Sense is a charity that offers services and support to people who have combined visual and hearing impairment. We aspire to a society that offers high quality accessible design across a wide range of contexts including fashion, products and architecture.  http://www.sense.org.uk/

 

Our collaborative relationship with LDoc has proved mutually beneficial. We have been impressed by the high calibre and commitment of students in accepting the challenge of working with people who have both visual and hearing impairments. As a result our service users have been offered innovative opportunities to engage in design related activities through which they have developed new skills.

 

It has been fascinating to observe the approach taken by students who assume that deafblind people should have the same opportunities to be creative as anyone else – an assumption that challenges them to reflect upon their practice but also supports significant skill development amongst the vulnerable group of people who use Sense services.  Further tangible outcomes for the students have included presentations at conferences, submissions to peer-reviewed journals and exhibitions of the creative outputs from the arts activities.

 

We look forward to continuing this relationship as it has the potential to bring together totally different perspectives of the contribution of sensory experiences to enhancing the quality of life.