{"id":30925,"date":"2023-06-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=30925"},"modified":"2024-06-21T16:22:51","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T15:22:51","slug":"deafblind-awareness-week-2023-myths-misconceptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/deafblind-awareness-week-2023-myths-misconceptions\/","title":{"rendered":"People who are deafblind respond to five common myths about deafblindness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">This week, 24 June \u2013 30 June, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/deafblind-awareness-week\/\">Deafblind Awareness Week<\/a>. It\u2019s all about raising awareness of people who are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/deafblindness\/\">deafblind, or multi-sensory impaired<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being deafblind means that you have both some kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/deafness-and-hearing-loss\/\">hearing loss<\/a> and some kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/blindness-and-visual-impairment\/\">visual impairment<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/about-us\/statistics\/deafblindness-statistics-in-the-uk\/\">There are at least 450,000 people who are deafblind in the UK<\/a>. And this is expected to increase to over 610,000 by 2035.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To gain some insight into their experiences, we spoke to some people who are deafblind to find out more about the myths and misconceptions they\u2019re sick of encountering.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Busting myths about what it&#039;s like to be deafblind | Deafblind Awareness Week | Sense\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RfmTt4qPLzk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block    accordion__item\"> \t<summary class=\"accordion__title\">\n\t\t<span class=\"accordion__toggle\">\n\t\tDescriptive transcript of the video\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/summary>\n\n\t<div class=\"accordion__content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>Emma, a woman with short brown hair and thick-lens glasses, sits at a table in front of an open laptop. She raises her hands and claps. This is followed by three more takes of people sitting at the table raising their hands to clap.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Deafblind myth busting\u2019 appear.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voiceover: Deafblind myth busting. Emma, Ian and Max are deafblind and Becca works with people who are deafblind.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each of the guests at the table introduce themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: So my name is Emma Blackmore. I have brown short hair.&nbsp; Glasses with quite thick lenses. I am wearing a white t-shirt with a pug sticking it\u2019s tongue out.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: My name I Ian Treherne and I am from Southend, Essex. I have long brown hair and I have many tattoos on my hands and my arms.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: I\u2019m Max. I am a white, genderqueer person. I have bright blue hair that used to be green, and I\u2019m wearing, like a rainbow-ish jumper and I have some blue tattoos as well.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: My name is Becca Hinder, I have long ginger hair, and I have wonky glasses because a child ran up to me and stood on them and I\u2019m too lazy to get them fixed.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Myth one: I wouldn\u2019t know how to communicate with someone who is deafblind.\u2019 appear on screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Max and Ian are sitting together at the table. They are looking at each other and laughing during the conversation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: So, Max. I wouldn\u2019t know how to communicate with someone who was deafblind.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I mean, the fact that we\u2019re talking now kind of proves the point, doesn\u2019t it really? We\u2019re doing pretty well, so\u2026<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: Yeah, it really is that easy.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emma and Becca are sitting together at the table. Becca is facing Emma. Both women are gesticulating with their hands as they speaks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: People communicate in different ways. I do speak, but someone has to be close to me, facing me.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speak not slowly or shout. Never ever shout at someone who\u2019s hard of hearing or Deaf because it\u2019s just\u2026It\u2019s just\u2026No but someone else could be completely different to what I\u2019m like. So just ask them first.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: Obviously we\u2019ve got BSL, but not everyone knows BSL and also not everyone who is hard of hearing or Deaf uses BSL.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian. Ian gesticulates with his hands while speaking to Max, who nods along in agreement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: There is a special or particular sign language for\u2026<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Off screen interviewer: Deafblind manual!<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Deafblind manual. Is that what it is? It\u2019s by holding the communicators hand o they kind of sign language through touch which is really impressive.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: And it\u2019s always the people that are like \u201cI wouldn\u2019t know how to communicate with someone that\u2019s deafblind\u201d that are always like \u201cOh! But I don\u2019t know BSL so I can\u2019t talk to you. Bye.\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: And they just, like, write you off very quickly.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: Like, those are the people I want to go away. They can leave me alone any day of the week. I am totally fine with that.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: There\u2019s so many different ways to communicate. I think one big thing is, is not to leave them out.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Yeah. Yeah.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u201cMyth two: You don\u2019t look deafblind.\u201d appear on the screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: Have you ever had anyone say to you that you don\u2019t look deafblind?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Yeah. Too much actually. It\u2019s one of those things that all of us tend to get asked at some point in our life.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Society have a very warped view on deafblindness.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: I hear all the time \u201cOh, you don\u2019t look deafblind.\u201d Okay. And? Wow I\u2019m cured. Thanks.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: I think people in society have this sort of, template of what a deafblind person looks like. Someone with dark shades on. A guide dog. A white cane. It\u2019s kind like of a starter pack.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: I really want to get on that deafblind starter pack. I want one of those.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Oh I don\u2019t know, what are we meant to look like? Is it like, not a human thing or like you show me what I\u2019m meant to look like.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: Yeah. What do you think I should look like?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Yeah. Someone kinda said to me once, \u201cBut your eyes don\u2019t roll back, so you\u2019re not deafblind.\u201d I was like what the **** is that meant to mean?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We are humans. Like, I\u2019m still Emma.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Myth three: People who are deafblind don\u2019t dream.\u2019 appear on the screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: Deafblind people don\u2019t dream? Because dreams are typically quite visual they think that if we can\u2019t see that, it must be\u2026<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Yeah, like a blank screen.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: \u2026nothing there to go by but like, that\u2019s not how visual impairment works. That\u2019s not how blindness works. That\u2019s not how any of it works.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Ironically, when I\u2019m dreaming, I\u2019m actually fully sighted.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: Oh, interesting.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Are you?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: No. I have visual snow in my sleep.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Isn\u2019t that interesting?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Myth four: People who are deafblind have superhuman senses.\u2019 appear on the screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: For people who are deafblind their other senses are like, superhuman.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For someone who has any kind of sensory loss weather that be their hearing or sight, their other senses are more enhanced with their smells but then that\u2019s just something to be aware of but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s superhuman. It could just mean sometimes the other senses are higher due to sensory loss in another sense.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: I don\u2019t know, you can\u2019t smell through walls or ceilings or anything. I couldn\u2019t smell like, what\u2019s going on in Tesco over the road.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: But let\u2019s not be overdramatic.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Yeah. Yeah.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Myth five: People who are deafblind don\u2019t use phones.\u2019 appear on the screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian. Max is grinning and looking to camera.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: Deafblind people don\u2019t use phones.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Mmmm.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: I love this one. So I\u2019m night blind, so I use a cane when it\u2019s dark outside. So I\u2019m there outside navigating just like the ground with my cane and I\u2019ve got Google maps on my phone at full brightness and everyone is like, \u201cHow\u2026wha-hang on a minute. You\u2019re reading your phone, but you\u2019ve got a white cane?\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, can\u2019t see that, can see that.\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca, who are both smiling.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Technology, technology is the most amazing thing. It really is. I have my print in literally the biggest size possible. A very bright screen. I mean, granted that everyone\u2019s phone calls have to be on loudspeaker when they ring me but I tend to do text.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian. Max waves their arm out dramatically as they speak, while Ian laughs and makes a \u201cmind blown\u201d gesture.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: I have the control of the light settings on my phone whereas like, I cannot turn the sun back on. Hey, hey, stop. Turn the world back around because it is inconvenient for someone\u2019s impression of me.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: I used to get so many judgmental stares because I used to, you know, read a book or, you know, doing texting.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is one of the reasons why I do photography. Photography and being practically blind, it\u2019s going to hurt people\u2019s brains.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. The words \u2018Final thoughts.\u2019 appear on the screen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Max speaks directly to the camera, while Ian listens.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: From Deafblind Awareness Week and this video and everything that you see about disability and deafblindness, is just take with you that difference is normal. Don\u2019t be weird about it.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca. Both women speak directly to the camera rather than to each other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: If you are curious or even you come across someone who\u2019s deafblind like maybe ask them how they like to communicate.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: You know, working with families who have children or adults that are deafblind, the struggles that they go through regularly because people, they don\u2019t know about deafblindness or how to accommodate it.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: It may not mean a lot at the time, but it does mean a lot for us.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian. Ian speaks directly to the camera.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: Don\u2019t be so scared. Just to be open minded and you know, myself, I\u2019ve got disabilities, but it doesn\u2019t make me an expert.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Be brave. Be open-minded and you\u2019d be surprised what you might learn.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Emma and Becca, who smile at each other and share a high five.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: Spot on.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Becca: Go team.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We return to Max and Ian, who smile and laugh together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: It\u2019s very complex, isn\u2019t it?&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: It\u2019s very complex.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: No wonder society is confused.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background blurs and a white brushstroke appears. Words appear and a voice reads out.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voiceover:&nbsp; Find out more at Sense.org.uk\/deafblind-awareness-week<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two dots appear. Orange on the left and purple on the right. The dots spin around the screen then comes together in the centre, forming two hands with the letter S in the middle. This is the Sense logo. Text appears below the logo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sense. No one left out of life<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Find out more below from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box    is-style-textured-pink-tint-10\">    <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<ul class=\"is-style-secondary-bullets wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Max Fisher<\/strong>, scientist, drag performer and activist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ian Treherne<\/strong>, portrait photographer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emma Blackmore<\/strong>, fundraiser and campaigner for Sense.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cPeople who are deafblind can\u2019t communicate at all\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max:<\/strong> \u201cNo one knows how to communicate with each other all the time. Everyone who is deafblind is so different. I don\u2019t always know what is the most accessible way to talk to someone else who is deafblind, so I just ask. I also ask people that are not deafblind, \u2018How\u2019s the best way to communicate with you? Is it via email? Do you want to hop on a Zoom call? Should I just text it to you?\u2019 It\u2019s different for everyone, not just deafblind people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: <\/strong>\u201cPeople make very quick assumptions and write you off very quickly. They just freak out.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cWhen you\u2019re deafblind, your other senses are superhuman\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignleft is-style-primary-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cEvery disability that I can think of exists on a spectrum. Deafblindness, to me, is a spectrum.&#8221;<\/p><cite>Max Fisher<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emma: <\/strong>\u201cI can\u2019t smell through walls or anything like that. I couldn\u2019t smell what\u2019s going on in Tesco over the road, or the other side of the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a case of, you rely on the other senses a lot more. Like, people who are hard of hearing or deaf, they rely on their eyesight a lot more, or the other way around. If you\u2019re both, you rely on touch or smells. I\u2019m very sensitive to a lot of smells. Where I work, sometimes if it smells like someone\u2019s had a very bad time in the toilet, shall we say, I need to go to the other side of the building, because I can\u2019t cope. I get overwhelmed if there\u2019s a lot of smells or a lot of noise going on. But I\u2019m no superhuman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201c\u2018Deafblind\u2019 means you\u2019re completely deaf and completely blind\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: <\/strong>\u201cSociety just thinks \u2018blind\u2019 must mean \u2018total blindness\u2019. So when I say I\u2019m \u2018visually impaired\u2019, I wish I could just say \u2018blind\u2019. But I know that I\u2019m still kind of educating people\u2026 so I say \u2018visually impaired\u2019. People say to me, \u2018But you can see this, and you can see that.\u2019 And it\u2019s like, \u2018Well yeah, I can, but I have 95% black, and a very small window. So yeah, technically, I can see, but it\u2019s not very much.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright is-style-secondary-tint-10\"><blockquote><p>\u201cPeople in society have this sort of general template of what a deafblind person looks like. I\u2019ve found it tends to be someone with dark shades on, a guide dog, a white cane. Generally I\u2019ve found that unless you look like that, then people think you must be \u2018normal.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p><cite>Ian Treherne<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max: <\/strong>\u201cEvery disability that I can think of exists on a spectrum. Deafblindness, to me, is a spectrum. In my personal experience of deafblindness\u2026 I\u2019m on the mild end of both vision impairment and hearing loss. But then I also have tinnitus and severe audio processing disorder on top of that, so I actually function further down the spectrum. And I also have a visual impairment called visual snow syndrome, where everything is dancing all of the time. I\u2019m light sensitive, I\u2019m night blind, and things move when they\u2019re not supposed to move. There\u2019s just such a wide spectrum, and not always one condition or diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cYou don\u2019t look deafblind\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ian: <\/strong>\u201cPeople in society have this sort of general template of what a deafblind person looks like. I\u2019ve found it tends to be someone with dark shades on, a guide dog, a white cane. That\u2019s kind of like a starter pack. Generally I\u2019ve found that unless you look like that, then people think you must be \u2018normal.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cPeople who are deafblind can\u2019t use phones\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Max:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m night blind, so I use a cane when it\u2019s dark outside. I also have a useless sense of direction. So I\u2019m there outside, navigating the ground with my cane, and I\u2019ve got Google Maps on my phone at full brightness. And everyone is like, \u2018Hang on a minute. You\u2019re reading your phone, but you\u2019ve got a white cane.\u2019&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt goes back to the whole: \u2018You must not be able to see anything.\u2019 It\u2019s very much a spectrum of what I can and can\u2019t see. I can\u2019t see where I\u2019m going in the physical world, but on my little phone with Google Maps, I can see roughly where I am. I can brighten the phone screen, but I can\u2019t turn the sun back on!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It&#8217;s Deafblind Awareness Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From 26 June \u2013 2 July 2023, we&#8217;re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/deafblind-awareness-week\/\">helping to raise awareness<\/a> about the thousands of people living with deafblindness in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box    is-style-textured-secondary-tint-10\">    <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want more inspiring stories like this in your inbox? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sign up to get stories, news from our campaigns and ways to get involved, all delivered to your inbox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-secondary\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/sign-up-for-our-emails\/\">Get emails in your inbox<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Deafblind Awareness Week, three people who are deafblind discuss common myths about deafblindness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":30941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[],"class_list":["post-30925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30925"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=30925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}