News and other articles

REPORT FROM HELSINKI, FINLAND

Annmaree presenting with her accessibility assistants at the NNDR Conference. Seated right to left: Skye, Annmaree, Amanda. PowerPoint slide project behind them: "Filling in the Gaps, Joining the Dots. What we want to know about DSI. Dr Annmaree Watharow - CDRP, University of Sydney".

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 …

The Dual Sensory Impairment-Deafblindness National Conference

DSI Project orange and blue logo showing touch signing and braille of the letters D S I

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 …

Christmas Party and Plans for 2025

Group photo at Christmas lunch of Moira, Emily, Annmaree, Julie, Skye, Sophie, and Izabella, with Cathie behind the camera.

The Dual Sensory Impairment Project held an annual Christmas party in mid-December! We celebrated 2024’s achievements, discussed challenges, solutions and big plans for 2025 projects, chatted about our holiday fun and ate a delicious array of food! Our chief cheerleader Suzie was absent, although we mustn’t feel sorry for this as she was in France enjoying her beautiful new house, …

SAVE THE DATE: National Conference – Filling in the Gaps and Joining the Dots

National Conference Flyer: Filling in the Gaps & Joining the Dots

Save the Date for the First National Dual Sensory Impairment – Deafblindness Conference: November 27th – 28th, 2025 This two-day conference aims to fill in the gaps in our data, knowledge and services. Co-Convened by The University Of Sydney and Macquarie UniversityIn partnership with SensesWA & others ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS WILL OPEN 1ST FEBRUARY 2025 For sponsorship enquiries and other queries, …

Deafblind Australia Annual General Meeting

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 …

Save Sight Institute Family Day – Part 3: Social-Haptic Communication Workshop Notes

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 …

Save Sight Institute Family Day – Part 1: Transitions and Super Teams

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 …