{"id":1002,"date":"2024-11-21T09:03:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T09:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/?post_type=knowledge&#038;p=1002"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:08:36","slug":"deafblindness-definition","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/en\/the-knowledge-vault\/deafblindness-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"Deafblindness, Nordic definition"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is deafblindness<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\"Deafblindness is a combined visual and hearing impairment of such severity that the impaired senses cannot easily compensate for each other. This makes deafblindness a separate disability.\"<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Nordic definition of deafblindness was adopted by <a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/den-nordiske-definisjonen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nordic Leadership Forum<\/a> in June 2024<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The most important consequences<\/strong> of deafblindness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deafblindness limits a person's activities to varying degrees and prevents full participation in society. It affects communication, access to information, orientation in the environment and the ability to move around safely and freely. The sense of touch is particularly important to compensate for the combined visual and hearing impairment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a high risk that physical and mental health and social life will be affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the combined visual and hearing impairment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The severity of the combined visual and hearing impairment depends on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The timing of the onset of the visual and hearing impairment, whether it is congenital, acquired or age-related, especially with regard to communication development and language acquisition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Degree and nature of visual and hearing impairment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If it is combined with other disabilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether it is stable or progressive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"Two people in a restaurant. One is wearing a cap and has felt-tip glasses. They are communicating through tactile communication.\" class=\"wp-image-3437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/app\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Naerpersonkurs-modeller-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About deafblindness as a separate disability<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is difficult for the impaired senses to compensate for each other. This means that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Using one impaired sense in an attempt to compensate for the other is time-consuming, energy-draining and often leads to disjointed sensory experiences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Impairment of vision and hearing increases the need to use other sensory stimuli (e.g. tactile, kinesthetic, proprioceptive<br>haptic, odour and taste)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It limits access to information from a distance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It creates a need to rely on information from the immediate environment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To create meaning, it is necessary to rely on memory and draw conclusions from disjointed information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About activity and participation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deafblindness limits activity and prevents full participation in society. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities<br>disability (UNCRPD), participation is a given right for all people. In order for a person to be able to utilise his or her capacity and resources, society needs to provide specialised services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a social responsibility to ensure access to activities, in equal co-operation with those affected. An accessible society includes at least:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">o Access to competent communication partners<br>o Access to specialised deafblind interpreting, including interpretation of<br>speech, description of the surroundings and companionship<br>o Accessible information for everyone<br>o Human support to ease everyday life<br>o Customised physical environment<br>o Available technology and technical aids<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A person with deafblindness may be more disabled in one activity and less disabled in another. Variation in functional ability can be due to conditions in the environment as well as in the person him\/herself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expertise in deafblindness and an interdisciplinary approach are crucial for good service provision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The definition in multiple languages:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the Nordic Welfare Centre (NWC) website, you can read about the revision of the definition: <a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/about-the-publication.html\">Nordic definition on deafblindness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will find the definition of the different languages listed below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/nordic-definition-on-deafblindness.html\">English version<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/nordisk-definition-af-dovblindhed.html\">Danish version<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/norraen-skilgreining-a-daufblindu.html\"><strong>Icelandic version<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/pohjoismainen-kuurosokeusmaaritelma.html\">Suomi version<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nordicwelfare.org\/pub\/Nordic_definition\/nordisk-definition-av-dovblindhet.html\"><strong>Swedish version<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more about deafblindness at the National Knowledge Centre for Deafblindness: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dovblindhet.no\/hva-er-dovblindhet\/\"><strong>What is deafblindness? \u2013 Deafblindness<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read about <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/en\/articles\/international-day-of-deafblindness-27-june\/\">UN International Day of Deafblindness<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do you have any questions?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/en\/contact-us\/\"><strong>Contact us - Eikholt<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nordic definition of deafblindness was adopted at the Nordic Leadership Forum in June 2024. You can read about the definition here.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"parent":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1002","knowledge","type-knowledge","status-publish","hentry","cat-knowledge-dovblindhet"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>D\u00f8vblindhet, nordisk definisjon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"D\u00f8vblindhet er en kombinert syns- og h\u00f8rselsnedsettelse av s\u00e5 alvorlig grad at de nedsatte sansene vanskelig kan kompensere for hverandre.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eikholt.no\/en\/the-knowledge-vault\/deafblindness-definition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"D\u00f8vblindhet, nordisk 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