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​Taking an infrared sauna is good for health and would be great for people who are deaf and blind. It is a well known fact that consistent infrared sauna use improves just about all aspects of the body's overall health.

​But what about those with the challenges of a disability; in particular the deaf and blind. A person who is deaf or blind needs to make sense of the world using somewhat limited information. If the person’s sensory disabilities are great this challenge can be overwhelming. Behavioral and emotional difficulties often associated with deaf-blindness and can be the natural outcome of the person's isolation.

People with limited sight and or hearing experience the world around them through their limited sight or hearing, but mainly through their sense of touch. A busy day of being indedependent gets very tiring. What a wonderful sensory experience an infrared sauna can be to a deaf-blind person. In the safety of a small space they too can benefit from the many advantages of the infrared along with experiencing, due to their heightened sense of touch, the sheer enjoyment of the soft, gentle heat from the infrared itself.

Many who are deaf or blind have some usable vision and hearing. Some even have enough vision to be able to move about in their environment. They can recognize familiar people, see sign language at close distances or by tactile, and possibly read large print. Others have enough hearing to recognize familiar sounds, understand speech, or even speak themselves.

Deaf-blindness includes a large range of sensory impairments. Touch therapy could be enhanced through the use of infrared as well. These saunas are entirely large enough to comfortably hold many people at a time. A therapist and patient could enjoy quality time spent together while enjoying an infrared sauna's many benefits.

Infrared saunas offer a modern twist to the ancient steam sauna experience. Traditional steam saunas elevate the temperature of the air in order to warm your body. Infrared saunas heat the air within the sauna cabin as infrared emits a wavelength that heats only your body.

Imagine yourself outside on a warm summer day with the sun overhead gently warming you. Your body becomes heated from the sun, however, if the sun is blocked you will feel cooler, though the outside temperature hasn’t really changed. This is your body being heated by the sun and it’s infrared rays. Infrared saunas heat your body in the same manner. Infrared heat is perfectly natural. Infrared sauna therapy heat provides all the healthy benefits of natural sunlight without any of the dangerous side effects of our sun’s radiation. Infrared sauna therapy is natural, comfortable, inexpensive and wonderful for your health.

Brent Bauer, the director of the Department of Internal Medicine's complementary and integrative medicine program at the Mayo Clinic, wrote in a Mayo Clinic Report, “The appeal of saunas in general is that they cause reactions, such as vigorous sweating and increased heart rate, similar to those elicited by moderate exercise. An infrared sauna produces these results at lower temperatures than does a regular sauna, which makes it accessible to people who can't tolerate the heat of a conventional sauna.”

The very safe and healing benefits for the deaf-blind are akin to all who use this infrared therapy. The benefits are myriad. You can experience muscle and organ relaxation, detoxification, pain relief, improved cell health, better circulation, anti-aging, skin purification, immunity boosting, relaxation, lowered BP and even weight loss. It also greatly reduces the effects of depression.

However, due to the heightened senses of the deaf-blind how does infrared feel? It feels like sunshine on a warm day. The gentle light from the infrared envelops the body in rejuvenating warmth as it literally melts away stresses and worries along with ridding the body of all the many toxins with which we are daily bombarded. The temperature of an infrared sauna is comfortable at about 110 to 125 degrees. When infrared comes into contact with the body it penetrates well below the skin, raising core body temperature and enabling your body to sweat while sitting in a comfortable temperature. Because you’re still sweating as deeply as you can, an infrared sauna is going to feel much hotter than it actually is. This allows for you to sit inside the sauna for a much longer period of time. Because of this, you are likely to come back to the sauna night after night, reaping it's many rewards. So, not only does it feel great it's benefits are immense.

The daily lives of the deaf-blind parallel those surrounding them who are not deaf-blind. They never ask to be pitied or patronized as they too can be and are successful, independent and happy individuals who work, raise families and manage a home. They experience all the similar ups and downs of all those around them and they, too, can benefit greatly from the consistent use of infrared sauna therapy.

American Sign Language (ASL) has steadily gained more exposure through television, movies and social media. It’s the third largest language used in the United States.
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People are eagerly taking classes, watching videos, and downloading Apps to learn ASL. They’ve even created signing Holograms and included ASL in a new video game.

So, the more people that know ASL, the less communication barriers we, Deaf, will face. Deaf people will be able to be more involved in the community around us.

​Or that’s what everyone thinks……

No matter how many times Nyle DiMarco posts on Twitter, how many PSAs Marlee Matlin makes, or how many episodes of Switched at Birth there are – people still have negative bias towards Deafness and low-set standards towards them.

We constantly fight to get:

• Interpreters in hospitals and doctor’s offices
• Adequate job opportunities
• Adequate education
• Acceptance that Deaf people CAN be independent successful people.
• Acceptance that Deafness is FINE with us

 
Let me explain further:

​Whenever we need to go to the doctor’s office, or to the Emergency room, we constantly fight for our communication rights in getting an interpreter. I’m not talking about the portable video relay interpreter (VRI) unit mind you!

You wouldn’t expect someone speaking Spanish to forgo an interpreter and be forced to communicate in their broken English and understand everything clearly? Why are Deaf people subjected to this discrimination and stress.
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So, we constantly fight for communication access that WE choose, not something forced on us by administrators because it’s a cheaper alternative.

There are only 48% of the Deaf Community that are employed. Some of those who are employed are woefully underemployed. I know several that have degrees but can only get employment in unskilled jobs, like in a factory or retail.

Firstly, this change has to start early in High Schools (whether it’s a Deaf institute or a mainstreamed school) where the tendency is to steer Deaf students towards vocational training instead of higher academic goals.

Secondly, higher education institutes need to provide better accessibility to their colleges and universities (this goes back to the interpreter issue).

Thirdly, employers need to provide adequate access as well. Many just skip over potential candidates just on the disability issue alone (can’t prove it, but it’s been done).
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So, we battle an unfair war to gain respectful employment.

There are State schools for the Deaf all across the U.S. and Canada who primarily teach in ASL. But even then the sign language competency is inadequate! There was a State review of the Florida School of the Deaf and Blind that revealed 82 of the teachers didn’t meet proficiency requirements. This is widespread across a lot of schools.

I attended a Deaf High School, the rumor was that some of the teachers weren’t qualified enough to teach in the Public sector so they were assigned to a Deaf School.
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So, we get second-rate teachers who can’t even communicate well with us?

I see and read so many stories, as well as experienced it myself, that as soon as someone finds out that a person is Deaf – their expectations of that person drops dramatically.

Forget about the awkwardness of trying to communicate, that’s understandable if they’ve never met a Deaf person before, I’m talking about people’s instant opinion of that Deaf person. The majority of the time that opinion is that Deaf = Mentally Deficient and we’re treated as such. “Where’s your caretaker”, “Can you get someone else to sign this for you?” “How will you look after your child?” and the list goes on.

So, no matter how much exposure Deaf people get in the Media, we still encounter people who don’t believe that we can be scientists, business owners, teachers, actors, and everything else!

Putting all the above aside, we just want to be accepted for the way we are and that we don’t need to be cured or fixed in order to be a productive member of society.

We have a beautiful, vibrant, and healthy Culture that is thriving and we cherish and are proud of. We have art, poetry, movies, stories, humor, history and socialization that is unique from any other Culture in the world.

So, we continue to strive without “hearing” intervention and oppression. We just want people to stop asking about our hearing loss and whether “they” should fix it for us.

One glaring example of everything I just discussed is summed up in this video:

• Notice the comment “Your baby won’t have a normal life”?
• Notice the Deaf couple being treated this way despite having accomplished job positions?
• Notice she had to write on pen and paper?
• Notice “they” wanted to make the decision for the child without the parents?

This is not a "one time" instance, it happens over and over again all over the place. It's usually a daily struggle.

Now I think it’s awesome that more people are learning to sign, but we also need to get rid of the stereotypes and attitudes towards Deafness and the Deaf community.

So please, along with learning ASL - become involved in changing mentalities too.

Whether it’s partial or complete deafblindness, when they’re home people with hearing and sight difficulties need to feel comfortable, safe and completely in charge of their surroundings.

Acquired deafblindness can be frustrating and scary. It forces people to rethink their habits, their needs, and their environment.

To help deafblind people gain their independence, we’ve hand-selected 7 ways to adapt your house in order to accommodate them. 

Whether they live in a studio, apartment or house, one of the first and most important changes for a deafblind person’s environment should be lighting.

​Changing the placement of light fixtures can also help better illuminate dark spaces:
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• Choose the brightest light bulbs. These will come in handy in darker spaces where accidents tend to happen such as the bathroom or on the stairway. Invest in fluorescent bulbs – they emit a more powerful light and they last longer.
• Be generous with the light fixtures. Illuminate the house entirely, including the hallways, closets, and outside.  

​The home of a deafblind person should be a safe haven. Here are some tips to help you create exactly that.

• Install a border in every room. This type of border goes around the edge of the room and helps deafblind people differentiate between the floor and the walls.
• Know what type of flooring you need. Take into consideration the needs and preferences of the deafblind person when choosing a flooring system for the house. The floor should have a non-slip texture. It should also be a different color than the walls and ceilings.
• Pad sharp edges. Accidents can’t always be prevented and they’re bound to happen sooner or later. Padding sharp edges and corners all around the house is especially important for those who recently acquired sight difficulties.
• Install handles and rails. These small additions can make it much easier to navigate the house and get around. They can also serve as points of reference and mark the beginning of a new room.

Electrical items can be tricky to get used to. But it’s not impossible for deafblind people to use them.

Here’s how you can make it go smoother for them.

• Use tactile bumps. This is a simple yet very effective way to help impaired people distinguish between various knobs and control buttons. A marker can easily be glued or attached to things so this is a simple do it yourself project.
• Organize all the wires. You’ll want to make sure you do everything in your power to minimize hazards. This includes a thorough organization of wires that could trip people and cause injury. Use tape or cords to tie wires together and arrange them so they’re never in the way.
• Use contrasts to your advantage. A white switch against a white wall won’t do anyone any favors. Replace the switches as soon as possible with brightly colored ones that easily stand out and are simple to notice. If you can’t change the switches, use colored tape to mark them and help them stand out.

This type of adjustment is essential for safety.

​Here’s how to adapt a bathroom for deafblind people:

• Add non-slip mats and floors. One of the most important adaptations is taking care of any walking surfaces that might be slippery. Invest in non-slip flooring that should go all throughout the bathroom. Add non-slip mats both in the tub and in the shower.
• Install grab rails in key places. The place where you install these might depend on personal preferences. Nonetheless, they are an essential addition that should be in every bathroom. Grab rails and hand rails make it easier for deafblind people to be more independent and find their way easier.
• Use contrasting colors. Both the walls and the accessories in the bathroom should have contrasting colors. For instance, if the tile is white, choose dark colors for the wash basin, toilet seat and towels. This ensures the items pop and are easier to spot for those with partial sight loss. 

Hallways shouldn’t be overlooked when you are working on adapting a home for a deafblind person.

​Here’s what you should know about corridor adaptations:

• Install a lot of grab rails. Grab rails do not only help deafblind people move around the house easier, they also serve as points of reference. For instance, a person will know that there are 3 grab rails between the kitchen and the front door, which helps them navigate smoothly and faster.
• Remove clutter. There shouldn’t be any unnecessary items lying around in hallways or corridors. Coat racks, umbrella holders and shoe racks can create more issues than they are worth. Move them to a separate room or to dedicated shelves where they can’t inconvenience anyone. 

To make it easier to deafblind people to go out or access the garden, here’s what you should keep in mind about outdoor adaptations:

• Maintain the paths. Whether you do it yourself or hire someone else to take care of it on a regular basis, maintaining and repairing paths is a must. They should always be hazard-free, especially during winter months when rain can easily transform into dangerously slippery ice.
• Install big door handles. The locks on doors should be easy to operate both from inside and outside. The door handles should be as big as possible without being cumbersome. This makes them easier to grab and open the door.

There are special alerting systems designed for people with hearing and sight difficulties that keep them informed about what is happing: phone ringing, smoke alarm going off or someone at the door.

• Pager. This is a simple to use device that can be carried in the pocket or attached to clothing. The pager uses vibrating signals to inform the user about alerts or alarms.
• Bed shaker. This device is usually placed under the pillow during nighttime and vibrates to alert people with hearing and sight difficulties. A bed shaker can be connected to the alarm clock or smoke alarm system.

About the Author:
 John Stuart works on behalf of raisedfloor.co.ukin outreach and content creation. He creates engaging content that help businesses connect with their audience and stand out from the crowd

It can be difficult for parents to find fun activities for their children to enjoy outdoors. But, this becomes even more of a challenge if your child has vision or hearing loss. Many of the activities that other children love simply won’t be enjoyable to a child who cannot hear or see. Fortunately, there are still plenty of activities that deaf or blind children can partake outdoors.

Here are a few:

​Kids are used to being told no when it comes to playing in the dirt, so they will jump at the opportunity to do so with your approval. Gardening is not only a proven stress reliever, but it’s also a perfect activity for deaf or blind children because it engages the sense of smell. Encourage your child to plant fragrant flowers or strong-smelling herbs so they can connect with nature like never before.

Riding a bike may be challenging for children who have visual or hearing loss. These children will have a hard time steering the bike or listening for sounds of trouble, such as a honking horn. Solve this problem by buying a tandem bike to use with your child. On most tandem bikes, the person in the front is responsible for steering. Therefore, you can look out for obstacles and listen for potential dangers while your child peddles behind you. This is a great way for kids with hearing or vision loss to enjoy the simple pleasure of riding a bike.

Research local nature trails in your community and bring your kids along to spend a day in the great outdoors. Children who are deaf will love being able to see the beautiful birds, brightly colored flowers, and majestic trees, while children who are blind will be able to listen to the sounds of birds chirping, water flowing, and wind blowing. You can even have your child collect different bird feathers, rocks, or flowers that you see along the way to engage his sense of touch

It may be hard for visually challeneged children to participate in some playground activities, but every child can get a kick out of the swing set. Push your child on the swings and let him feel the wind through his hair and discover his own power by pumping his legs. Swing isn’t just fun—it’s incredibly calming, too. Therefore, it’s the perfect activity for children who have recently had emotional outbursts.

While you’re at the playground, don’t forget to take a trip to the sandbox. Deaf children will love being able to dig their hands into the sand and create castles, buildings, and anything else that their hearts desire. Children who are visually challenged will enjoy the sensory experience of running the sand through their fingers or making sand angels.
So you see, all children can enjoy the outdoors, even those who have vision or hearing loss. There are still several months of summer left, so don’t let your kids waste anymore time indoors. Encourage them to get off of the couch and head outside to try some of these fun activities!

Did you know that there's about 15.3% of adults in the United States who have trouble hearing, and 9.4% of adults who have trouble seeing?

So if these adults cannot access your website, you're losing customers.

Several factors impede your potential clients ability to read your website.

These include:

• Busy background - text on top of a photograph without a blank background to differentiate background and text is hard to read.
• Busy font - picking a unique font like calligraphy is hard to read. You could try enlarging the space between letters to improve it somewhat, but keep the fonts simple.
• No contrasting colors - Using dark text on a dark background, or vice versa, is hard ti make out. Use contrasting colors such as black on white, white on black, and similar strong contrasts.

These are a simple website overhaul update to fix and can help your other customers as well.

​Simple is better.

This is the number one complaint I've seen among the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Even taking it to Social Media after "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" turned off their subtitles midway through their trailer.

Subtitles don't just benefit the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, they also benefit Seniors with hearing loss and consumers shopping online with their volume muted.

Please don't trust YouTube to do it for you by "automatic captioning" - watch one for yourself and you'll see they suck! It's easy to upload a written transcript, have Youtube sync it, then correct any timing errors.

Almost every website has images, nothing wrong with that, but not providing alternate text is where you can go wrong.

Blind and visually impaired viewers would like to know what your pictures are about too.

Another inconvenience about images are about restaurant menus. Many blind and visually impaired people (including myself) likes to preview a restaurant's menu online before going to eat there. This is mainly due to restaurants having inaccessible menus - no braille or large print versions available. But many online menus are photos only and have no descriptions at all.

So offer alternate text versions of all your images for screenreaders and braille readers to access.

The older captcha system was inacessible to low vision users, screenreaders for the blind, and the Deafblind who could not see the visual clue nor hear the audio clue.

The newer Captcha systems are getting better nowadays (such as Google's ReCaptcha Reboot (the "I am not a robot" option).

​So be sure to update your captcha system and offer accessible alternatives.

When opening a new account, or posting something online, or when requesting account changes, many sites require user verification.

Some sites are great and offer options for contact - text, email, saved security questions, or phone options that we can chose from depending on our disability.

There's two Sites that have been a bane of mine for the last several weeks:

• Twitter - I wanted to open a separate account for this website to keep business and personal separate. Twitter demanded a phone verification, no text or email option. I tried with my CapTel phone, then I asked my son to listen for me (which defeats the purpose of being "independent") to where Twitter shut down the notification code due to "technical difficulties". Tweets to and an email garnered no response for two weeks. I finally received an email stating that my account was accidentally "scooped" up by bots as being malicious.
• Fiverr, A freelance gig site - Tried posting a gig to earn a little money, but when it was time to post it I was required to verify myself. The options were an SMS text or a Phone call.  I tried BOTH, but kept getting a message that my number cannot be used. After an email to them I find out I have to use a "REAL" number. Not a free TextMe App or VoIP numbers. Well excuse me, if I could afford cellphone contracts or phone plans instead of MagicJack I wouldn't NEED Fiverr for "extra money" now would I?

So please offer more ways for people with disabilities to verify themselves.

Using the wrong terminology to identify various people with disabilities can turn these people away from your site.

Before writing up an article, describing a product, or even inventing a product, please do your research. It's easy to "Google" a disability topic and read social media posts, blogs and support agency websites and pick up on the terminology used by that group.

For example, don't use the outdated "Deaf and Mute" to describe the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Some don't even like the term "Hearing Impaired" either. Also don't go inventing your own terms to sound trendy like saying "hearingless".


Following these simple guidelines to prevent losing 18.1% of your potential customers. People with disabilities are a larger customer base than people with a Hispanic background (13.3%). So it's worth the investment to make these simple tweaks to your website for more clients.