WEBVTT

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Anne: You know, I work with people
who are DeafBlind too.

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And I do have a client who
the hospital basically called DCF

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because they were like,
“how can a DeafBlind person

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be a parent?”

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Brian: It can definitely be tricky. A lot
of people don't understand how someone

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who is blind or visually impaired or
DeafBlind can watch a child.

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Anne: What am I going to do
when they hand this thing to me?

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How am I going to
take care of this baby?

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And you know,

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and, how am I going
to figure out changing the diapers

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and if the diaper is clean
and how am I going to figure out

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measuring the bottles,
and all that stuff, you know.

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[music plays]

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Brian: Really it’s no different than someone
who’s typically sighted and hearing.

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We close off our living room

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and make sure that any cords
and wires are tucked away.

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But, you know, those are things
that any good parent would do,

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regardless of disability
to make sure that your child's safe.

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Anne: I was always nervous to take
them outside in the backyard,

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because it’s not fenced in, and I was
nervous where the kids are.

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And I can remember being like,
“where’s Jenny?” and she’s standing right here.

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Like, literally right here next to me
and, you know, things like that,

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taking them outside was nerve-wracking.

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But, you know,
there's all kinds of adaptations

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and there's all kinds of vibrating alerts
to tell you when the baby's crying

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or when a smoke detector
is going off, or the doorbell.

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And there's all kinds of services out there

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and adaptive equipment
out there to help you.

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You know, I tried different things
like baby gates to keep them...

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...at least I knew what room they were in.

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And also, I guess I’m just with my babies a lot.

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Brian: I used alternative techniques,

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you know, when my daughter is running around

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I’m listening to her footsteps
to make sure that she is where she should be.

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Right now, she is pretty loud in her movement,

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but, you know, if we had to, we could
put bells on her feet and track her that way.

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Anne: I slept with my hearing aids on

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when they were real little
just because I was nervous.

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And then I slept with the monitor
right next to my head.

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I used way more baby wipes
than anyone should ever use, probably,

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to make sure that my daughter was clean.

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Brian: You use your sense of touch.

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You know, I change diapers and things
and make sure that they're clean and

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everything’s good to go.

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It's really just all about
using different techniques.

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And at the end of the day,
it really doesn't matter

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whether or not you have a disability.

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Anne: Have I banged into toddlers
and my kids? Yes.

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You know, they bounce.

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Have I made mistakes? Yes.

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But it’s kind of...

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...one day at a time.

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I don't want to say it wasn't a big deal
because it is a big deal.

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But I just basically
figure it out as I go along.

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[music plays]

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Brian: My daughter loves to,
even if she’s reading in print,

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use her finger
to kind of navigate the words.

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She also loves
holding the guide dog leash.

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Her and Intrigue are really close.

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And I think, you know, I could see her
one day being an orientation and mobility

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specialist for people who are blind,
visually impaired, and DeafBlind.

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I think they'll have a greater
awareness and compassion

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for people with disabilities
and people without disabilities.

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They'll be much more well-rounded

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as individuals and be a lot more
compassionate towards others.

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Anne: My kids became helpful very young.

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You know, I think even when
they were in kindergarten

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they would grab my hand and say,
“okay, mommy, there's a step” you know, or,

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“okay, mommy, the chair is right there”
or, “watch out for the wet floor sign.”

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Or, you know, things like that.

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They're going to be amazing adults
because they've grown up

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helping me and they've grown up

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being understanding of people
with different disabilities.

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Francis: As of right now, the voice you hear
is my daughter, Grace.

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She always interprets for me
when we go to restaurants, movie theaters,

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she's always with me.

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She'll sit next to me and interpret for me
just like my daughter Naomi.

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She'll always interpret for me,
whether it's voice or just through sign language.

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Growing up, I struggled
when they were kids.

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I tried to teach them to do this,
but they didn't really know.

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And they didn't get used to
until about eight or nine.

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And then they started to get used
to guiding me and helping and knowing

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to interpret and kind of
just becoming one unit.

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Grace: I feel like

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my sister and I and a lot of kids
who have deaf parents or who have deaf

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and blind parents or parents
who have some form of disability,

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I think you grow up with
just this empathy for people.

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You feel for them because
you see your parents struggling

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in a world that you may not struggle in
and you want it to be equal and fair.

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So you now encounter strangers
and you just have this empathy of like,

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I'm sure life is very hard for you
because of blank.

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I want to do what I can
to help you or to help

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have clear communication, or
if you need something, I want to be there.

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So I think that's been one big thing.

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Believe it or not

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Brian: DeafBlind and blind and deaf
parents aren’t a new concept.

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You know, I have mentors in my life
who are in their sixties

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with grandkids and raising children
and raising grandkids all on their own.

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And so,

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yeah, it's really interesting

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how the public perception
hasn't changed too much.

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[music plays]

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Grace: That's a question you always get,

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“How did your parents raise you?”

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Like, “how did you learn how to speak

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If your parents are deaf?”

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People don't realize
that they can do stuff.

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We don't want people
to view them that way.

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And the change that we want to see and how
we want to go out and impact people

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so that way our parents moving forward
and people like them

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don't have to encounter
something like that.

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Anne: Maybe we have to prove
ourselves a little bit more

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to show, to demonstrate

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that we are capable
and that people who are DeafBlind,

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for the most part,

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can do what hearing and sighted people do.

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They just need to do it differently.

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And it might be a little bit harder,
it might take a little bit longer.

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We might have to use some equipment
or some devices to help us, but

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we can do it, you know.

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[music ends]