Dual Sensory Impairment Project
Capturing the hidden epidemic
Dual Sensory Impairment Project
Capturing the hidden epidemic
The University of Sydney hosted an event on Monday, 8th September. We invited Professor Tom Shakespeare from the UK via Zoom to address the state of affairs in disability thinking and experience engaging us today. Tom is a renowned social scientist and a Professor of Disability Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He has published over a …
Like Charles Kingsford Smith, Billie Sinclair came into the world of flying at its glorious dawn. On October 3rd, 1932, fourteen-year-old Billie – the only deaf and blind child among students from the NSW Institute for Deaf, Dumb and Blind Children – receives a joy flight from the famous aviator. Strapped to a board in Smithy’s Fokker trimotor, the Southern …
Thursday 27th November, Friday 28th November 2025 REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/national-deafblind-conference-tickets-1459528391709 This two-day, lived experience-led conference is a collaboration between the University of Sydney and Macquarie University. It is directly informed by the insights of people living with combined sight and hearing loss, gathered through the 2024 survey on community needs and wants, as well as by input from professionals, practitioners, and organisations …
This has been a big week: with a council cleanup, an occupational therapist home visit, the moving around of objects and furnishings alongside the purchase of items to make life easier or safer (or both). It therefore seems timely to write about home modifications. In my experience, very, very few professionals and organisations have experience in the complexities and challenges …
Annmaree Watharow, Susannah McNally, Skye Wallace and Amanda Francis Annmaree, Amanda and Skye from the Dual Sensory Impairment Project travelled to Helsinki for the Nordic Network for Disability Research conference held at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Annmaree, assisted by Amanda (social-haptic communication) and Skye (driving the tech devices and communication), presented on one aspect of the survey we …
Filling in the gaps and joining the dots The Dual Sensory Impairment Project is delighted to announce the upcoming National Dual Sensory Impairment-Deafblindness Conference, taking place this November at the University of Sydney.We are co-convening this important awareness-raising, experience-sharing and skills-building event with the Dual Sensory Impairment Fellowship at Macquarie University. Support and sponsorship have also been provided by: This …
By Annmaree Watharow and Skye Wallace We have travelled to Perth to do a number of multi-purpose activities: Interviews Skye and I spent time with amazing consumers to get their insights on what deafblind or dual sensory impaired people and their families need and want. This information is then used to inform our partnerships, research programs and awareness raising and …
Annmaree Watharow and Susannah McNally People have been using on-body touch signals for centuries. Most people use touch and gestures, for example, to signify support (patting on the back), and love (holding hands, kissing). People with disability and their families have sometimes created individual systems when sight, hearing or speaking senses are not working well enough for them to ‘know …
Annmaree Watharow and Susannah McNally So, we have our super team in place (see part one). What else do we need to have a better health or hospital experience? We need lots of systemic and attitudinal changes, but we can help ourselves (and our health caregivers) by being prepared. In order to be better prepared for hospital and healthcare encounters, …
Annmaree Watharow and Susannah McNally We are here at the Save Sight Institute Family Day as part of our mission with the Dual Sensory Impairment Project to consolidate partnerships and raise awareness of the issues impacting people and families living with sensory impairments. Our brief today is twofold: a presentation of managing transitions from children’s health care services to adult …