The scientific programme for the conference will be organised with the DbI Communication Network. This group has organised European conferences to share their latest research and work in co-creating communication with congenitally deafbllind people. This exciting event brings together researchers and practitioners, discussing the co-creation of communication and exploring both theoretical and practical interventions.
The conference will address four themes:
This conference will address four key aspects of human communication. Each aspect will be addressed by two lecturers: one who is an eminent specialist in the area of study and one from the field of deafblindness. On each of these topics, new insights are expected to emerge by bringing together the latest scientific developments and current practice in congenital deafblindness. This conference will build on the work already developed at previous courses and conferences on the topic of communication.
These four topics were selected because they help to describe how life experiences and emotions form and flow dynamically over time in the encounter between individuals and the external world. This is where dialogicality and joint attention are key concepts. It will also try to describe how this flow of thoughts and emotions projects itself in the body, thus presenting partners of congenitally deafblind people with visible bodily forms (gestures) that they can interpret and react to.
These exchanges between inside and outside or between self and other can lead to the co-creation of stabilised forms and organisations of forms that constitute languages. Therefore, special attention will be given to how, in the case of congenital deafblindness, gestures are formed and processed and on how language can emerge from them in a natural way. The question of whether the existence of a specific “congenitally deafblind language” is relevant, stimulating for scientific research and useful for educational purposes will also be discussed
Conference structure
The conference will be structured on three levels, split between morning and afternoon sessions.
Morning sessions:
Specialist International speakers on the chosen topics
Members of the Deafblind International Communication Network will link the theory from speakers to the practical work with congenitally deafblind children and adults
Afternoon sessions:
Workshops will cover the practice and video analysis
