Activist: news must adapt for people who are deafblind

During Deafblind Awareness Month, an advocate talks about lack of access to news

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June will put the spotlight on the estimated 2.4 million Americans who have both hearing loss and vision loss during Deafblind Awareness Month.

Although not all people who are deafblind see deafblindness as an identity, the Deafblind community is distinct from the Deaf community or from people who are blind and have low vision — with a different language and different accessibility needs.

Marc Safman, a New York-based Deafblind and disability advocate, said that access for people who are deafblind cannot be treated as an extension of Deaf access, blind access, or low-vision access. It depends on each person’s level of hearing and vision, along with their communication preferences and available support.

“How a person perceives the news always depends on their level of hearing and visual disability,” he said.

He also said captions in audio and visual news are not enough if they move too quickly, lack high contrast, use difficult fonts, or are inaccurate.

“I don’t watch the news anymore because none of them do a good job of being accessible,” Safman said. “So I read news stories to understand what’s happening.”

Also, podcasts create another barrier when there is no transcript.

“The only way is to post transcripts on news stories to make it more accessible,” he added.

Deafblind activist Morrison and consultant, who educates on topics that include accessibility for people who are deafblind, created a checklist for accessibility.

For transcripts to be most accessible, Morrison suggests placing transcripts directly on the page, not as a separate file or link. Transcripts should also include:

• word for word transcripts including all spoken or signed content;
• identifying all speakers and signers;
• and noting meaningful and relevant nonverbal information, pauses, tone, emotional cues.

Their checklist also includes items such a description for both video and images on the visible page, including the what, where, who, when, why, and other important details such as atmosphere, tone, or feeling. Morrison explains this is important because not all people who are deafblind use the same adaptive technology, and not all adaptive technology for people who are deafblind may read alt text, where many people have traditionally put image descriptions.

Safman also pointed to WCAG-compliant websites and documents, high-contrast captions, image descriptions for infographics, and enough notice before live events or interviews so that accommodations and interpretation can be arranged for Protactile — a language that is built on continuous touch of the shoulders, back, arms, and legs that relies on visual information — or for touch-ASL — a modification of American Sign Language in which a person feels the signs of the other person.

He emphasized that accessibility often depends on planning and support systems that many organizations still overlook.

Before interviewing a source who is deafblind, reporters can refer to communication tips Morrison’s web site or take a professional course from Helen Keller Services.

• Ask for communication preferences because every deafblind person is different.
• When in a face-to-fact interview, stay in contact through direct light, continuous contact.
• Share environmental information without being asked.
• Respect autonomy.

This all requires planning and services, and may take time, something Safman noted is still a major barrier.

“We need more notice,” he said. “There’s a lack of basic services throughout the USA that makes regular consumption of news and information challenging.”

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