Deafblindness Officially Recognised as a Distinct Disability in Scotland!

On this the first United Nations endorsed International Day of Deafblindness, we are able to share with you the most incredible news. Today following a Parliamentary Question posed by the Convenor of the Cross-party Group on Deafness Colin Beattie, the Minister of Health and Social Care Tom Arthur has formally recognised Deafblindness as a distinct disability stating

‘The Scottish Government recognises the distinct challenges faced by the deafblind community and we want to ensure that those living with deafblindness in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support.

We intend to take forward work to adopt the Nordic definition of deafblindness as a functional model in Scotland to help ensure individuals receive the recognition and support they need.

We appreciate the hard work undertaken by Deafblind Scotland, the CPG on Deafness and the CPG on Visual Impairment to raise awareness of the definition and progress towards its adoption in Scotland. We will work closely with them on the next steps to implement this definition.’

Isabella Goldie, CEO of Deafblind Scotland expressed her delight ‘This is incredible news that means so much to a community of people who often feel invisible. We thank the Minister for his understanding and providing this momentum to take forward work to improve the lives of Deafblind people’

Issy McGrath, Chair of Deafblind Scotland hopes that for her living as a Deafblind person it will mean that the next generation of young people will ‘no longer have to wait in two queues but instead will have access to early identification and support pathways that recognise this distinct condition’.  

The Deafblind Community here at Deafblind Scotland would like to thank the Cross-party Group on Deafness for all of their support, all the individuals who wrote to MSPs and all of the MSPs that helped support this work through Parliamentary debate. In particular, Annabelle Ewing, Colin Beattie and Rona MacKay and the MSPs that took part in the parliamentary debate on this issue Karen Adam, Stuart McMIllan, Roz McCall and Carol Mochan. This was a collective effort and has made this the best Deafblind Awareness Week possible.