• A Deaf-Blind Person is someone with loss of both sight and hearing. This results in difficulties accessing information.
  
  
• In Canada there are approximately 7,000 people who are Deaf-Blind, about 2,310 live in Ontario.
  
  
• Most of these individuals live in our communities and go to the same schools, jobs and shopping areas as we do.
  
  
• Intervenor Services, sometimes referred to as intervention, is the provision of visual and auditory information.
  
  
• Intervenors act as Interpreter-Guides and provide access to information. George Brown College in Toronto and Medicine Hat College in Alberta have two year intervenor training programs.
  
  
• There are many different communication systems used by Deaf-Blind persons, some use the same system as Helen Keller. These systems include:
  

• Two-Hand Manual (tactile spelling)
  
  
• Finger Spelling - visual or tactile
  Sign Language
  
  
• Braille
  
  
• Large Print
  
  
• Keyboard Devices with refreshable braille displays and/or large print displays, etc.
  

• The Canadian National Society of the Deaf-Blind (CNSDB) has a total of 165 Members - 97 Deaf-Blind Members and 68 Sighted-Hearing Members.
  
  
• The Deaf-Blind Association of Toronto (DBAT) has a total of 69 Members, 37 of which are Deaf-Blind and 32 who are Sighted-Hearing Members.
  
  
• Rotary Cheshire is the only barrier-free independent living apartment building in North America where persons who are Deaf-Blind can direct their own services.