Sense Lifeline

Imagine walking down the street.

Then imagine that what you see is blurred and distorted.

And that sounds are distant and confused.

CAR HORN SOUNDS

There are over 350,000 people in the UK living with a combination

of deafness and blindness.

Not only is this a huge challenge for them to communicate

but they also have to face a lack of independence

and a sense of isolation which is overwhelming.

Roger is 25 years old and lives with his parents.

Like many other people who are born deafblind,

Roger has congenital Rubella syndrome.

He has brain damage, limited vision and is profoundly deaf.

Deafblindness must be the most isolating condition that you

can be born with.

The hardest thing for Roger's mother was not being able to

communicate with her son when he was a young boy.

I couldn't sit there and just say, "Mummy loves you."

I had to find some other way of letting him know that there

was somebody out there that actually cared about him.

At home Roger's parents are his eyes and ears.

Beautiful!

As someone who relies on observation to do what I do,

it's miraculous to me that a life deprived of sight

and sound can be given joy and hope and prospects and meaning.

And that's why I'm involved with Sense.

It's a charity which supports and campaigns for deafblind people.

This is Adam, he's seven years old and lives with his parents

and older brother Ethan.

Adam, throw it to mummy!

Adam was born with a rare condition which left him with damaged sight,

hearing and difficulties with learning.

It's not being deaf, it's not being blind.

Those two together mean it's a whole different meaning as to how

he relates to the world and how he understands the world.

Having a combined sight

and hearing loss makes the ability to balance very difficult.

If someone spun around for a long time and then asked to get up

and walk straight, most people find that quite difficult to do.

And that's what Adam deals with every day. That is his life.

-OK, Adam, let's put your cardigan on...

-Go out!

-..and go out, that's right.

'Adam needs a lot of support every day.

'In terms of it being what a seven-year-old would normally

'be doing, it's very different.'

He's very vulnerable when he's out, so he actually, whilst he's holding

my hand, he's very actively using my hand to maintain his balance.

Let's go to the swings, that'd be great, won't it?

The charity understands the particular types of help

deafblind people and their families need.

Sense has 17 specialist day centres around the UK,

where individuals are taught new forms of communication.

And expert staff spend time with them on a range of activities and skills.

It's beautiful.

It's so easy to look at a deafblind person

and only see what they can't do.

This charity focuses entirely on what that person can do,

so with the help of one-to-one specialist support, Sense can

open doors into what sometimes seems like a closed society.

I've come to one of the charity's day centres

to meet 46-year-old Richard and his support worker Clark.

Who opened the cage, again? I can't remember.

-You!

-Me?!

It was you!

-Hello, Clark. Hello, Richard.

-Hi, Maureen.

-Hi, there.

Richard has a degenerative condition which means he has a learning disability.

-Maureen's here, do you want to say hello?

-Hello, Richard.

'From the age of seven he started to lose both his hearing

'and gradually his sight.'

Clark, can you explain to me what you're doing?

Obviously Richard's vision isn't brilliant

and he can't really see what I'm signing back to him,

so he can feel what I'm signing so he grips my hands.

He can feel the motions of what I'm doing.

I am...

'With Clark's help I've learned how to spell out my name

'on Richard's hand.'

U...R...

'Learning hands on sign language is vital for Richard's future

'when he may lose his sight and hearing altogether.'

-M.

-Maureen.

Maureen.

For all deafblind people the ability to communicate means

the difference between feeling alienated and feeling included.

For people like Roger who've spent all their life with minimum

sight and hearing, words and letters can have little meaning.

So the charity has introduced him to a new form of written communication.

With the help of one of his support workers Chip,

Roger has learnt a specialised vocabulary which uses pictures

and symbols alongside words.

He now works part-time at a cafe set up by the charity called Cafe 55.

Can I have the ham salad?

The menus use the same picture system so with the help of

another of his support workers, he is able to take customers' orders.

Roger is absolutely thrilled when Monday morning comes round.

Thank you.

Working in Cafe 55 has made a huge difference to him, his confidence

has gone up through the ceiling, he sees himself more as an equal,

rather than always being in somebody's shadow.

Because deafblind people often feel excluded,

school can be particularly daunting.

So the charity has a specialist team which works with the school

to help children, parents and teachers through this crucial time.

Come on then, Adam, in you go, sweetheart.

Adam has been attending a special school since he was three.

Does it say in or up?

Up.

Thankfully for Adam and his parents

the charity has been there from the start.

Every six weeks, Gail,

the charity's specialist consultant, visits Adam's school

to observe his progress and give advice to teachers.

It's wonderful to see the progress that he's making

with the right support and to know that in time to come,

hopefully Adam will be able to lead a full and enriched life.

-Adam?

-Yes.

-Would you like me to read this? Yeah? OK.

For Adam, Sense has been really crucial in him making

the most of his school. I know he's going to achieve his potential.

-Day or Dog?

-Dog.

-Good boy!

The ongoing support he receives from Sense means he now

interacts more confidently with those around him.

Adam, let's have a race!

This is a charity that's working with and for people

who otherwise would be seen as non-people.

Thank you.

Without them, he would feel so alone.

You know, sometimes deafblind people feel

as if the whole world doesn't hear them or see them.

With your support Sense can help these people to lead fulfilled

and independent lives.

So please donate, by going to the website which is bbc.co.uk/lifeline

and if you don't have access to the internet just call 0800 011 011.

And if the lines are busy, PLEASE keep trying!

Or if you'd like to post a donation, please make your

check payable to Sense and send it to:

Remember if you're a UK tax payer the charity can collect

Gift Aid on your donation worth another 25%.

Just send in a note to say you want your donation to be subject to

Gift Aid and include the date, your full name and address.

Thank you.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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