An innovative step forward towards Deafblind people’s social inclusion Erasmus Project

Project Title

An innovative step forward towards Deafblind people’s social inclusion

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Pedagogy and didactics; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

FASOCIDE (the Spanish Federation of Associations of Deafblind People) is made up of Spanish associations of Deafblind people which are run by Deaflblind people themselves. The first and indeed only Spanish organisation of this kind, FASOCIDE works towards improving the living conditions of Deafblind people, as well as helping them to fully integrate into society using a variety of different tools, including training. These associations, like the federation itself, exist due to the need to solve the communication and social isolation issues faced by Deafblind people, which the institutions have been unable to help with. Among FASOCIDE’s objectives are: collaborating with and ensuring the creation of educational programs, training and rehabilitation for Deafblind people, helping Deafblind people to become personally independent and learn to communicate, and enabling them to participate in everyday and sociocultural activities, as well programs that are designed for Deafblind people with a view to finding the necessary adaptations and solutions that facilitate their integration onto programs that are not specifically aimed at them.

In 2017, FASOCIDE began developing its own Haptic system, thanks to the Erasmus Plus project. The Haptic system, which until now has only been used in Scandinavian countries, is a communication system in which a Deafblind person receives signs on different parts of the body – in particular the upper back and arms – which transmit information related to educational context rather than linguistic information. Haptic signs can be transmitted while the Deafblind person is also receives linguistic information as normal, whether by tactile or visual frame sign language, adapted oral language, deaf blind manual alphabet (spelling) on the palm of the hand, etc. When designing this system, FASOCIDE subsequently detected the need to encourage other countries to develop their own systems and provide them with the tools necessary to do so, considering the huge advantages and improvements that the system can offer Deafblind people.

To this end, FASOCIDE would like to propose this project, in which it joins forces with the EDbU (European Deafblind Union) and Hapti-Co (a pioneering Norwegian entity with expertise in the Norwegian Haptic system). The three organisations have created a project whose objective is to develop a methodology which facilitates the creation of a Haptic system in each country in Europe, and potentially further afield. As a result of Hapti-Co’s extensive knowledge of the development and training of the Norwegian Haptic system and the EDbU’s capacity to reach a vast audience – its members come from more than 20 different Deafblind organisations around Europe – this project intends develop and spread its methodology as far and wide as possible.

To carry out this work, the three organisations will meet periodically to analyse the situation at European level, detect differing needs and design a Haptic system development methodology. Subsequently, a manual – in English and Spanish, both written and in braille – and an educational online portal – in English, in Spanish, in Spanish Sign Language and in International Sign Language- will be created so that the methodology can be consulted. The content will be available to Deafblind people with partial vision as it will be adapted to their needs, while all other Deafblind people will be able to access the online portal using a Braille terminal which they can connect to their computers. The project will be carried out by a team made up of three Deafblind people (accompanied by guide-interpreters, who help with communication and travel) and six technicians (who work for the three aforementioned organisations).

Subsequently, there will be a wide dissemination of the manual and online web portal at the EDbU’s General Assembly in 2021, which will be attended by representatives of Deafblind associations from over 20 countries. This will allow Deafblind people and members of these associations to get to know the system and the steps they need to take to create their own. In the long term, it is expected that Haptic systems adapted specifically to each country will be developed all around Europe, and possibly all over the world at a later stage. This will result in a significant qualitative improvement in the inclusion of Deafblind people, with this system being the only one which allows them to be aware of all contextual information, thus providing them with the necessary information to be able to make their own decisions independently. The final objective of the program is to provide Deafblind people with a methodology and the necessary tools to develop their own Haptic system, so they can have a better understanding of the world around them and as a result achieve greater inclusion in society. These new Systems that will be develop will be uploaded to the website, so that it is a platform from which to learn this System continuosly

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 82766,72 Eur

Project Coordinator

FEDERACIÓN DE ASOCIACIONES DE PERSONAS SORDOCIEGAS DE ESPAÑA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Hapti-Co
• European Deafblind Union