Two Oxford books bring together international knowledge on deafblindness

How do you learn to communicate if you can hardly see or hear? How do you support children and adults with deafblindness in their development, autonomy, and participation in society? Two new books from Oxford University Press bring together, for the first time, the international state of knowledge on these questions.

The books mark an important step in a field that has long remained underexposed. Deafblindness has often been approached from different disciplines, leading to fragmented knowledge that did not always reach those who need it most.

The publications have a clear Groningen contribution. Emeritus professor Marleen Janssen is one of the editors. Saskia Damen, professor by special appointment, contributed to several chapters. In doing so, the books build on a longstanding collaboration between the University of Groningen and Kentalis in the field of research on communication and learning among people with deafblindness.

This is not self-evident. For a long time, deafblindness received limited attention in academia, and research was often scattered across different disciplines. As a result, knowledge did not always reach the places where it was most needed: parents, professionals, students, and people with deafblindness themselves. The books now make this knowledge accessible and applicable. They bring together research on communication and lifelong learning in people with auditory and visual impairments, and translate it into practice.

The books show how strongly the field has developed over the past decades. What was once dispersed across individual studies and practice-based knowledge has now been brought together in two international standard works. In total, 120 authors from around the world contributed to the publications. This reflects both the growth of the field and the strength of the network that has formed around this topic.

The University of Groningen’s international Master’s programme in Deafblindness is also prominently featured in the books. This year marks its twentieth anniversary, and it remains the only Master’s programme in the world dedicated to this field. Several alumni contributed to the books. In this way, the publications highlight not only the importance of international collaboration, but also the role Groningen has played for many years in developing and disseminating knowledge on deafblindness.