Interventions for adults with deafblindness - an integrative review

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Sciences
• Assistive Technology Research
• Disability Studies

Background:

• Deafblindness presents significant challenges in communication, mobility, and information access.
• Adults aged 18-65 with deafblindness require targeted rehabilitation interventions.
• Existing research on interventions for deafblindness is scarce.

Approach:

• A systematic literature search across eight databases and manual searches was performed.
• 7049 unique references were identified, with 28 original scientific articles included in the review.
• Studies were categorized by the impact of deafblindness: communication, orientation, mobility, information access, and psychological adaptation.

Key Points:

• The majority of research (14 articles) addresses communication interventions.
• Ten articles focus on orientation and mobility, while three address information access.
• One article discusses psychological adaptation, with most studies concentrating on technical devices and single-case designs.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant gap in evaluated rehabilitation interventions for individuals with deafblindness.
• Most studies involve a small number of participants (1-5), limiting generalizability.
• Further research with larger sample sizes and international collaboration is crucial to advance interventions for deafblindness.