A guide-interpreter is the ‘ears and eyes’ of a deafblind person. He or she is a person who knows and can use alternative methods of communication, including the Lorm alphabet (tactile alphabet for deafblind people), dactylography, also perceived by touch. The guide-interpreter is familiar with the techniques of guiding a deafblind person, navigating with them, for example, in urban spaces. A trained guide-interpreter works in an ethical manner – he or she does not take the place of the client, but supports him or her on a person-centred basis: the guide-interpreter provides opportunities for the deafblind person to manage their own affairs and supports them in their activities. For many deafblind people, a guide-interpreter can often be their only link to the outside world, as deafblind persons are often elderly and live alone. The support of a qualified guide-interpreter significantly increases the chances of better functioning for people with simultaneous visual and hearing impairments.
Guide-interpreter for the deafblind is a responsible role involving the provision of safe face-to-face support to people with visual and hearing impairments, and therefore requires the ability to react quickly in a diverse range of situations and changing environments, perceptiveness, attentiveness, and a high degree of concentration.
Persons with simultaneous visual and hearing impairments may use guide-interpreters on the basis of the Act of 19 August 2011 on Sign Language and Other Means of Communication.
