How Do Deafblind People Communicate? Methods and Tips

Deafblind people communicate in many ways, and the way depends on how much each person can still see and hear, when the losses came, and which language they grew up with. Someone who signed before losing their sight may use tactile sign language, with their hands on the signer's hands. Someone with tunnel vision may track signs by holding the signer's wrist. Someone who lost their hearing later in life often prefers tactile fingerspelling, words spelled letter by letter by touch; others use speech with hearing aids, or braille. With strangers, a common bridge is print on palm: capital letters drawn with a finger on the palm of the hand.

The most useful thing to know if you are about to meet a deafblind person: ask them how they prefer to communicate. Both guides to meeting a deafblind person that we read for this page say so. Disclosure: Braillito makes a braille learning app. Braille is one of the methods below, not the only one, and we say plainly where our app does not help.

Key points

• Deafblind usually does not mean fully deaf and fully blind. "Most people who are deaf-blind have a combination of vision and hearing loss," says the American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB FAQ).
• About half have Usher syndrome, a genetic condition in which a person is born deaf or hard of hearing, according to the same FAQ.
• The methods split into four families: sign language adapted to touch or to a small field of vision, spelling by touch, speech and speechreading, and text, in braille or print.
• Print on palm is the method a stranger can use in a minute: capitals drawn one at a time in the center of the palm, except the letter i (Helen Keller National Center).
• ProTactile is a newer tactile language that grew among DeafBlind people in the US, produced on the other person's body, with four hands instead of two (Edwards and Brentari, 2021).
• Equipment and training can be free for eligible people in the US through iCanConnect, which provides braille displays among other devices (iCanConnect).

What deafblind means

Deafblindness (also written deaf-blindness, or DeafBlind by many in the community) is a combined loss of hearing and vision. The combination is the point: what a deaf person does with their eyes, or a blind person with their ears, is harder or impossible when both senses are affected.

US special education law defines it for children: "Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness" (IDEA, 34 CFR 300.8).

How many people that is depends on who counts and how:

Part of the gap is definition: "deafblind" covers everything from a mild loss of both senses to total loss, as the Kentucky fact sheet puts it. That range is also why there is no single way to communicate.

The methods, at a glance

Sources: the AADB communications fact sheet for every row except ProTactile (Edwards and Brentari), print on palm (HKNC) and haptics (HKNC). The fact sheet notes that the methods it describes are mainly those used in the United States.

Sign language, adapted to touch or to sight

Many deafblind people grew up deaf and signing, and lost their sight later. For them, sign language stays, but its shape changes (AADB):

• Adapted signs. With restricted peripheral vision, signing in a small space at chest level works better, and a few signs made low on the body move up. Signing more slowly, and wearing a shirt that contrasts with your skin, both help.
• Tracking. A person with tunnel vision, or limited but usable sight, holds the signer's forearm or wrist and follows the signs with their eyes.
• Tactile sign language. The deafblind person places their hands over the signer's hands and feels the handshape, the movement and where the sign is made. Some signs and facial expressions are changed so they can be felt, and it can be one-handed or two-handed. People who grew up with American Sign Language often prefer tactile ASL; people who learned to sign later, or came from an oral background, may prefer an English-based system.

ProTactile

ProTactile (also written protactile) goes further than adapting visual signs. Linguists Terra Edwards and Diane Brentari describe it as a language that emerged in groups of DeafBlind people in the United States over roughly ten years. ASL is made in the air in front of the signer; ProTactile is produced "in 'contact space,' or the space on the addressee's body," and it has four hands that can take part in an utterance instead of two. Many of its users learned ASL as sighted children (Frontiers in Psychology, 2021).

The Helen Keller National Center lists ProTactile language among the ways to communicate, next to sign, speech and text (HKNC caregiver tips).

Haptics

Haptics are touch signals that add what sight would give: information about the surroundings and about how people are reacting. HKNC calls it "a standardized system of providing visual and environmental information," and it also carries social feedback. HKNC has studied it during braille lessons, so a teacher can give direction while the learner's hands stay on the braille (HKNC).

Other countries have their own systems. Deafblind Information Australia, for example, lists a Deafblind Manual Alphabet, a Block Alphabet and Social Haptics among its communication methods (Deafblind Information Australia).

Spelling by touch: fingerspelling and print on palm

Tactile fingerspelling spells each word letter by letter with the manual alphabet, felt by hand. The AADB says it is often preferred by people who lost their hearing later, or who relied on speechreading and never learned to sign. The person may rest a hand over the spelling hand, have the letters spelled on their palm, or cup the signer's hand (AADB). It is how Anne Sullivan first reached Helen Keller in 1887, as told in Helen Keller and braille.

Print on palm needs no training at all, which is why the AADB says it is frequently used with the public. HKNC's instructions (Print on Palm):

1. Use your forefinger on the palm of the deafblind person's hand.
2. Write capital letters, except the letter i, which stays lowercase.
3. Write one letter at a time, in the center of the palm.
4. Pause to show that a word is finished.
5. Add a question mark when you ask a question.
6. Made a mistake? Swipe back and forth across the palm, then start the word again.

The deafblind person can write back on your palm the same way. HKNC is clear about its limits: it is meant for short exchanges, not long or complex conversations; it does not work for someone who never learned print letters, such as many people born blind; and conditions that dull touch, like neuropathy from diabetes or chemotherapy, can make it hard to feel.

Speech, speechreading and Tadoma

Many deafblind people use speech. People with some vision and some hearing may combine speechreading with hearing aids, cochlear implants or assistive listening devices (AADB). If that is the case, ask where you should sit: the Kentucky fact sheet's advice is to ask, so the person can make the most of the hearing and vision they have.

Tadoma is speechreading by touch: the thumb rests on the speaker's chin and the fingers on the cheek, to feel the voice and the lips move. The AADB says it is rarely used today.

Braille, notes and devices

Braille is how many deafblind people read and write, and it is at the heart of several face-to-face devices. The AADB fact sheet describes these (AADB):

• Screen Braille Communicator (SBC). A small device with a keyboard and a screen on one side and an 8-cell braille display on the other. You type; the deafblind person reads your words by touch and types back; you read the reply on the screen.
• Braille notetakers, used to talk with people who do not know braille or the person's sign system.
• A TTY with a braille display, for the phone, which can also be used face to face.
• Large-display TTYs and computers with large fonts, for people who still see some print.

A phone with a refreshable braille display can do some of the same work. On an iPhone, the Live Captions feature of Braille Access listens to the room and shows what it hears in braille on the display; it is explained in braille on iPhone. On Android, TalkBack connects to most braille displays without extra apps, as in braille on Android.

Low tech still works too: notes in braille or in large print are on the Kentucky fact sheet's list of methods. If you write braille for someone, ask first whether they read uncontracted (grade 1) or contracted (grade 2) braille, as HKNC's tips suggest (HKNC). A slate and stylus or a Perkins Brailler is enough for a short note.

How to communicate with a deafblind person: 10 tips

From the HKNC caregiver tip sheet and the Kentucky fact sheet:

1. Let them know you are there with a touch. A hand on the shoulder, or a gentle touch on the arm, then keep contact until they find you or acknowledge you.
2. Say who you are, at once, every time you arrive or join a conversation.
3. Ask how they prefer to communicate, and where you should sit. Do not assume from what you can see.
4. Talk to the person, not to the interpreter or the family member next to them.
5. Wear clothing that contrasts with your skin, if they use their vision to read signs.
6. Give them time to answer, and do not interrupt.
7. Introduce the other people present one by one, and say where each one is.
8. Do not move their things, a glass, a chair, without telling them.
9. Tell them when you leave, and for how long.
10. Speak naturally. Words like "see", "look" and "hear" are fine.

For emergencies, HKNC describes the universal signal: an X drawn on the back with a finger. The person stands up and lets you guide them to safety, and you explain what happened afterwards.

Support Service Providers and interpreters

Some deafblind people work with a Support Service Provider (SSP). The AADB describes SSPs as "specially trained professionals" who provide "visual and environmental information, sighted guide services, and communication accessibility" (AADB). The AADB asks Congress to recognize SSPs as a needed service, and says needs assessments in 2006, 2009 and 2012 found SSP services to be a top priority.

How deafblind people learn to communicate

Children: US special education law, IDEA, treats deaf-blindness as a category of its own, with the definition quoted above. For braille, the pre-braille touch skills in teaching braille to a blind child are a starting point; for a child who also has a hearing loss, the plan has to cover both senses.

Teens and adults in the US can turn to the Helen Keller National Center in Sands Point, New York, which calls itself "the only national program providing comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services" to people with combined hearing and vision loss. It serves youth from 16, working-age adults and seniors from 55, at its campus, at locations across the country and through virtual assessment and training (HKNC). Its communication training includes braille ("tactile reading and writing skills"), beginners sign language, tactile ASL and haptics (HKNC communication training).

For devices, iCanConnect, the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, is a federal program run locally in all 50 states and several territories. People with significant combined hearing and vision loss who meet its disability and income guidelines get free equipment and training, including smartphones, tablets, computers, screen readers and braille displays. You apply through your local program or by calling 800-825-4595 (iCanConnect).

Where Braillito fits, and where it does not

Braillito is our app, and this section is about it. It teaches the braille code: in English, 59 lessons in 8 worlds of uncontracted braille (grade 1), letter by letter, with a braille translator and a braille dictionary.

Where it can help: a parent, partner, friend or support worker who wants to learn the letters to write braille notes, or to understand what a deafblind person is reading. A sighted learner can learn the code by sight in a couple of weeks, as explained in learning braille as a sighted person. Someone who still has usable vision can learn the letters by sight too, and then train touch on paper.

Where it does not: Braillito does not teach sign language, tactile sign, ProTactile, haptics or print on palm. It does not take input from a braille display, so a person who relies on a display cannot use it that way. Its lessons are visual and spoken; it detects VoiceOver and TalkBack and turns its own voice off, but we have not tested it with deafblind users, and it has had no external accessibility audit (details). For training designed for deafblind learners, the places are HKNC and the programs above.

What it costs: Braillito is a subscription, with no free version. Depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or with a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). The braille alphabet chart and the braille printables on this site need no account.

Frequently asked questions

How do deaf and blind people communicate?

Through touch, residual sight and hearing, and text. The most common methods are tactile sign language, tracking, adapted sign, tactile fingerspelling, print on palm, speech with hearing aids, and braille, often on a device. Each person uses the mix that fits their own losses and history, so the first step is always to ask.

How do you communicate with someone who is deaf and blind if you do not know sign language?

Use print on palm: capital letters drawn one at a time in the center of their palm with your forefinger, a pause between words, and a swipe to erase. It works for short exchanges with someone who knows print letters. If they read braille, a braille note, or a device like a Screen Braille Communicator or a braille display, works for longer ones.

What is tactile sign language?

Sign language received by touch: the deafblind person rests their hands on the signer's hands to feel each sign's shape, movement and location. In the US it is often tactile ASL, though some people use an English-based system.

What is the difference between tactile sign language and ProTactile?

Tactile sign language adapts a visual sign language, like ASL, so it can be felt. ProTactile is a newer language that grew among DeafBlind people in the US; it is produced on the other person's body, in what linguists call contact space, and both people's hands take part.

How did Helen Keller communicate?

Anne Sullivan spelled words into her hand with the manual alphabet, starting in 1887. Keller later read raised print and braille with her fingers. Her story, and the braille codes she read, are in Helen Keller and braille.

Do all deafblind people read braille?

No. Braille is one method among several. Some deafblind people use their remaining vision for large print or sign, some rely on speech, and some sign by touch without reading braille. Braille takes a high level of tactile literacy, as Deafblind Information Australia notes.

Is there free help for deafblind people in the US?

iCanConnect provides free equipment and training to eligible people with combined hearing and vision loss, in every state (800-825-4595). The Helen Keller National Center offers vocational rehabilitation and communication training. The AADB, the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, publishes fact sheets on communication and support services.

How we checked this page

We read every source on October 28, 2026: the AADB FAQ, communications fact sheet and SSP page; HKNC's home page, communication training, Print on Palm, caregiver tips and haptics study; the IDEA definition; iCanConnect; the Kentucky fact sheet; and Edwards and Brentari. Two well-known sources, the National Center on Deaf-Blindness and Perkins, could not be read that day, so nothing here comes from them. The population estimates range from tens of thousands to millions; we show all three rather than pick one. The app figures are those of the app's published version.