One woman’s story of a deafblind street attack and the inability of the police and ambulance service to interact and offer her help highlights the need to raise awareness of this disability:
Liz Ball is in her late twenties and suffers from deafblindness. On her usual mile walk home from work from the tube station to her flat she was attacked and had her cane, communication book and spare cane stolen. Liz had to walk home alone and unaided for almost a mile which included ten roads to cross and endless hazards to avoid. She managed to get home eventually with only minor cuts and bruises but the stress was too much and she spent the night crying. Later she found out that the police had been aware of Liz and had followed her most of the way home. Neither the police nor the ambulance crew, however, attempted to communicate with Liz other than talking to her from a few feet away. They even sent away a car driver who told them that she could use the deafblind manual alphabet and therefore communicate with Liz.
Liz comments that her awareness of what was going on around her was far greater than the deafblind awareness of the police and ambulance staff. If they had been trained in using the deafblind manual they could have offered her help which she says she would gladly have accepted. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/features/ball_crime.shtml
