Atsushi Mori
Public Relations and Informatization Promotion Section
General Affairs Division, Tsukuba University of Technology

I am a deaf-blind person having both hearing and visual impairments.  After having graduated from the Graduate School of Tsukuba University of Technology last year, I am currently working at the same university three times a week as an administrative assistant doing parallel research work concerning education and employment of deaf-blind children and adults.

Since deaf-blind people can neither see nor hear, they have difficulty communicating, obtaining information, and moving around.  In other words, they can neither watch nor listen to TV, and neither can they hear casual conversation of the people around them. However, in recent years, information and communications technology (ICT) has developed and become widespread.  Thus, even for the deaf-blind, ICT has become an indispensable means of communication and obtaining information.

For me personally, ICT equipment has become indispensable, too, not only in the workplace but also in my daily life.  Since I cannot read printed characters (ordinary text), I use a Braille display and make full use of ICT.  There are various types of Braille displays – one that can be connected to a personal computer, one to a smartphone, and a BrailleSense[1]  that integrates Braille display with the apps of a personal computer.  We use different devices according to the functions we need (e-mail, Internet, LINE, online meetings, chat, etc.).  I usually carry a BrailleSense with me.  It is a tool for the deaf-blind equivalent to a smartphone to others.  With this, I can send and receive e-mails and browse the Internet even when I am not at home.

With the development of ICT, information, which was previously difficult for the deaf-blind to access, such as news, can be obtained in real time, thanks to the spread of the Internet.  It is a great achievement indeed that deaf-blind people have become enabled to communicate with people, who do not know sign language or Braille, by using e-mail or chat without an interpreter.  Particularly, in social networking services (SNS) I have come to be able to access casual “tweets” through which I can naturally obtain information that I otherwise could not have obtained without an interpreter.  I feel I have come closer to the world of the able-bodied.  In a sense, for me it is a step toward greater social participation.  There was a time when I had to work from home as a countermeasure against the spread of the novel coronavirus infection.  During that time, I worked alone generating documents using ICT while communicating with my colleagues and superiors via e-mail and chat systems.  For persons with disabilities, working from home using ICT reduces the burden of having to move around and engaging in conventional communication.  Thus, I hope that the employment quota for the deaf-blind and persons with other disabilities will increase in the near future.

Since equipment for the deaf-blind is very expensive[2], the number of deaf-blind people who could use ICT may be limited.  Still, the use of ICT has made it possible for information to be obtained and communication to be established , which previously was only possible through interpreters or Braille-translated materials.  ICT also helps provide information on transportation transfers and location guides.  With this technology, we can now expect more opportunities for the deaf-blind in the areas of education, employment, and leisure activities.

I plan to advocate for the deaf-blind to more fully utilize ICT by approaching institutions involved in welfare, education, administration, and research and development of equipment.  I would also like to work on building a support system among the deaf-blind for the utilization of ICT.