degrees of sensory loss, cognitive deficit, language impairments and/or somatic pathologies. All this individual “puzzle” generates a state of multi-handicap, which is reflected both in a specific pattern of learning and communication difficulties, and in the emergence of derived disabilities that hinder or obstruct the overall somatic and psychological development through restrictions on using the remaining hearing and sight.