Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Tadoma

 




Tadoma is another method of communicating with individuals for those who are blind. This is easily done and it is also shown above and below when a deafblind person places their hand on another person's lip and jawline. This method of communicating allows the blind individual to pick up the vibration of the speaker and their jaw movement with their fingers as the speaker talks to them. This has been an effective way for deafblind people to communicate with others.
    In my first semester of college, I took an ASL class and my professor had us go to conventions for deaf people. I grew a stronger appreciation for everything and the strength of those who are unable to see and hear. I met someone who was deaf and blind and had him communicate the same way these pictures and the book described it. It amazes me that as humans we are capable of communicating with others other than speaking. Feeling the vibration of someone else's voice is truly something that has to be mastered.  





https://www.cdb.org.il/en/communication-methods/tadoma/


5 comments:

  1. Hi Melissa! Tadoma is definitely an interesting method of communication. An extremely difficult skill to adapt to if you are a blind/ deaf individual first being taught the method. It really is unbelievable how we as humans can overcome adversity and adapt to life altering events. And I would like to say after reading the book, I am on board with you 100% and grew more appreciative for my health, a truly eye opening experience.

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  2. Blog Post 1- Echo Location
    Echolocation is a very fascinating skill and concept to deep dive into. Echolocation is the ability to use soundwaves that relay back to your auditory system to navigate your way through certain environments, whether you’re biking, walking, running, exercising, echolocation is a great skill to have. Echolocation is used in animals like bats, dolphins, and even whales. But, echolocation is also used by those who are blind or have visual disabilities. Those with certain incapabilities use echolocation to help steer themselves through life. One method that is used is the clicking of the tongue. Provided from the book in Chapter 1 of “See What I’m Saying”, by Lawrence Rosenblum, Karl Dallenbach works show that humans can use echolocation to hear the detailed properties of objects. The properties include the objects horizontal position, relative distance, and relative size. Even more fascinating, humans have the ability to recognize the difference between a shape of an object, and even its material composition (wood, metal, cloth) (Rosenblum, 8). How does our brain use sound to echolocate? It's simple, the farther the object, the longer the delay; the farther the object, the quieter the sound (Rosenblum, 9). A great way to get engaged is by a simple and quick experiment that was provided by the book. Close your eyes, and extend your arm out with the palm of your hand facing your mouth. Once you do that, make a “shhhhhhhh” sound, and move your hand gradually towards your face. Notice that as your hand gets closer, the “shhhhh” noise becomes louder, and you start to hear it differently.

    Daniel Kish is someone that used clucking, and echolocation at a young age. He uses his experience with echolocation to teach others who are blind, or have visual disabilities. Daniel Kish is the President of the World Organization for the Blind. By the time he was seven, Daniel used echolocation while bike riding or even roller skating (Rosenblum, 6). To me, this is a very fascinating ability for humans. The difficulty of overcoming barriers is tough, so having the resources out there like Daniel Kish, echolocation, and other tools to help regain some visual sense is incredible.

    Interview with Daniel Kish:
    https://youtu.be/-kB1-P-hZzg

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  3. Blog Post 2- Tadoma

    Tadoma is the ability to lip read through touch (Rosenblum, 151). Tadoma was commonly taught in the mid-twentieth century, but soon became a distant method of teaching once the use of Braille became accessible. One way a student is taught is to place their thumb vertically across the lips of the speaker, and to feel the movements of both lips. The position of the thumb also allows the student to feel the air that is being released when the speaker produces voiceless consonants like p, t, k. The index finger is placed on the lower cheek in order to feel the movements of both the jaw and cheek. The remaining three fingers are placed next to the vocal cords to feel the vibrations of the vowels that are being spoken (Rosenblum, 153).

    This is the first time I learned about Tadoma and it was a great learning experience since Rosenblum provided us with great explanations, and examples throughout the chapter. Because this method is rare nowadays, it is the first time I have learned about it. Today, the use of braille is common everywhere, so I understood why Tadoma was put to the side, as braille can be a much easier skill to acquire. The human brain is remarkable, and learning all of the ways it can adapt over challenging disabilities is incredible. To whoever views this blog that was not assigned the book “See What I’m Saying” by Lawrence Rosenblum, and wants to take a deeper dive into how our brain works, and the interesting topics it discusses about human , it is a must read!

    https://youtu.be/U_QMS-hzRMs

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  4. Blog Post 3- Anosmia

    Anosmia is when an individual loses their sense of smell partially or fully. This can be a temporary issue one has to endure, or it can unfortunately go left untreated depending on the severity of the case. Losing our sense of smell is devastating, especially when 80 percent of our flavor comes from smell (Rosenblum, 67). Scent, obviously, is a very important tool we have in order to live life. Scent can have a large influence on the Limbic System, which is part of the brain that operates our emotions, memories and arousal. We use it to smell foods, drinks, and even possible danger. For example, smelling a burning scent, we may be alerted of a possible fire. So losing an ability that is extremely beneficial is a large loss in how we function throughout our day to day lives. We lose most of our ability to detect odors when one of our nostrils is not usable.


    Having the inability to smell is very frustrating, I know this from first hand experience, and I would assume that you all have as well. Realizing our loss of smell, whether it is over a short period of time or a long duration, we don’t take for granted the days we have our smell until we wake up one morning wondering. But, from first hand experience, I know that having the ability to smell is a mood changer. Walking into a coffee store, or a restaurant improves my mood immediately. It can make my day go from bad to being great instantly. I hope this happens for you as well!

    Anosmia Video
    https://youtu.be/ypWwBafpa_Q

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  5. Hi Melissa, I found the tadoma method extremely interesting in the book, and your post very informative !

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