Hi everyone,

I have had varying degrees of visual and auditory impairment, both on the physical and processing levels. I always had a visual processing disorder, which was only diagnosed after 12 years of being physically legally blind, unbeknownst to all the adults in my life. I still have a visual processing disorder but it was lessened by 2.5 years of intensive vision therapy.

I experienced physical vision loss in 2008 and physical hearing loss in 2009 and was almost totally deaf and totally blind by 2010, up until recently, when intense acupuncture helped me restore both my hearing and vision. My physical sight and hearing are close to where they were before. The acupuncture also resolved my chronic pain and joint issues.

That said, I still have trouble processing both vision and hearing. I can only use my ears or eyes, but not both at the same time. It also requires a tremendous amount of brain calculation to make sense of speech and visual sign. I have to see the person's lips to understand speech and I have to have visual sign repeated to me 2 or 3 times before I get it. I'm hoping to improve my auditory processing comprehension to a point that I can become an interpreter for the deaf and deaf-blind.

The exact nature of my vision and hearing loss was at least partially neurophysiological (from head trauma) and possibly also psychogenic. Even if it was partially psychogenic, though, the actual vision and hearing loss were very real. I couldn't see or hear any more than someone whose retinas or eardrums are gone, so I had to learn the same methods as someone whose deaf-blindness is entirely physiological.

As a result, I learned cane skills, sign language, screen reader technology, and braille. I find all of these methods easier to work with. Now I use my eyes and ears until they get tired, and then I have the option to either take a break by meditating or switch back to braille/sign. My ears and eyes are good for about 2 hours at a time, using one at a time or alternating between the two channels. The only time I can use them together, though, is to understand speech, where I have to be able to hear the person clearly and read their lips. Otherwise if I am focused on something auditory, I completely miss anything visual, and vice versa.

I've been diagnosed with Asperger's and have a history of severe PTSD as well, which seems to be a trend I've noticed with a lot of SPD sufferers.

No matter what happens to me physiologically or on the processing level, I will always feel a connection to the world of deaf-blindness (whether functional, physiological, or both) and to the world of tactile signing. I also totally advocate the use of tactile sign for people on the autism spectrum and people with sensory processing disorders.

tactilesigner

Hi! Welcome! You've been through quite a bit over the last few years! I'm glad to hear that acupuncture and the therapy has helped.

I have very mild auditory impairment and find that I need to see a person's lips to process the speech as well. I think that is part of the reason why I hate talking on the phone so much. It's too hard to process the sounds unless I see the person speaking.

My older son was delayed with his speech as a toddler so we did sign language with him so that he could communicate his needs to us. He had a language spurt after age 3.5 so we didn't sign to him as much anymore, when we probably should have kept it up longer.

I hope you'll jump in to the discussions and offer your unique perspective and experiences!

I hate talking on the phone too. I have to ask people to repeat several times before I understand them. I definitely suggest getting back into ASL (or whatever your local sign language is). It can only help. It's also useful for talking across rooms, through windows, in meetings and at concerts, etc.

tactilesigner

You are in a unique situation to have so many skills. I knew several deaf people when I lived near a state school for the deaf for a couple of years was young. I could sign a little bit, just enough to impart a thought or two but not enough to carry on a real conversation.

I only need to "see" a person speak when I am in a sensory taxing environment. Interestingly, I prefer to conduct business on the phone (as long as the speaker does not mumble) because I am not destracted by facial expressions and other visual confusion. Also, I can pace while I talk on the phone which helps me concentrate. And I feel more free to scribble notes which helps me keep track of otherwise unmanageable quantities of information.

I find the PTSD connection interesting as well. I regularly wonder if my SPD is connected with stressful envirnments in utero and very early childhood. Throughout my life I have experienced much worse symptoms when I am in stressful times and envirnments.