WEBVTT - Deafblind Week 2026 & Deafblind WA 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.479 Hello and welcome to In Plain Sight, a program where 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.119 we highlight people who are making a positive impact in 0:00:23.119 --> 0:00:25.439 the community and disability sector. 0:00:25.439 --> 0:00:28.320 Shining a light on those who would be otherwise hidden 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:29.440 in plain sight. 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:31.520 And it's a pleasure to bring you these stories on 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:35.120 a weekly basis with you here on Vision Australia Radio. 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:45.720 Hello and hello, Andrew. How are you going? 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:47.840 Really good. Thank you. Simon, how about you? 0:00:47.879 --> 0:00:51.200 Fabulous. Had a fabulous week. Very productive week and a 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.320 fun week. And we're in the studio. I'm always having 0:00:53.319 --> 0:00:54.640 fun while I'm in the studio. 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.360 Same here. What would you like to tell us this 0:00:57.360 --> 0:00:59.080 week about what's happening in the program? 0:00:59.319 --> 0:01:03.360 So this week, Andrew, we are talking about Deaf Blind Week, 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:07.400 which happens at the end of June to commemorate and 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:11.679 remember Helen Keller's birthday, which is 27th of June. Now 0:01:11.679 --> 0:01:14.080 we're going to be mostly focusing on what's happening here 0:01:14.170 --> 0:01:18.330 in Western Australia with De Bue deaf, blind West Australians. 0:01:18.810 --> 0:01:20.970 But we also want to shine the light on what's 0:01:20.970 --> 0:01:23.810 happening in other places, because there are deaf blind events 0:01:23.810 --> 0:01:26.170 happening in other places throughout Australia and around the world, 0:01:26.210 --> 0:01:29.530 because an international event. Now you've got some examples there, Andrew, 0:01:29.530 --> 0:01:31.730 of what's happening in Victoria, for instance. 0:01:31.850 --> 0:01:34.530 Yes, I do. At the State Library of Victoria, which 0:01:34.530 --> 0:01:37.730 is in Melbourne, the State Library of Victoria and Vision 0:01:37.730 --> 0:01:40.870 Australia are holding a free online interactive session on the 0:01:40.870 --> 0:01:45.650 25th of June, which offers sensory storytime and tactile activities 0:01:45.650 --> 0:01:49.890 for children and also deaf blind Victoria are also hosting 0:01:49.890 --> 0:01:52.890 a special art and craft exhibition to raise funds for 0:01:52.890 --> 0:01:57.410 the organisation, so there are extra events taking place as well. 0:01:57.410 --> 0:02:00.010 So you can go to the Deafblind Victoria website, which 0:02:00.010 --> 0:02:04.770 is deafblind victoria.com and in particular there was when I 0:02:04.770 --> 0:02:07.530 went and had a look at the website. There's one 0:02:07.530 --> 0:02:10.330 event happening on the 25th of June that particularly caught 0:02:10.329 --> 0:02:13.929 my eye. It's in Melbourne and specifically at the Beaumaris 0:02:14.019 --> 0:02:17.820 Motor Yacht Squadron, and it particularly caught my eye because 0:02:17.820 --> 0:02:21.499 that's where I grew up. It's a fantastic location. I 0:02:21.500 --> 0:02:24.499 used to go fishing off the jetty at Beaumaris Motor 0:02:24.500 --> 0:02:26.540 Yacht Squad and had a great time as a kid 0:02:26.540 --> 0:02:29.260 growing up in the 60s and 70s, so it'll be 0:02:29.260 --> 0:02:32.100 a fabulous day to take part on the day on 0:02:32.100 --> 0:02:35.419 the bay from the Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron. And there's 0:02:35.419 --> 0:02:39.260 also going to be a deaf chef. Ross don't have 0:02:39.260 --> 0:02:45.100 his surname, but teaching mocktails and mocktail making, and there'll 0:02:45.139 --> 0:02:47.939 be a chap called Jasper teaching Craft. So it looks 0:02:47.940 --> 0:02:51.020 like a fantastic day happening there. And one of the 0:02:51.019 --> 0:02:54.660 really interesting things that I like about the, uh, the 0:02:54.660 --> 0:02:59.379 theme for Deafblind Awareness Week is it's connected by touch 0:02:59.739 --> 0:03:03.739 breaking barriers and building bridges or simply connected by touch. 0:03:04.179 --> 0:03:08.859 And that's such an important part of the deafblind community 0:03:09.260 --> 0:03:14.200 in basic communication and extended communication as well. And it's 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.720 one of the things that our guests that's coming up 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:19.879 shortly on the program, Lenny talks a lot about as 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:23.960 a communication guide, how important the touch is in the 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:25.200 deaf blind community. 0:03:25.239 --> 0:03:28.760 It's odd to think about what we're doing here on 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:33.919 radio and in podcast. Obviously, it's not accessible, the spoken 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.680 word to someone who's deaf or hard of hearing unless 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.560 they have the hearing aids that can connect them up, 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.400 which is a common way. But with the beauty of 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:48.320 modern podcasts and modern computing, we can get the transcripts. 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:51.440 And that's the way deaf people can access the spoken 0:03:51.440 --> 0:03:55.600 word as it's transcribed into the written word. And it's 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:59.800 for reasons like this that I really enjoy highlighting things 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:03.960 like Deaf Blind Week, because they are a dynamic and 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:08.559 wonderful group of people, and I only have vision impairment 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:12.760 compared to other people who have both senses impaired to 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.610 some level. Life can be much more difficult for those people, 0:04:16.610 --> 0:04:19.770 but we can make it easier. And as the theme 0:04:19.930 --> 0:04:22.650 indicates for this year. Andrew, tell us again what that 0:04:22.650 --> 0:04:23.530 theme is, please. 0:04:23.570 --> 0:04:27.210 It's connected by touch breaking barriers, building bridges. 0:04:27.690 --> 0:04:30.929 So we are, in a sense, trying to build bridges 0:04:30.930 --> 0:04:34.930 and open up connections here on our radio podcast program. 0:04:35.089 --> 0:04:37.890 And with that, I'd like to lead you into our 0:04:37.890 --> 0:04:42.330 conversation with Lenny and Jason from Deaf Blind West Australians 0:04:42.330 --> 0:04:45.330 coming up for you now. So Jason, we haven't met. 0:04:45.330 --> 0:04:48.489 So I'll start with you. What's your role at AWA. 0:04:49.330 --> 0:04:51.409 At the moment? I've been brought on as a project 0:04:51.409 --> 0:04:54.890 manager to help run a couple of grants that we 0:04:54.890 --> 0:04:59.010 have through one through Ndia and one through the Australian Government, 0:04:59.010 --> 0:05:02.489 Department of Health, Aging and Disability. My role is predominantly 0:05:02.490 --> 0:05:06.290 looking at different parts of the project and ensuring we're 0:05:06.289 --> 0:05:09.609 meeting all the different requirements of our grants, and assisting 0:05:09.610 --> 0:05:11.089 to run a range of different projects. 0:05:11.089 --> 0:05:12.489 What's the aim of the projects? 0:05:13.210 --> 0:05:17.059 We have a few different focuses. We have our WA 0:05:17.099 --> 0:05:19.419 community hub, the drop in hub that we run out 0:05:19.420 --> 0:05:22.539 of the rise in Maylands every fortnight, which is around 0:05:22.539 --> 0:05:27.900 community involvement, inclusion, building capacity and essentially just getting that 0:05:27.900 --> 0:05:31.260 real sense of community connection for a number of people 0:05:31.260 --> 0:05:33.299 who are in our deaf blind community, as well as 0:05:33.339 --> 0:05:37.700 the individuals who have single sensory loss. We also are 0:05:37.700 --> 0:05:41.020 running a youth leadership program, which is just coming to 0:05:41.020 --> 0:05:43.700 the end of its first inaugural run, where we've been 0:05:43.700 --> 0:05:47.979 working with a number of young leaders within our community 0:05:47.979 --> 0:05:53.020 to help build self-advocacy. Industry wide advocacy, communication, and a 0:05:53.020 --> 0:05:55.539 range of other skills to help them develop their own 0:05:55.539 --> 0:05:59.659 careers and place them as future leaders for our communities. 0:06:00.219 --> 0:06:03.099 And then we have a range of other smaller projects 0:06:03.099 --> 0:06:07.580 that we've been working with, such as doing promotion of 0:06:07.820 --> 0:06:12.299 deafblind awareness and deaf blind, sort of the deaf blind 0:06:12.300 --> 0:06:16.350 can do attitude through a range of different avenues, including 0:06:16.469 --> 0:06:18.790 a theatre production by definite connections. 0:06:19.190 --> 0:06:20.390 Definite connections. 0:06:20.390 --> 0:06:21.469 Definite connection. 0:06:21.510 --> 0:06:23.110 A very good I like that I like a good 0:06:23.110 --> 0:06:23.830 play on words. 0:06:24.229 --> 0:06:27.950 They have a production that was formerly titled The Lifetime 0:06:27.950 --> 0:06:30.990 of the Deaf and Deaf Blind two. Um, they've just 0:06:31.390 --> 0:06:35.350 rebranded to Beyond Sight and Sound, and we were supporting 0:06:35.349 --> 0:06:39.229 them to present their show down in the Busselton Fringe 0:06:39.229 --> 0:06:41.910 and up here at Northbridge, Perth Fringe. 0:06:41.909 --> 0:06:44.110 For those who don't know, can you tell us what 0:06:44.150 --> 0:06:48.550 Dvwa is and what its main aim is to obviously 0:06:48.550 --> 0:06:51.510 support people who are deaf blind, but can you expand 0:06:51.510 --> 0:06:52.789 on that for us a little bit, please? 0:06:52.830 --> 0:06:57.869 Uh, WW is um a peer support organisation. It's a 0:06:57.909 --> 0:07:02.190 peer support and peer led and peer driven. It operates 0:07:02.190 --> 0:07:06.150 across Western Australia, predominantly through the hub at the moment 0:07:06.150 --> 0:07:09.710 in Maylands, which runs once a fortnight. We are a 0:07:10.030 --> 0:07:14.610 leading advocate within WA for deaf blindness Us, and we 0:07:14.930 --> 0:07:17.010 try to be the voice of people who are deaf 0:07:17.010 --> 0:07:19.490 blind across WA. A large part of what we do 0:07:19.490 --> 0:07:24.570 through our work is promoting information, inclusion and ensuring that 0:07:24.570 --> 0:07:26.970 members of our community have equal access to all of 0:07:26.970 --> 0:07:29.770 the information and resources that are out there in the 0:07:29.770 --> 0:07:36.369 community that may not necessarily be accessible or easily accessed 0:07:36.810 --> 0:07:38.369 by people who have sensory loss. 0:07:38.410 --> 0:07:41.610 I know there's deaf blind Australia and there's other associations 0:07:41.610 --> 0:07:43.489 across Australia as well. Is that right? 0:07:43.530 --> 0:07:47.290 Yes. So deaf Blind Australia is more of the national 0:07:47.290 --> 0:07:50.170 advocacy group. We are more of the grassroots here in 0:07:50.170 --> 0:07:51.170 Western Australia. 0:07:51.210 --> 0:07:54.370 And talking about accessibility, I was thinking on my way 0:07:54.370 --> 0:07:58.370 into the studio today, these programs that we record here, 0:07:58.370 --> 0:08:03.770 they are automatically transcribed. So there is a transcription. It's 0:08:03.810 --> 0:08:07.850 AI generated. So a computer transcribes what we're saying, which 0:08:07.850 --> 0:08:11.010 reminded me that I should talk very slowly and clearly 0:08:11.010 --> 0:08:13.130 and try not to talk over people because the computer 0:08:13.130 --> 0:08:17.580 gets confused. The computer can't distinguish one voice from the other, 0:08:17.580 --> 0:08:20.260 but it does notice a gap. And when there's a 0:08:20.300 --> 0:08:23.620 pause and then it time stamps it. I have read 0:08:23.620 --> 0:08:26.180 some of the transcripts over the time and they are 0:08:26.180 --> 0:08:30.020 reasonably accurate. Um, at this point I'll introduce Lenny Oliver 0:08:30.020 --> 0:08:31.980 to the microphone. Hi, Lenny. How are you? 0:08:32.020 --> 0:08:33.660 Hi, Simon. I'm good. Thank you. 0:08:33.900 --> 0:08:36.179 So, Linda, you've been in the studio a few times. 0:08:36.180 --> 0:08:39.420 And just remind us, how long have you been with DWA? 0:08:40.100 --> 0:08:43.540 Oh, I've been with Deafblind West Australian since I first 0:08:43.540 --> 0:08:48.020 started work as a communication guide with sensors in 2011. 0:08:48.500 --> 0:08:49.620 In 2010. 0:08:49.900 --> 0:08:52.900 We've spoken about Com guides before. Can you just remind 0:08:52.900 --> 0:08:54.940 us what a com guide is please? 0:08:54.980 --> 0:08:59.020 Yeah. Com guide is specialized 1 to 1 to support 0:08:59.100 --> 0:09:02.940 for people who are deaf blind. So the role was 0:09:02.940 --> 0:09:06.540 originally created and we were sort of looked at as 0:09:06.540 --> 0:09:09.180 the eyes and ears of the person who is deaf blind. 0:09:09.180 --> 0:09:11.500 So we're there to sort of fill in the gaps 0:09:11.500 --> 0:09:13.990 that they missed through their, you know, their vision loss 0:09:13.990 --> 0:09:20.950 and mess through their hearing loss. And we provide communication support, environmental, um, support. 0:09:20.950 --> 0:09:23.790 And how does one become a com guide? 0:09:23.990 --> 0:09:28.230 Uh, census wa, uh, run a two day training program, 0:09:28.230 --> 0:09:31.990 the communication guide training and yeah, so people who are 0:09:31.990 --> 0:09:36.070 interested in becoming a communication guide can, yeah, can go 0:09:36.070 --> 0:09:38.710 to census. You don't have to work for census to 0:09:38.750 --> 0:09:42.230 be able to do the training. And it's a good 0:09:42.230 --> 0:09:46.670 little sort of, you know, step towards learning about the community. 0:09:46.710 --> 0:09:49.350 You can't learn everything in a two day course, but 0:09:49.390 --> 0:09:51.470 it gives you that little bit of grounding to be 0:09:51.470 --> 0:09:54.750 able to know what you need to have to support 0:09:54.750 --> 0:09:58.470 people who are deaf, blind. And there's nothing like, you know, 0:09:58.510 --> 0:10:01.550 on the job experience. Our deaf blind people are our 0:10:01.550 --> 0:10:06.710 greatest teachers. You know, we learn day by day from them. 0:10:06.710 --> 0:10:09.950 And yeah, it's just, yeah, absolute privilege to work with 0:10:09.950 --> 0:10:12.510 this really unique community. 0:10:12.670 --> 0:10:16.240 Deaf blindness is like a lot of things. It's a spectrum. 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:19.760 So not most people aren't fully deaf and fully blind. 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:21.440 Can you just talk a little bit about that first 0:10:21.680 --> 0:10:23.120 and then I'll come to you, Jason. 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.080 Yeah. No. Yeah, definitely. Deaf blindness is is a spectrum. 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:32.320 So it's that combined vision and combined hearing loss, that 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.240 dual sensory loss that, you know, says that a person 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.960 is deaf, blind. So you have to have both of 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:42.240 those sensory losses. Otherwise it's just a single sensory loss. So. 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.320 And Jason, you spoke earlier about that. You worked in 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:50.520 other disability sectors. How how does it compare working in 0:10:50.560 --> 0:10:52.800 this in this area with deaf blind. 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:56.640 It was a huge culture shock moving across from mainstream 0:10:56.640 --> 0:11:00.000 disability to specialized. A lot of my work history is 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.920 in the disability employment field, so assessing people with a 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:08.160 range of different barriers to employment to to find employment, 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.480 maintain employment, basically take a place just like anyone else 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:16.580 in the workforce with the particularly vision loss where I 0:11:16.620 --> 0:11:21.420 initially started the challenge of overcoming so many barriers, some 0:11:21.420 --> 0:11:26.500 that shouldn't be barriers around access, inclusion something as simple 0:11:26.500 --> 0:11:29.300 as being able to get from home to a workplace. 0:11:29.300 --> 0:11:31.620 Before you even look at the challenges of how do 0:11:31.620 --> 0:11:35.460 you redesign work and the different types of employment. It 0:11:35.460 --> 0:11:38.140 was quite interesting and challenging, and it gave me an 0:11:38.140 --> 0:11:42.700 opportunity to learn a whole range of different techniques, different 0:11:42.700 --> 0:11:46.140 ways to use adaptive technology that I hadn't thought of before, 0:11:46.180 --> 0:11:48.860 and different things we can do to make it work. 0:11:49.060 --> 0:11:53.500 When I was reminding myself about this topic of deaf blindness, 0:11:53.900 --> 0:11:57.580 I looked at some different websites and it really intrigued me. 0:11:57.900 --> 0:12:00.780 I saw one, I can't remember which website it was, 0:12:00.780 --> 0:12:04.820 but it was definitely aimed at the members. So there 0:12:04.820 --> 0:12:09.380 was hardly any written text on this web page. And 0:12:09.380 --> 0:12:12.860 there were a lot of videos because obviously videos for 0:12:12.860 --> 0:12:17.470 people who use Auslan is the main form of communication. Linda, 0:12:17.470 --> 0:12:19.990 you want to talk anything about that? The way people 0:12:19.990 --> 0:12:22.190 need to communicate if you're deaf, blind. 0:12:22.470 --> 0:12:27.670 Yeah, we we have multiple modes of communication within our 0:12:27.670 --> 0:12:32.830 deafblind community. We have some people who use speech, um, oral. 0:12:32.830 --> 0:12:36.430 We have some people who are Auslan users. We have 0:12:36.430 --> 0:12:40.790 some people who are tactile Auslan users. And just a 0:12:40.790 --> 0:12:44.630 lot of our community who use adaptive forms of Auslan. 0:12:45.190 --> 0:12:49.630 The thing with deaf blindness is that very, very, very 0:12:49.630 --> 0:12:53.350 few people with deaf blindness are fully deaf or fully blind. 0:12:53.350 --> 0:12:56.350 So it's different degrees of hearing loss. So you might 0:12:56.350 --> 0:12:59.670 have someone who's got just a mild, well, you know, 0:12:59.710 --> 0:13:03.990 or a moderate hearing loss, but has very little vision. We, 0:13:04.150 --> 0:13:06.870 you know, you might have someone who's profoundly deaf and, 0:13:06.910 --> 0:13:10.830 you know, as they age or they start to lose, 0:13:10.870 --> 0:13:13.880 you know, their vision as well. So it's just that 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:17.480 that real, you know, like you said, it's a spectrum. 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:22.480 So it's varying degrees of vision loss, varying degrees of 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:27.360 hearing loss. And no two people experience the same thing. 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:31.320 So yeah, we have, you know, to adapt. People have to, 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:35.280 you know, have different forms of communication. People might start 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.720 off as an Auslan user, but as their vision starts 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.560 to deteriorate later on in life, they may have to 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:45.400 adapt the form of Auslan communication that they use. So yeah, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:49.360 very very multi communication modes. 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:52.840 So you mentioned tactile özlem. So that's when someone literally 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.960 has their hand on someone else's hand or something along 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.840 those lines to spell out, write out the words and stuff. 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.720 Yeah. Tactile Auslan. Yeah. So actually finger fingerspelling into the 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:05.600 hand and the person usually places their hands, you know, 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:08.320 over the hands of the person they are communicating with, 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:12.520 with their communication partner and feel the movement of the 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:16.410 signs as well. Some people can get to where they lose, 0:14:16.450 --> 0:14:18.610 being able to feel the signs, and it does have 0:14:18.610 --> 0:14:21.770 to be adapted to full fingerspelling on the hand or 0:14:21.810 --> 0:14:23.130 signs on the hand. 0:14:24.450 --> 0:14:27.650 You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio 0:14:27.850 --> 0:14:31.450 with Simon Cheung and me, Andrew Williams. Our guests this 0:14:31.450 --> 0:14:36.010 week are Leonie Oliver, communication guide and project officer with 0:14:36.010 --> 0:14:41.770 Deafblind WA, and Jason Rowland, a project manager with Deafblind WA. 0:14:42.130 --> 0:14:45.010 And now it's back to Simon Linney and Jason. 0:14:45.010 --> 0:14:47.730 Before we move on any further, we'd better tell the 0:14:47.730 --> 0:14:50.690 people about these great events that are coming up for 0:14:50.690 --> 0:14:54.970 Deafblind Week. Um, so Leonie, what's happening for DWA over 0:14:54.970 --> 0:14:55.770 this period? 0:14:56.130 --> 0:14:58.970 We've got a couple of really exciting events happening this 0:14:58.970 --> 0:15:02.090 year for Deafblind Awareness Week. Our first event, which is 0:15:02.090 --> 0:15:04.810 our big event, is on the 24th of June, and 0:15:04.810 --> 0:15:08.770 that's at Perth City Farm. And that runs from 9 a.m. 0:15:08.810 --> 0:15:12.490 till 11:30 a.m.. And it's just, you know, a morning 0:15:12.490 --> 0:15:16.110 where we are, you know, celebrating deaf blindness and our 0:15:16.110 --> 0:15:19.150 deaf blind community here in WA. So it's about connection 0:15:19.150 --> 0:15:23.750 and creativity, storytelling, and we've got some really, really wonderful 0:15:23.750 --> 0:15:28.190 things happening on that day. We've got an art exhibition where, 0:15:28.350 --> 0:15:31.790 you know, our community members have all done some absolutely 0:15:31.790 --> 0:15:38.150 amazing art. We've got paintings, we've got crocheting, we've got craft, 0:15:38.150 --> 0:15:42.550 we've got so many beautiful pieces that people have created, 0:15:42.870 --> 0:15:46.190 and we'll be able to sell those pieces of art, 0:15:46.190 --> 0:15:48.350 and that money that we raised will go back into 0:15:48.350 --> 0:15:51.550 our peer support group to, you know, fund events that, 0:15:51.590 --> 0:15:54.030 you know, they want to have out in the community. 0:15:54.510 --> 0:15:58.750 So we also have our young leaders that Jason spoke about, 0:15:58.790 --> 0:16:02.710 or we'll be having their graduation ceremony at our Deafblind 0:16:02.710 --> 0:16:06.070 Awareness week. And I'm really excited to share that really 0:16:06.070 --> 0:16:10.110 special moment for them with our young leaders. And then 0:16:10.110 --> 0:16:14.360 we're having our young leaders participate in an Ask me anything. Panel. 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:17.680 So a bit like, yeah, the ABC program, you can't 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:21.640 ask that. So yeah, it's a Q&A session. And you know, 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:26.560 our young leaders will talk about the leadership lead experience, advocacy, 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:31.320 and most importantly, the future of the deafblind community. And 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:37.840 we are just so, so excited to collaborate with Definite Connection, who, 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.960 as Jason said, you know, have produced this amazing play 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.720 that we've been so privileged to support. And we have 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:50.120 this really, really powerful scene from that production that they did. 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:54.680 And it features, um, our wonderful deafblind actor, Eddie Zupanic. 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.360 And it takes us back to that moment in time, 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:02.480 that real life changing moment for him when as a 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.719 deaf person growing up was starting to lose his vision 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:10.920 and he was diagnosed with usher syndrome. It's just this 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:15.970 really powerful piece, this really, really moving piece of performance 0:17:15.970 --> 0:17:22.090 that ends in Eddie signing this most incredible song about 0:17:22.250 --> 0:17:25.490 what it feels to be deaf blind. So we are 0:17:25.490 --> 0:17:29.530 just so, so excited to be able to have that, 0:17:29.570 --> 0:17:32.090 you know, theater piece as part of our event. And 0:17:32.090 --> 0:17:35.690 we're really, really thankful to Peter Block from Definite Connection 0:17:35.690 --> 0:17:38.210 for allowing us to be able to have that as 0:17:38.210 --> 0:17:41.130 part of our event. Then we'll just, you know, celebrate 0:17:41.130 --> 0:17:44.930 with our guests and share with our community. And, um, yeah, 0:17:44.970 --> 0:17:47.010 have a wonderful morning tea together. 0:17:47.050 --> 0:17:48.570 I went to the event last year. 0:17:48.610 --> 0:17:49.010 You did? 0:17:49.010 --> 0:17:53.490 Yeah. And, uh, whilst the weather outside was freezing cold 0:17:53.490 --> 0:17:56.930 and damp, considering it's the end of June, so that's 0:17:56.930 --> 0:18:00.210 to be expected. And even here in Perth, we get winter. 0:18:00.210 --> 0:18:02.690 Sometimes people if you're not from Perth. But it was 0:18:02.690 --> 0:18:05.490 a wonderful event last year and if um I know 0:18:05.490 --> 0:18:07.690 it's short notice, but if you do get a chance 0:18:07.690 --> 0:18:11.330 to go down to City Farm in East Perth there, 0:18:11.490 --> 0:18:14.740 go down and meet make these wonderful people and this 0:18:14.740 --> 0:18:19.100 really welcoming and warm community. Really lovely people. For those 0:18:19.100 --> 0:18:22.300 of us who don't use Auslan. Lindy, how does that 0:18:22.300 --> 0:18:26.180 work if Eddie's doing the performance in Auslan? How does 0:18:26.220 --> 0:18:29.580 non Auslan users take in that? 0:18:29.620 --> 0:18:33.540 Yeah, accessibility is really, really important to our community at 0:18:33.540 --> 0:18:36.660 all of our events. So there will be Auslan interpreters. 0:18:36.660 --> 0:18:41.220 So those members who are part of the event that 0:18:41.220 --> 0:18:46.260 are Auslan users, there'll be an interpreter voicing what they say. Uh, 0:18:46.260 --> 0:18:51.340 for those members that are oral speakers, the interpreter will 0:18:51.340 --> 0:18:56.260 interpret that information into Auslan for our guests who are 0:18:56.740 --> 0:19:01.100 deaf blind. And we also have captions available. So we'll 0:19:01.100 --> 0:19:04.060 have a big screen up there with captions on the screen. 0:19:04.300 --> 0:19:07.580 And we also offer the opportunity for people to, you know, 0:19:07.620 --> 0:19:11.380 have those captions on their device. We can offer transcripts 0:19:11.620 --> 0:19:15.520 as well to the people who are coming who need it, 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.720 that of what the actual events are going to be 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:22.160 on the day, the different sessions and transcripts of what 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:25.520 will be said during those sessions. So yeah, we provide 0:19:25.520 --> 0:19:29.920 the full spectrum of yeah, accessibility to both our guests 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.600 and most importantly, to our deaf blind members who will 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:33.240 be there. 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:37.360 What I really enjoy learning about in regards to deaf 0:19:37.360 --> 0:19:40.600 blindness is that you just mentioned it there. We've talked 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:44.240 about it a few times. The variety and spectrum of 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:50.879 accessibility needs and inclusion that is required to make a 0:19:50.880 --> 0:19:53.840 person who is deaf, blind feel totally at home and 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:57.640 totally comfortable in their space and spaces, wherever they might be. 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.760 And it's so important. And it's such a great demonstration 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:05.520 because you have to provide communication in so many different formats. 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:07.960 And it's a broad spectrum of accessibility, and it's a 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:10.639 great demonstration of it. Lenny, I'll get you to talk 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:13.490 about another event that you've got coming up, which is 0:20:13.490 --> 0:20:15.409 actually on the 27th of June. 0:20:15.450 --> 0:20:18.730 Yeah. We are having this fabulous lawn bowls event at 0:20:18.770 --> 0:20:22.330 Lake Mungo Recreation Club. The people who run the club 0:20:22.330 --> 0:20:26.050 there have been great supporters of our deafblind community and 0:20:26.050 --> 0:20:30.570 are providing volunteers to be able to show our deafblind 0:20:30.570 --> 0:20:34.930 community how to play bowls. Come along, everyone's welcome and 0:20:34.970 --> 0:20:37.170 have a try at our lawn bowling. So if there's 0:20:37.170 --> 0:20:39.810 anything you know, if you've ever wanted to give it 0:20:39.810 --> 0:20:42.810 a go, there'll be an opportunity to do that. And 0:20:42.850 --> 0:20:46.170 of course, no celebration is complete without cake. And because 0:20:46.170 --> 0:20:49.530 it's Helen Keller's birthday, there will be cake and pizzas 0:20:49.530 --> 0:20:53.050 for lunch. So yeah, just a really fun way to 0:20:53.090 --> 0:20:55.650 wind up a deafblind awareness week. 0:20:55.810 --> 0:20:58.050 Jason, I'll come back to you now. You said you're 0:20:58.050 --> 0:21:02.010 relatively new into this space. How much learning, how much 0:21:02.010 --> 0:21:05.450 learning did you need to do to be effective within 0:21:05.450 --> 0:21:09.090 the role that you do? And can you now speak 0:21:09.130 --> 0:21:12.370 Auslan fluently and can you do any of the touch? 0:21:12.460 --> 0:21:14.100 on them and that type of thing. 0:21:14.820 --> 0:21:18.700 The learning has been quite significant. I've been fortunate enough 0:21:18.700 --> 0:21:22.020 to be able to attend a few different courses, including 0:21:22.020 --> 0:21:26.060 a two day course on developmental disability and deaf blindness 0:21:26.060 --> 0:21:31.420 through Deaf Blind Australia, which was fantastic. I learnt Auslan 0:21:31.540 --> 0:21:38.619 probably about 15 or more years ago and spent about 0:21:38.620 --> 0:21:42.380 ten plus years not using it. So I am in 0:21:42.420 --> 0:21:45.900 that lovely stage of let's learn everything again, almost from 0:21:45.900 --> 0:21:50.220 scratch and feeling very confident in the hub and signing 0:21:50.220 --> 0:21:52.139 something to someone and have the interpreter tap me on 0:21:52.140 --> 0:21:54.460 the shoulder and say, what exactly were you trying to say? 0:21:55.100 --> 0:21:57.379 That you probably missed something in the middle there or 0:21:57.380 --> 0:22:01.140 you've got one sign wrong. And but it's the fantastic 0:22:01.180 --> 0:22:05.660 thing about Auslan is it's such a visual, creative language. 0:22:05.700 --> 0:22:09.140 It is a lot of fun to use. The more 0:22:09.140 --> 0:22:11.260 I've been practising it, the more I have to sit 0:22:11.300 --> 0:22:13.070 on my hands when I'm talking to people. So I 0:22:13.070 --> 0:22:17.470 don't start signing unconsciously while I'm just having a normal conversation. 0:22:18.470 --> 0:22:21.830 And especially not signing unconsciously while there's an interpreter doing 0:22:21.830 --> 0:22:22.429 the real job. 0:22:22.670 --> 0:22:25.710 We've talked about the hub a couple of times. Jason. 0:22:25.710 --> 0:22:27.870 I'll get you to tell us what is the hub. 0:22:27.910 --> 0:22:30.030 And you said it runs every fortnight. 0:22:30.270 --> 0:22:33.710 The hubs quite varied. So we have a lovely name 0:22:33.750 --> 0:22:36.030 lady by the name of Kirsty who runs the hub. 0:22:36.030 --> 0:22:39.870 She is a she is deafblind. She has the lived experience. 0:22:40.070 --> 0:22:43.870 We have interpreters. We have a range of different guest 0:22:43.870 --> 0:22:47.990 speakers and people that come in to provide information, updates 0:22:47.990 --> 0:22:50.990 on what's happening in the community. Everyone from Transperth through 0:22:50.990 --> 0:22:55.710 to NDIS. We had an amazing session with was palliative care, 0:22:55.750 --> 0:22:59.910 come in and talk to people around. Everything to do 0:22:59.910 --> 0:23:03.510 with ageing and moving towards end of life. We also 0:23:03.510 --> 0:23:05.590 have a lot of fun events. So it's not just 0:23:05.590 --> 0:23:09.670 information sharing. We had a big session where we had 0:23:09.710 --> 0:23:13.210 a play with Clay day and we had a very 0:23:13.210 --> 0:23:16.850 tactile activity for people to be able to feel a 0:23:16.850 --> 0:23:19.850 sculpture that had been made, replicate it themselves, or do 0:23:19.850 --> 0:23:23.490 their own artwork. Fully supported within the environment. But we 0:23:23.490 --> 0:23:29.170 do everything from teaching basic Auslan and um, Lenny teaches 0:23:29.170 --> 0:23:36.690 basic haptic zoning right through to cooking fun activities like games. 0:23:36.930 --> 0:23:40.890 We have started doing a a very interactive activity with 0:23:40.890 --> 0:23:45.010 Jenga blocks, which have braille of words put onto one side. 0:23:45.210 --> 0:23:47.930 The word itself printed on there as well. And then 0:23:47.930 --> 0:23:50.330 we teach people as they draw the block out from 0:23:50.330 --> 0:23:53.530 the Jenga tower. They have to learn to sign the word, 0:23:53.930 --> 0:23:56.129 put it into a sentence, and we're using that as 0:23:56.130 --> 0:23:59.250 an educational piece around the use of Auslan as well. 0:23:59.570 --> 0:24:02.130 So the activities change week to week, but it's very 0:24:02.130 --> 0:24:05.770 interactive and very engaging. So people are more than welcome 0:24:05.770 --> 0:24:08.810 to come down. Drop in at the the rise on 0:24:08.810 --> 0:24:11.730 a Wednesday afternoon. Pop onto our Facebook page to find 0:24:11.730 --> 0:24:14.180 out days and times of when, what's running and what 0:24:14.180 --> 0:24:16.940 events we have on, but always an open door policy. 0:24:17.180 --> 0:24:18.619 I'll just come back to you before we have to 0:24:18.620 --> 0:24:21.420 finish up. Jason just mentioned hat tricks. Can you remind 0:24:21.420 --> 0:24:22.740 us what they are, please? 0:24:22.900 --> 0:24:27.179 Yes. Haptics are a communication tool that's used in addition 0:24:27.180 --> 0:24:31.180 to the person's primary language, whether that's spoken language or 0:24:31.180 --> 0:24:36.300 whether that's, um, uh, sign language. So haptics are touch 0:24:36.340 --> 0:24:41.940 messages that provide missing information. So things that we as 0:24:41.940 --> 0:24:46.740 sighted people take in through our sight, that information can 0:24:46.740 --> 0:24:50.500 be provided to a person who is deaf, blind. So 0:24:51.180 --> 0:24:55.740 environmental information mapping out an area that they're going into. 0:24:55.740 --> 0:24:57.380 So yeah, allowing. 0:24:57.420 --> 0:24:59.740 Physical drawing on their body. 0:24:59.780 --> 0:25:02.379 It can, it can be physical drawing on their body, 0:25:02.380 --> 0:25:06.660 but it's also us certain signals. So the haptic signals 0:25:06.660 --> 0:25:08.860 that are based on the sign language of the country 0:25:08.860 --> 0:25:12.020 that uses it. So yeah, just to give a little 0:25:12.060 --> 0:25:15.510 bit more access to information so that people who are 0:25:15.510 --> 0:25:18.270 deafblind are on that equal par with, you know, people 0:25:18.270 --> 0:25:20.869 who are sighted and hearing within that space. 0:25:20.990 --> 0:25:24.869 So how do people best contact deafblind West Australians? 0:25:24.910 --> 0:25:27.430 There's a couple of different avenues. One avenue is jump 0:25:27.430 --> 0:25:31.230 onto Facebook. A lot of our community loves using social media. 0:25:31.390 --> 0:25:36.950 On Facebook we have the deafblind WA Connect Hub and 0:25:36.950 --> 0:25:40.030 it lists all the activities that are coming up, what's 0:25:40.470 --> 0:25:42.910 coming up around the hub as well. So in addition 0:25:42.910 --> 0:25:46.790 to the hub, we Linney hosts pub lunches once a month. 0:25:46.790 --> 0:25:50.390 We do other events that occur usually in line with 0:25:50.390 --> 0:25:54.070 specific things that are happening. So sculptures by the sea, 0:25:54.630 --> 0:25:59.230 the fireworks, the sky show different things along those nature. Um, 0:25:59.230 --> 0:26:01.470 we have individual groups outside of the hub as well 0:26:01.470 --> 0:26:03.550 that we go out and help people to engage in 0:26:03.550 --> 0:26:07.390 those activities. But if you are just after some basic information, 0:26:07.390 --> 0:26:09.470 you want to reach out and say hello, you can 0:26:09.470 --> 0:26:15.880 email us directly at info info@diwa.org.au. 0:26:16.000 --> 0:26:18.200 So we have to finish now. Lindy, is there anything 0:26:18.200 --> 0:26:21.880 else you'd like to tell people about Diwa and the 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:24.360 upcoming events and so forth? Before we say. 0:26:24.360 --> 0:26:27.320 Everyone is welcome to our events, we would love to 0:26:27.320 --> 0:26:29.879 see you at Perth City Farm on the 24th of 0:26:29.880 --> 0:26:35.240 June from 9 a.m. till 11:30 a.m., and everyone is 0:26:35.480 --> 0:26:38.040 welcome to come to our Lawn Bowls event at Lake 0:26:38.080 --> 0:26:41.640 Maunga Recreation Club on the 27th of June, and that's 0:26:41.640 --> 0:26:45.119 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. So please come and 0:26:45.120 --> 0:26:48.400 join us and meet this absolutely amazing community. 0:26:48.400 --> 0:26:50.600 And Jason, before we say goodbye, is there anything else 0:26:50.600 --> 0:26:52.760 you'd like to add before we finish up? 0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:55.440 Very much just following what Leonie said. Even if you're 0:26:55.440 --> 0:26:57.640 not sure if you're feeling a bit uncertain about coming 0:26:57.640 --> 0:26:59.720 into a new environment and meeting a whole pile of 0:26:59.720 --> 0:27:02.480 new people, drop me a line at the info email 0:27:02.480 --> 0:27:05.280 box and we can arrange to have someone meet you 0:27:05.280 --> 0:27:07.120 when you turn up, have a bit of a chat 0:27:07.120 --> 0:27:09.600 to a soft entry point, and make sure you feel 0:27:09.600 --> 0:27:11.280 comfortable coming in and meeting everyone. 0:27:11.720 --> 0:27:14.700 That's fabulous. Now. I'd like to thank Lenny Oliver and 0:27:14.700 --> 0:27:17.220 Jason Rowland for coming into the studio to talk with 0:27:17.220 --> 0:27:19.780 us here on In Plain Sight and Vision Australia Radio. 0:27:19.820 --> 0:27:23.220 It's been fantastic. So thank you, everybody for being part 0:27:23.220 --> 0:27:26.060 of our program today, and thanks for listening and look 0:27:26.060 --> 0:27:28.540 forward to speaking to you next time. Bye for now. Cheers. 0:27:39.700 --> 0:27:42.340 That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us 0:27:42.340 --> 0:27:45.460 at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio, 0:27:45.780 --> 0:27:50.619 VA radio Digital and online at VA radio.org. You can 0:27:50.620 --> 0:27:54.100 also listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight 0:27:54.100 --> 0:27:57.980 by Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or 0:27:57.980 --> 0:28:01.300 ask your smart device to play in Plain sight by 0:28:01.300 --> 0:28:03.660 Vision Australia Radio. Thanks for listening. 0:28:03.940 --> 0:28:04.540 Thank you.