Tactile Communication Pre-conference

8/12/2019 Tactile Communication Pre-conference

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The Landscape of Touch

Deafblind International

Tactile Communication Network

Sept 2011


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The work of the Deafblind International Communication network

what lies behind their work?

Communication breakdowns:

Can I have a doughnut?

Quest for the Holy Grail:

Journeys where new worlds beckon (Zeedyk,2006)

being able to make reference to displaced objects

and events (Goldin-Meadow, 2005) things external in space(and) events distant in

time (Reddy, 2003)


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Hypothesis

Congenitally deafblind people and their non-deafblind

communication partners can expand their awareness of the objects

of each others attention within the tactile medium. As they do this,

movements, gestures or signs, introduced by either partner, aredeveloped by the partnership such that they come to be perceived

and understood by both. Such movements, gestures and signs then

allow the partnership to move away from the here-and-now.


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Main developmental areas I

was interested in Early Communicative Exchangesdyadic interactions

Expanding beyond this common touchpointtriadic interactions (

Deaf children learning a language

The evolution of language in humans Roles and relationships within communication partnerships

Moving towards language (Illustrated with videos)


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Early Communicative Exchanges

dyadic interactions

Four functions of imitation:

attracts attention

stimulates turn-taking

allows people to recognise each otherbuilds morality (I-You)

Primary intersubjectivity

Mismatch of modalities (Julie Rattray)


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Expanding beyond this common touchpoint

triadic interactions

interpersonal and language developments flow from such joint

attention

functional equivalence in the tactile medium

body, hands and the placement of them in space as well as

spontaneous emotional expressionstake on the same

functions of vision, voice and pointing for achieving shared

attention towards something in the world (Rieber-Mohn)


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Resilient language features in deaf children

Deaf children develop natural gestures that perform language functions

the deaf childrens gestures are structured more like the spoken

languages they cannot hear than like the gestures they can see. Thelack of a usable language model does not prevent the human child from

communicating with self and other, in the here-and-now and in the non-

present... (Goldin-Meadow)

Nicaraguan children developed a new fully-formed sign language over

a 25 year period (Senghas et al, 2004; Morford and Kegl, 2000; Goldin-Meadow, 2005)


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Non-linguistic input

Although children do not need a language model... other non-linguistic

input is playing a role in the acquisition of language (Morford and Kegl):

There were ample opportunities for shared communication. There were partners willing to communicate in a visuo-spatial

modality.

There were new communication demands associated with

preferred accommodation to visually oriented deaf partners.


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The evolution of language in humans

First languages were gestural (Stokoe)

Comprehension before production

(Burling)

A gesture may express both noun-like

and verb-like meanings and at the same

time show them related (Stokoe, 2000,p.388).


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Roles and relationships within

communication partnerships

Rejection of three standard approaches: Move too quickly towards language

See imitation as the final destination Start with imitation but scaffold, using standard

developmental model

Instead we can adopt:

Co-creation of communication and language

Double-sided Zone of Proximal Development

(ZPD)


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Vasu Reddy

Expanding awareness of the

object of others attention:Attending to self

Attending to what self does

Attending to what self perceives

Attending to what self

remembers


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Operational Definition - Attending to self

In these two sections, the deafblind person him/herself is the focus of attention for the communication partner.

1a) Responding to attention to self

Evidence that the deafblind person is responding to the communication partners attention to him/her will be:

a) The deafblind person responds by displaying emotion (e.g. pleasure, distress, excitement);

b) The deaflind person responds by displaying interest (e.g. stilling behaviour, moving towards the partner);

c) The deafblind person responds by displaying disinterest (e.g. withdrawing or moving away from the partner);

d) The deafblind person responds by co-ordinating his /her expressions with the partner (e.g. smiling, laughing,

vocalising etc).

1b) Directing attention to self

Evidence that the deafblind person is directing attention to him/herself will be:

a) The deafblind person makes an initial utterance (in any medium) that directs attention to self (e.g. wiggling

toes, tapping pens, vocalising);

b) The deafblind person directs attention back to self by asking the communication partner to repeat or continuean action that was directed to the deafblind person (e.g. blowing on him /her, tapping on his / her arm, leg, hand

etc)

c) The deaflind person seeks engagement with the communication partner (e.g. reaching out to the other

person).


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Operational Definition - Attending to what self remembers

In these two sections, past events or absent targets are the focus of attention for the communication partner.

4a)Responding to attention to what self remembers

Evidence that the deafblind person is attending to the communication partners reports of past events and absent

targets will be:

a) The deafblind person uses or completes an action, gesture or sign that originates in the past event that is

being referred to;

b) The deafblind person co-ordinates his / her actions with the partners actions after reminding the partner of the

rules of an ongoing interactive sequence;

c) The deafblind person prevents an activity happening that has been referred to by the partner;d) The deafblind person makes an appropriate response to a gesture or sign with a previously negotiated

meaning (e.g. stands up after a sign stand is given).

4b) Directing attention to what self remembers

Evidence that the deafblind person is making reference to a past event or object not present will be:

a) The deafblind person initiates an action, gesture or sign that originates in the past event that is being referred

to;

b) The deafblind person reminds the partner of the rules of an ongoing interactive sequence;

c) The deafblind person uses an action, gesture or sign to refer to an object that is not seen, heard or felt;

d) The deafblind person uses a gesture or sign that has an agreed negotiated meaning with another person.


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Study 1 - Congenitally deafblind partners

expanding their awareness of the objects of

their non-deafblind partners attention.

Introduction

Results at each of Reddys four stages

Discussion


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At the final stage of the analysis I was tacklingthese two aims:

1. To demonstrate that congenitally deafblind people canrespond to attentiona) to self; b) to what self does; c) towhat self perceives; and d) to what remembers.

2. To demonstrate that congenitally deafblind people candirect the attentionof a communication partner a) to self;b) to what self does; c) to what self perceives; and d) towhat remembers.


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Findings (Study 1)

There are two key findings that emerge from this study:

Congenitally deafblind people can respond to anddirect attention at all four stages of Reddys model.

When doing so, congenitally deafblind people use a

range of movements, gestures and signs, primarily in

the tactile medium but sometimes directed to

perceptual modalities that they themselves do not

have (e.g. vision).


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Implication 1 (Study 1)

Firstly, and arguably the most important, non-deafblind

partners must recognise these abilities within their

congenitally deafblind partners because they supportthe view that congenitally deafblind people can be equal

communication partners. This points to essential

attitudes that non-deafblind partners should adopt.


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Secondly, it becomes important to understand how

deafblind people use movements, gestures and signs to

respond to and direct attention because this theninforms non-deafblind partners about ways to share

attention to these same objects. This suggests a range

of skills and approaches that non-deafblind partners will

need if they are to learn how to share attention in thetactile medium.


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Finally, it provides convincing evidence that congenitally

deafblind people are able to move away from the here

and-now. If our interactions are to be respectful andproductivethen it becomes incumbent on the non

deafblind partner to take this journey with them. This

suggests that non-deafblind partners should combine

essential attitudes with an appropriate range of skillsand approaches so that they can become fellow

travellers and confidently journey away from the here

and-now.


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Video Examples


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Study 2 - Non-deafblind partnersexpanding their

awareness of the objects of their congenitallly

deafblind partners attention.1. To demonstrate that non-deafbind partners can respond

to attentiona) to self; b) to what self does; c) to what self

perceives; and d) to what remembers.

2. To demonstrate that non-deafbind partners can direct the

attentionof a congenitally deafblind person a) to self; b)

to what self does; c) to what self perceives; and d) to

what remembers.


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Findings (Study 2)

There is one central finding in this study:

Non-deafblind partners can respond to

and direct attention at all four stages of

Reddys model using a range of

movements, gestures and signsprimarily within the tactile medium.


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Study 3 - Moving towards language...There is one principal aim for this third Study:

To demonstrate that movements, gestures or signs thatrefer to people, objects, places or events, brought by

either partner to a communicative meeting place, are

developed and modified by the partnership through a

dynamic process of exchange. In this way such these

movements, gestures or signs take on jointly negotiated

meanings and are presented in jointly perceivable forms.


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Findings (Study 3)

There are three key findings in this study:

1) Partnerships involving at least one congenitally deafblind person douse

movements, gestures and signs originally brought by either partner to jointly

refer to people, objects, places or events. Dynamic alterations are made to such

movements, gestures or signs within the partnerships so that their meaning isunderstood by both partners and their form is perceivable by both.

2) Although both partners bring such movements, gestures and signs, there are

significant differences in their level of iconicity. Those brought by the deafblind

partner are more closely linked to the activities and experiences that they are

referring to. Those brought by the non-deafblind partner are often amended

signs from their previous cultural and linguistic experience.

3) There is a greater willingness on the part of deafblind partners to use

referential signs and gestures brought by non-deafblind partners rather than the

other way around. This was surprising. But it is even more surprising given the

abstract nature of signs that are both understood and produced by the deafblind

person.


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Video examples


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Two additional questions

1) Why do deafblind partners introduce

iconic gestures more often than

the non-deafblind partner?

2) Why would the deafblind partner use

the non-deafblindpartners movements,

gestures or signs more frequently than

vice versa?


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Evidence in support of Reddy

Attending without vision is possible

There is more to the third element than meets

the eye

The mind-body gap needs to be reconsidered(And I will focus here today).


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What then counts as symbolic

language?Symbol - something that stands for

something else (Hobson)

Symbol - an abstract representation of areferent (Bruce; Rowland; Burling)


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For full references please consult Paul

Harts thesis:

Moving Beyond the Common TouchpointDiscovering Language with Congenitally

Deafblind Peoplehttps://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/handle/10588/

1299)

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Tactile Communication Pre-conference