It’s World Deafblindness Day, this Thursday, June 27, 2024. In the park of the town hall of Laxou, children from nursery and primary schools put themselves in the shoes of deaf and blind people. This is the very first public event of this magnitude organized in the Nancy metropolitan area.
It’s an invisible handicap… Not seeing, not hearing. People who are deafblind are difficult to spot. So that they are better understood, better accepted, better supported, this international day sheds light on this handicap.
The Laxou town hall park (Meurthe-et-Moselle) was transformed this Thursday, June 27, 2024. Nearly 400 children were expected to discover the disability of deafblindness. Sensory and olfactory stands, games and books in Braille, around ten workshops explain to very young people what it is to be hearing and visually impaired.
Dr Isabelle Bouillevaux runs a French sign language workshop. Make colors or an animal, she uses simple signs for toddlers.
Dr. Isabelle Bouillevaux, shows the word “cow” in French sign language.
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“I explain to them what it is to be deaf, not to hear, not to see. And how these disabled people communicate. I teach them how to make the dog, the snail and the cow. After the eyes blindfolded, they manage to find the exact word, by putting their hands on mine”explains the general practitioner at the regional reception and care unit for the deaf and hard of hearing in Lorraine.
With headphones on the ears or a blindfold, children can understand what this disability is.
“It’s easier to educate children than adults. Children don’t have a filter. He asks direct questions and they want direct answers. They don’t mind participating, wearing a blindfold. It’s very easy to put them in a situation. On the other hand, it is more complicated for adults because the loss of these sensations is not obvious. shares event organizer Nadège Menut, project coordinator for the North-East rare disability relay team.
This is the first time that this day has been organized in a public place. Previously, the event took place in specialized establishments.
“The goal is to highlight deaf and mute people. These are little-known situations, even though there are more and more of them”adds Nadège Menut.
Multi-colored fabrics are the symbol of this handicap.
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On a daily basis, accessibility to administrative tasks or everyday life for these people is extremely difficult.
“These people do not have access to citizenship. A day like this allows for more visibility. Public authorities will take action so that they can have a dignified life. I have patients who are in great difficulty, even though they have completely normal cognitive abilities to access employment.”adds Dr Bouillevaux.
In Laxou, trees and street furniture were covered with multi-colored wool scarves. “Yarn bombing” was launched in 2021 to raise awareness among the general public and promote the social inclusion of people with deafblindness.
