Understanding Deafblindness as a Spectrum: A New Resolution in Deafblind Awareness Month
The Board of Deafblind International DbI and the Executive Council of the World Federation of the Deafblind WFDB
- Noting that deafblindness is a condition of combined hearing and vision impairments where individuals experience very different functional and participation challenges in interaction with various barriers and facilitating factors in their very different contexts,
- Observing that deafblindness is therefore experienced and described as a distinct but very diverse condition by those concerned and involved,
- Emphasizing that a recent international study in particular illustrates this diversity from the perspectives of people with deafblindness across several dimensions,
Endorse the understanding of deafblindness as a spectrum, referring to it as the “deafblind spectrum” without intending to establish a binding terminology applicable to all.
June 2026
And here the plain text version of the resolution:
The Board of Deafblind International DbI and the Executive Council of the World Federation of the Deafblind WFDB
- Recognizes that deafblindness involves combined hearing and vision loss. People who are deafblind can experience very different challenges in everyday life. These experiences are shaped by the environments people live in, by the barriers and supports around them.
- Acknowledges that, because of this, deafblindness is both a distinct condition and a very diverse one. People who are deafblind may experience and describe their situation in many different ways.
- Notes that recent international research, involving people with deafblindness themselves, highlights this diversity across many aspects of life.
Support the idea that deafblindness can be understood as a spectrum, and endorses the use of the term “deafblind spectrum” to reflect this diversity, without intending to impose a single terminology for everyone.
June 2026