Project Support & Discovery

”Promotion of the quality of life, the will to live and the ability to live among deaf-blind people and discovery of deaf-blind people in Denmark, where of the main part is found in the elderly part of the population.”
This is the superior purpose with the Project Support and Discovery, which has been granted funds from the Ministry of Social Affairs in the period from 2007-2011. 

We only know about 3 %

Because the double handicap is of a slowly progressive character it is often difficult for relatives, professional nursing persons, doctors or the like to determine when an elderly person, who is sight and hearing impaired, is deaf-blind. This is one of the reasons why the Danish Association of the DeafBlind is only in contact with about 3 % of the estimated number of deaf-blind people, who lives in Denmark. According to a study made by Videnscentret for Døvblinblevne (The Information Center for Acquired Deafblindness) in 2006 the actual number of deaf-blind people in Denmark is around 10-15.000.

The project Support and Discovery is working on reaching as many of these as possible, either directly or indirectly. The goal is to get in contact with both deaf-blind people the surroundings and the professional environments within the deaf, blind and deaf-blind field. 

The subsidiary goal

We wish to help spread the general knowledge of deaf-blindness in Denmark in the health and nursing sector, the educational sector and in the eldercare sector, so the relevant professional groups better can identify deaf-blindness and contribute with the right help and guidance. This knowledge is primarily spread through our informant service.

After this the goal is to support the persons that we and our collaborators in the deaf-blind field meet. We wish that deaf-blind people have a worthy and substantial life despite their sight and hearing impairment. Among other things we offer home visits by a FDDB consultant. These visits are an offer for both members and non-member and include an introduction to the association’s offers, support and advice. The home visits are also valuable because a lot of deaf-blind people experience isolation which can be broken by home visits as well as from the offers from FDDB.

In addition to this the project gives substance and sense to the existence for many deaf-blind people who work with the discovery and support of other deaf-blind people. The FDDB consultants and the informants form this project all working with one common vision: to be available for all deaf-blind people, who need a helping hand.

If you wish supplementary information about the project Support and Discovery you are welcome to contact FDDB.