Deafblindness is a combination of visual and hearing impairments. The degree of deafness or blindness varies in individuals but the important factor is that this combination (of both sensory impairment) creates unique problems in communication, mobility and their ability to learn about the world. It may seem that deafblindness refers to a total inability to see or hear but many deafblind people have remaining vision or hearing that they can learn to use better. A deafblind child cannot be thought of as blind and also deaf, nor as deaf and also blind. She is deafblind and deafblindness is a unique disability; it has its own concepts and terminology, its own methods of assessment and education, and its own modes of communication which distinguishes it from blindness and deafness understood separately.
