My cousin is deaf and blind and she always is really close to me and hugging, she is really happy when we visit them and we communicate by sing language on our hands. Could you write about John and Roger doing that with each other
DeafBlind John is the cuddliest thing. With very little residual hearing and only light perception, touch is his strongest sense and he uses it to navigate his world the most. And it’s the sense he loves to have stimulated the most.Â
So, whenever Deaf!Roger is around, John clings to him. He likes being able to feel Roger, to know that he’s there. When they’re in public, John always has a hand on Roger’s shoulder, wrist or hand. It helps him orient himself and keep close. With his white cane, John can get around very well, but he has gotten lost quite a few times before and it’s pretty terrifying. When he can feel Roger, he knows he’s safe, even if he loses track of where he’s going or where he is.
At home though, John’s all over Roger. He hangs off of him all day, nuzzling and hugging him. It’s how the two of them interact best with each other. If they’re snuggled up, John will keep a hand on Roger’s shoulder and Roger will do the same, occasionally tapping his fingers to let John know he’s still there and attentive to him. If they’re washing and drying the dishes, Roger makes sure to brush up against John often. Or if they’re reading on the couch, Roger gets close enough for John to feel his warmth or periodically squeezes John’s foot. These little things make John feel like he’s doing stuff with Roger, not just next to him.
Another way they interact is finger spelling. There are a lot of ways to tactile sign, but the two of them prefer fingerspelling. They use the BANZSL alphabet ( X ), which Roger had to learn how tactile sign with to John, as he never had a deaf blind friend before!Â
The two of them could spend all day talking and giggling, Roger finger spelling on John’s hand and John signing back. Over the years, after spending so much time together, when the two of them talk, they go so fast, having developed little shortcuts and new signs to get their point across faster. They’re practically incomprehensible to other deaf and deafblind people when they’re together.Â
Once their older and Protactile starts to emerge, they’re definitely joining that bang wagon. It helps John communicate much more efficiently and effectively. He can talk to groups now instead of just one person at a time. And Roger’s right beside John, learning alongside him and helping make workshops in the UK.
