At DBV Café 19th April, guest speaker Eli Raanes talked about Deafblind support services and interpreting in Norway. Eli is an interpreter herself, and she is in Australia to research deafblind communication. In Norway, some things are different. There is one role for interpreting and guiding. Every Norwegian Sign Language interpreter is expected to be able to work with deafblind signers, including guiding, using tactile signs, visual frame, deafblind fingerspelling and haptics.

Access to community is good, with rails and tactile dots on the ground, but the ground can be covered in snow, slippery and mountainous, so guides are important for deafblind mobility. There is no NDIS – instead, the government funds services directly.

After Eli’s presentation and Q & A, there was an Easter hat competition, and we celebrated DBV member David Wise’s 70th Birthday. Happy Birthday David!