Interventions for adults with deafblindness - an integrative review.

PURPOSE: To compile the current research on interventions for rehabilitation aimed at adults (aged 18-65 years) with deafblindness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in eight databases. An additional manual search was also carried out. A total of 7049 unique references were initially identified, and after screening, 28 original scientific articles were included. The results from these articles were categorized based on limiting consequences of deafblindness: communication, orientation and to move around freely and safely and access to information, as well as to psychological adaptation to deafblindness. RESULTS: Fourteen of the included articles had their main focus on access to communication, ten on orientation and the ability to move around feely and safely, three on the opportunity to gain access to information, and one related to psychological adaptation to deafblindness. Most articles focused on technical devices, of which one-third were single case studies. CONCLUSION: There is a limited number of evaluated interventions for people with deafblindness. Most of the existing studies involved one to five participants with deafblindness, and only few studies involved a larger number of participants. More research with a larger number of participants are needed, which could be facilitated by international cooperation between practitioners and researchers.

Interpreter-mediated interactions between people using a signed respective spoken language across distances in real time: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Communication between people who are deaf and sign and people who use a spoken language is possible by means of an interpreter. Interpreting in real time can be performed at a distance, which differs from interpreting face-to-face. Due to COVID-19, interpretation at a distance has increased. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to map the existing literature to identify key characteristics by addressing the following question: What is known about interpreted mediated interactions between people using a signed respective spoken language across distances in real time? DESIGN: Eight online databases, complemented by a search in one nonindexed journal of relevance to the review, were used to identify original studies published in 2010-2020, and 17 publications met the inclusion criteria. Charting of the data revealed insight from 17 original studies that were extracted, summarized, and reported. RESULTS: Four key characteristics were identified: (1) advantages and challenges in remote interpreting; (2) the need for training in remote interpreting and video relay service (VRS); (3) regulations and organizational structures of VRS; and (4) the interpreter as an active party in VRS. CONCLUSION: Remote interpreting has several challenges but also advantages. Knowledge of these kinds of interactions is limited, and further research must be initiated and realized, not least due to technological developments and the increased number of interpreting events.