Love In Touch – Embedding Quality Touch in our Practice

For a learner who is deafblind, touch may be the main way they know what's about to happen. A hand that arrives without warning can be startling. For learners with PMLD or multi-sensory impairment, most touch comes while they're being changed, moved or fed, and how you do it says a lot.

You'll learn to let someone know touch is coming: for a deafblind learner, a slow wave across the eyes, then a personal signifier such as a bracelet they learn to recognise. You'll see how to read consent from a face, a sound or an arm pulled away, and how routine cues like a squeeze on one shoulder before a turn build confidence. There's also an exercise to try with colleagues, passing on an emotion through touch alone.

The approach comes from seven years as an intervener for deafblind students, followed by training as a massage therapist.