I have Usher syndrome Type 1 and use BSL.  I work for the charity Sense. I will draw upon my personal experience of having Usher Syndrome and managing life after the pandemic. I will include a brief description of my determination in overcoming life’s challenges and the difference positive and negative of post-pandemic. This will also cover other people’s experiences of vision, communication, relationships with friends and families, guiding-methods and access to information and how they have changed during this time and the impact on their confidence, mobility and wellbeing.

The Ibero-American Plan for Literacy and Lifelong Learning of the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI); together with the Ibero-American Program on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of the Social Group of the National Organization for the Blind of Spain (ONCE), selected and financed a team of expert professionals representing diverse training and experience. The team included members from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and India who have rich experience in working with complex impairment such as deafblindness within inclusive settings. The goal of the project is to guide the readers through the creation of inclusive processes so as to enrich the educational trajectories of young people, adults and older adults by providing universal access tools and resources.The guide is based on the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Universal Design for Learning. It is guides the reader through the journey from understanding their learning partner through the design of an inclusive process. At the end of the tour of the Guide they will be able to build an educational proposal for those people they accompany.The guide encourages readers to develop a vision of an inclusive world and can be a valuable resource to family members, volunteers, service providers and professionals who accompany people's educational trajectories throughout life.

To share the findings of a scoping review.The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health (SDH) as non-medical factors that impact health outcomes such as food insecurity, education, income, and social protection.The extant literature regarding the relationship between the SDH and the experiences of older adults with deafblindness is examined using the Arksey and O'Malley five-stage scoping review framework. Seven databases and three journals were searched from March 2011 to March 2021. Only articles studying individuals aged 60 and older with deafblindness in the context of at least one SDH indicator were included. Of the 81 screened articles, 37 studies were deemed eligible and included in the review.Of the 10 SDH defined by the WHO, income and social protection, education, housing, basic amenities, and the environment, access to affordable health services of decent quality and disability were commonly reported among studies. We found that older adults with deafblindness were likely to have lower educational attainment, more likely to receive increased care in a long-term care home setting and have an increased risk of developing additional health conditions and disabilities. Studies did not analyze working life conditions, food insecurity, structural conflict and/or race for older adults with deafblindness. The literature linking the SDH and deafblindness is limited. It is critical for policymakers and researchers to identify the relationship between the SDH and the health inequities experienced by older adults with deafblindness to develop programs and policies that can help them age well and participate fully in their communities.

The purpose of this research was to highlight the difficulties, if any, encountered by the blind and deafblind population during independent travel, due to the use of a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the strategies used to address these barriers.The goal of this study was to explore challenges caused by face masks among individuals with visual impairments, including those with deafblindness, during independent travel, and the strategies used to overcome these barriers.The data was collected through an anonymous online survey from March 29th to August 23rd 2021.In total, there were n=135 respondents between the ages of 18-79 (M=48.22, SD=14.47). Overall, n=78 (58%) self-identified as blind, n=57 (42%) as having low vision; n=13 (10%) as having a combined vision and hearing loss, and n=3 (2%) as deafblind. The most common face coverings used were cloth (89%, n=119) and surgical masks (55%, n= 74). Participants highlighted that face masks made it more difficult to locate people (64%), communicate with others (75%), and locate landmarks (61%). Results show that, although guide dog users reported the highest level of confidence with independent travel before the pandemic, they indicated the lowest level of confidence after the pandemic began. Moreover, a repeated measures ANOVA showed that mean confidence differed significantly between time points for all groups (F(1, 132) = 133.02 = .229), with those who self-identified as deafblind experiencing a significantly greater loss of confidence in comparison with low-vision and blind participants.

Through a presentation of our objectives, therapy plans and materials, we will cast light on the how our interdisciplinary approach (occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist and visual rehabilitation specialist) benefits a Deaf/Blind child's potential through play, communication and environmental interaction. The poster will include a case study, with our intervention plan, therapy objectives, photos and videos from joint therapy sessions.  On a daily basis, we observe that by giving them the means, children with multiple disabilities know how to find resources that allow them to play, interact and participate socially in a meaningful way. Each child is unique, with an established way of communicating with their parent upon arriving to our program. We work to reveal their way of communicating and to maximize it, with equal importance for both the parent and the Deaf/Blind child. By highlighting the collaboration with the parent, their expertise, their means of communicating and the way in which they play with their child, we will share our observed developmental gains and the ways we adapt our strategies and materials to realize our objectives. The poster will also include a display of our materials and technical aids that are used during our therapy sessions, that target the combined objectives as a result of our interdisciplinary thinking and the parents’ continuous input.

Experiences of Deaf-Blind Canadians who have benefitted from attending Deaf-Blind camp in Manitoba. The first national Canadian Deaf-Blind Camp (CDBC) was held in 2018, at Camp Manitou in Headingly, Manitoba. Deaf-Blind adults from across Canada, from all walks of life, gathered in Manitoba for one week to attend camp, but the effect of attending this camp continues to resonate with all who have experienced it. The hope was that Deaf-Blind Canadians would have the opportunity to gather in a camp setting to enjoy a welcoming environment where folks felt included, accepted, and could share their life experiences. Camp was held in 2018, 2019 and took place again in August of 2022. An environment of recreation with full access to communication is certainly a major contributor to reducing the isolation many folks feel and increases the opportunity for well-being. The camp is supported by many volunteers and provides a safe environment for practitioners to increase their skill set.

Lifelong interventions and support. Since little is known about what support and interventions offered to children with deafblindness, the aim was to summarize and disseminate previous findings regarding this in order to form a knowledge base of tools to use within these children's habilitation or rehabilitation services or schooling.Integrative review principles were employed. A comprehensive systematic search in eight databases together with additional manual searches was conducted. Inclusion criteria were: original studies written in Danish, English, Norwegian or Swedish that were published between 2000 and 2021 examining evaluated interventions for children under 18 years of age with deafblindness, or interventions aimed at children with deafblindness but offered to their relatives or professionals involved with them.A total of 6,268 original studies were identified, and after screening and quality appraisal, 32 were included. The key outcomes from the studies were synthesized into three categories. Two of the categories illustrating the goal/intention of the intervention (social interaction and communication, motivation and participation) and one focusing on or identifying the action taken to benefit the child (adaptation of the educational environment). The category social interaction and communication was dominant, covering 24 of the 32 included studies.