As we approach the end of the year, I would
like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for your
dedication, engagement, and professional contributions throughout the past
year. Deafblindness is a small but deeply important field – and it is you who
bring it to life, give it direction, and help it evolve.
2025 has been marked by high activity and
valuable gatherings. We’ve had an inspiring research seminar in Helsinki, a
thought-provoking seminar on life adjustment this November, and a
webinar focusing on mental health and deafblindness. On a Nordic level,
exciting conferences have taken place, and the Nordic-Baltic collaboration was
strengthened through the forum held in Riga in October.
At the Nordic Welfare Centre, we’ve had the
pleasure of coordinating much of the knowledge-building collaboration, and we
are delighted to see how networks are growing and how the field is developing –
thanks to all of you.
In 2026, we look forward to even more
activities, with the main focus on the Nordic Conference on Deafblindness,
which will be held in September in Copenhagen.
Don't forget to submit your abstract for the conference at: https://lyyti.events/p/call-for-abstracts
With this, I wish you all a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2026 bring new opportunities, continued
collaboration, and strengthened efforts for people with deafblindness.
Warmest regards,
Gøran//Göran Andreas Gregor Caspian Forsgren//Yrjö von Koskenoksa | | | | |
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR
As the year 2025 nears its end, we at the Nordic Welfare Centre would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our work. A special thank you to all of our networks for their valuable efforts. We would also like to thank the scientific committee and the planning committee working on next year’s Deafblindness Conference, which will take place in September. You can find more information about the conference in this newsletter.
In the video, Senior Adviser Gøran Andreas Gregor Caspian Forsgren wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Gøran
also signs the greeting in Norwegian.
|
Nordic Training in the Assessment of
Functional Deafblindness Has Begun!
The work on the Nordic material for assessing
functional deafblindness is now complete, and we are currently making the final
adjustments before publication. Meanwhile, the Nordic training program based on
the material has already started, with 18 participants from across the Nordic
region – and one from America!
We’ve completed three exciting and engaging
days online, and we’re looking forward to the first in-person meeting, which
will take place in Aalborg over two days in early December.
More details about the training will be
shared in the next newsletter, but we would already like to extend our sincere
thanks to the Nordic Leadership Forum on Deafblindness, everyone involved in
the development of the material, and the dedicated lecturers contributing to
this important educational initiative.
The goal of the training is to establish a
unified assessment practice across the Nordic region, so that we can
confidently say we are referring to the same population when we talk about
people with deafblindness. | |
Save the dates – September 15–17, 2026 – and join us for the Nordic Conference on Deafblindness in Copenhagen!
| We are excited to welcome you to three
inspiring days at Scandic Sluseholmen, where knowledge-sharing, networking, and
collaboration will be at the heart of the program. The conference is a key
meeting point for professionals, researchers, user representatives, and
decision-makers working in the field of, or living with, deafblindness.
We are currently accepting abstracts for:
- World Cafés
- Courses
- Workshops
- Short Talks
- Posters
We look forward to receiving many exciting
contributions!
The conference offers a unique opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and
strengthen our shared efforts in developing the field of deafblindness.
The full program and registration will be
available in February 2026 – stay tuned!
The deadline for submissions is January
10, 2026, and you can submit your abstract here:
👉 https://lyyti.events/p/call-for-abstracts | | | | | | | | The 3rd meeting in the Nordic Baltic Forum for persons with deafblindness, was held in Riga October 8th – 10th.
The organisers from Suomen Kuurosokeat ry,
in cooperation with the Latvian Association of the Deaf (LAD), had invited
delegates from both Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All in all,
44 delegates were registered.
During the three days we took part in
interesting discussions on what being a person with deafblindness means,
learned about Latvian culture, visited the LAD’s facilities and also got an
insight into the very important “Truth and Reconciliation Process” which is
ongoing in Finland.
This meeting was partly funded by The
Nordic Welfare Centre’s Funding Scheme: https://nordicwelfare.org/en/disability-issues/the-funding-scheme/
and the LAD, and is an important event in creating awareness and disseminating
knowledge about deafblindness. And is also an important part of the
Nordic-Baltic cooperation.
We are looking forward to the continued
cooperation!
Thanks to all participants and organisers
for these fruitful days! | From left: 1. Aarne Pirkola (left), here with his interpreter
Roni Kamil (right), lecturing in the Thruth and Reconciliation Process, now ongoing in
Finland. 2. President
of the Latvian association of the deaf, Edgars Vorslovs.
3.
Managing
Director, Suomen Kuurosokeat ry, Risto Hoikkanen.
| | | | | Information from the Nordic Region
|
Activity, insight and practice - a
unique collaboration with the country's interpreting programmes
| Every autumn, participants with combined
visual and hearing impairments gather for an active and educational course at
Eikholt. At the same time, interpreting students from three of the country's
interpreting programmes gain valuable practice in real situations - as
interpreters and companions.
The course "Activity in theory
and practice" is a collaborative project between Eikholt
and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Oslo Metropolitan
University (OsloMet) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Read more about this collaboration: Activity,
insight and practice - a unique collaboration with the country's interpreting
programmes - Eikholt
| | |
Group course on user involvement in
project work – An Inspiring Week at Eikholt!
|
In September, participants
and course leaders met for a four-day course about user involvement in project
work. The week was full of learning, collaboration, and good conversations.
Through lectures, group work, and mini-projects, participants followed the
whole process from idea to result.
Many said it was valuable to choose their
own topics, learn from each other, and see how different perspectives lead to
new ideas.
The feedback was clear: the course was
useful, exciting, and social. There were engaged participants, great
discussions, and plenty of laughter.
Thank you to everyone who joined, and to
our fantastic course leaders – Bedir Yiyt, Emilio Jensen Granados, Erik Nilsen,
Fereshteh Halimi, Kari Jokstad, and Marie Dyrkorn Egge – for making the course
inclusive and inspiring.
Read more about the project: User
involvement in the development of new technology - Eikholt
| | |
Report reveals knowledge gaps in
research on living with deafblindness
| The Norwegian Institute of Public Health
(NIPH) has recently published a report mapping Norwegian research on visual and
hearing challenges and deafblindness. They conclude that there are large gaps in
the research on what it is like to live with deafblindness for people in
Norway.
The background to the report is that the
Public Health Report will be expanded to include a chapter on disabilities. The
public health report serves as a technical basis for the parliamentary notices about public health.
Read more about this: Report
reveals knowledge gaps in research on living with deafblindness - Eikholt
| | | | | This annual course
is aimed at professionals who, in their work, meet individuals with acquired
deafblindness. The participants will gain knowledge of acquired deafblindness
and the consequences it entails regarding interaction, information,
communication and social life, orientation and mobility, as well as physical
and mental health. The participants will also learn adaptations to provide
conditions for activity, participation, and well-being.
| | | This is a distance
course aimed at habilitation staff who, in their work, meet children with
combined vision and hearing impairment/deafblindness in addition to their
diagnosis. The participants will gain knowledge of deafblindness and the
consequences it entails for communication development. They will also learn
about alternative communication methods and strategies that can be used to
support communication development in
accordance with deafblind specific
strategies according to AKKtiv (Augmentative and Alternative Communication -
early intervention). | | | This is a distance
course about communication but regarding adults with combined vision and
hearing impairment/deafblindness with additional disabilities. The course is
for staff within group homes, day activity centers and habilitation and will go
through deafblindness and the consequences it entails for communication
development, alternative communication methods and strategies that can be used
to support communication development, as well as adaptations to create a
communicative environment. | | | We have a new
web-based course! It covers what tactile sign language is, how to adapt regular
sign language to a tactile form, and what you should consider when you sign to
people with deafblindness. Feel free to check it out at your own pace and time.
Don’t forget that
our other web-based courses always are available on our website, completely
free of charge and can be completed at your own pace. There are three about
offering support to people with deafblindness. One about congenital deafblindness, one about acquired and
one about age related deafblindness. All
of our web-based courses are in Swedish.
| | |
Upcoming Webinars, given in Swedish
| We will continue
to offer webinars that are open to anyone interested in deafblindness.
We invite you to
join us for our final sessions this year:
| | | | |
Now open for registration! This education
is being held in Aalborg, Denmark and is highly recommended!
| | | | |
Exploring life adjustment in combined dual sensory loss and deafblindness
|
Professionals from across the Nordic region met in Hallunda for a two-day seminar on life adjustment when living with dual sensory loss or deafblindness. The seminar, organised by the Nordic Network on Usher Syndrome, focused on the Life Adjustment Model and how it supports understanding of the psychological, social and practical transitions that occur when hearing and vision change over time. Participants shared experiences from practice, reflected on the model’s phases and discussed how Nordic collaboration strengthens support for people with Usher syndrome. Read the full article on our website. | | | | | | | |
