DeafBlind

iCanConnect, the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, gives free communication equipment and training to people who are DeafBlind with income at or below 400% of the federal poverty guidelines. That can include a smartphone, tablet, computer, screen reader, braille display, signaler, or amplified phone.

Call 800-825-4595 or visit icanconnect.org.

The Helen Keller National Center in Sands Point, New York, offers training in communication, technology, orientation and mobility, independent living, and work, on site, virtually, and through regional offices. Call 516-944-8900 or visit helenkeller.org.

A support service provider (SSP) is a trained guide who helps a DeafBlind person get around and get information about the surroundings: shopping, appointments, errands. Some states pay for SSPs. Ask your state's deafblind or Deaf services office.

• Tactile ASL: signing with hands touching.
• Protactile: a way of communicating through touch, developed by DeafBlind people.
• Close vision or tracking signing, large print, braille, and print on palm.
• Interpreters who know tactile and protactile methods. Ask for them by name.

Every state has a state deafblind project for children and youth from birth through age 21. They help families and schools. Find yours through the National Center on Deafblindness.