Forums » RP Discussion » I Need Character Help: Deaf x Blind Communication

Hey, y'all! So, uh, I'm rewriting a couple characters of mine and I need a little help!

So, a long while back, I had made a deaf princess and blind prince that were betrothed to each other and I had them using a system where the princess would sign into the prince's hands to communicate with him (their world is a medieval-ish fantasy world, so there isn't really technology that'd make it easier on them...) I was wondering if this was an okay method for me to keep them using? Or is there a better method for them to use that doesn't involve really advanced technology aside from having an interpreter? Sure, they and their families would have the money for a 24/7 interpreter, but I'm sure there'd be times they wanted to have a private conversation for just the two of them or there could be times the interpreter wasn't there.

So, uh, sorry for kinda rambling, but some help would be appreciated!

I think another alternative is for them to communicate to their own means. The deaf princess could just speak. Deaf does not mean mute. If they were born deaf they would probably require vocal therapy as they grew up and if money is no issue, this could be possible. They'd probably have a 'deaf accent' or a 'deaf voice'.

The blind prince could just use normal sign language. (The Princess can see, after all) I imagine the gestures of sign language is probably a difficult thing for a blind person to pick up, but they'd have to overcome this hurdle even if they were using the "draw in palm" method.

Thanks so much for the advice! Yeah, I can see the princess getting voice therapy, so she could speak to communicate with the prince while the prince signs to communicate with the princess. I was planning to have the princess be deaf from birth while the prince lost his vision later in his life, so maybe he could've been learning sign language before he became blind.

It's definitely true that deaf doesn't mean mute and there are plenty of Deaf people who communicate verbally. However, it's also equally true that there are plenty of Deaf people who choose to speak through sign language only (meaning they don't speak out loud.)

So really either option works, and it largely depends on the deaf princess' character. Being born deaf; having Deaf friends/family; and being part of any Deaf community are all factors that may contribute to her using sign language over speaking verbally or vice-versa. Also, Deaf people being made to speak verbally even when they don't want to is a problem irl, so it's a sensitive topic and I recommend doing a lot of research if you go that route.

If you choose to have your Deaf character be non-verbal, having the prince learn sign language before he went blind is a perfectly fine option, I think.

But if you wanted to have him learn it sometime later after they're betrothed, signing into his hand like you're describing is also a great option (and personally I think it has a lot of romantic potential if that's what you're going for.) IRL, it's called tactile signing. It's often used by people who are both deaf and blind (like Helen Keller,) so I'd imagine it could easily be used for a Deaf person to communicate with a Blind person.

Disclaimer: While I have done a lot of research and have family members involved in the Deaf Community, I myself am not part of that community so take what I say with a grain of salt and do plenty of research if you're aiming for an accurate, sensitive portrayal of Deaf and Blind people

TL;DR is you have a lot of fun options, just be sure to do some research ^^

All I can add is that I've been told that signing into hands is how communication is done for those who are both deaf and blind, but will also note this was something I was told years ago and I don't remember if whoever told me would count as a reliable source or not.

Thanks so much for the advice, y'all! I think I came up with a little bit of a method for Eris (the princess) to communicate; so, she usually uses a notebook to communicate with people or sign language of they understand it. For Arthur (the prince), she usually uses tactile signing, but if he's having a hard time understanding, she clarifies what she said by speaking. I can see her being a little self conscious of her speaking voice (since she doesn't know how she sounds) so she tends to save speaking as a last resort.

Having worked with deaf/blind people one of my clients used a mixture of drawing letters on the hand and certain cues on the body. Like to brush hair we would or she would lightly tap her hair. Or for shower you would do the BSL for 'shower' which is up in the air but with a hand over hand you can feel what the action means.

Blind also doesn't always mean a person sees complete darkness or black there are many different types of what is considered 'blind'

Thanks so much for the advice!

I was kinda planning for my prince character to possibly be able to see, like, vague shadows, but it's only when he's really trying to focus.