Able Australia’s Deafblind services are offering a FREE, short term, non-accredited course on communication methods used by people with a combination of visual and hearing loss. Various communication strategies will be explored and discussed including, Auslan signs used by the deafblind community, tactile signing, visual frame, tracking and print-on-palm, finger spelling and deafblind fingerspelling.

The main aim of this communication class is to provide the confidence for students to approach and have successful and enjoyable interactions with the deafblind communities.

The course is appropriate for low to medium skill levels and will give students opportunity to practice their signing skills, ask questions and gain information on issues relating to deafblindness. The course will provide students with knowledge on the following topics:

Course content

·        Finger spelling

·        Signing

·        Deafblind fingerspelling

·        Tactile and Visual frame

·        Making first contact

·        Basic guiding

·        Cultural awareness

·        Language specific to your needs

·        Code switching