THE BIGGER PICTURE: When Helen Keller became deaf and blind following a childhood illness, it was thought that she could never be independent, never communicate and would live in a world of darkness and silence.
Through the determination of her family, the dedication of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, and her own resolve, Helen became an inspirational figure, whose legacy continues to motivate people today, 38 years after her death.
Born on June 27th, 1880, a sudden illness left Helen deaf and blind and she became a difficult child. Tantrums were her sole means of communicating until Anne Sullivan taught her to spell out and read words on her hand, releasing Helen from her introverted world.
Helen saw only the possibilities that her disability presented. Her perceptions of the people around her were often profoundly accurate. She believed that "the public must learn that the blind man is neither genius nor a freak nor an idiot. He has a mind that can be educated, a hand which can be trained, ambitions which it is right for him to strive to realise, and it is the duty of the public to help him make the best of himself so that he can win light through work."
It is difficult to gauge the exact number of people with vision impairment in Ireland, and it is even harder to determine how many people are deafblind because people with disabilities, particularly those with deafblindness, often live in such isolation that we are unaware of their existence.
The responsibility to challenge the attitudes, behaviours and policies that discriminate against people with disabilities has long been the remit of the numerous charitable organisations which endeavour to champion the rights of people with disabilities.
The ethos behind charitable agencies has evolved, as notions of "helping the helpless" are left behind and we become advocacy organisations which work on behalf of and with people with disabilities instead, seeking to help people to help themselves.
The Anne Sullivan Foundation for Deafblind is the Irish national agency which provides residential care and education programmes for the deafblind.
Deafblindness presents unique challenges for those experiencing dual sensory impairment and their families.
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) is in its 75th year, having been established in 1931 to promote the physical, economic and social independence of people with vision impairments and to minimise the disabling effects of sight loss.
We endeavour to achieve this by providing mobility training, independent living skills, counselling, employment services, training opportunities and other activities, all centred around the individual needs of our service users. We also try to effect greater change in attitudes by forcing people to challenge their beliefs. The language used in reference to people with vision impairments ranges from pity of what people perceive to be a life of darkness to amazement at achievements considered "normal".
NCBI provides services to more than 10,000 people, 82 per cent of whom have some usable vision but an absence of a wider debate on what blindness or deafness mean prevents a greater understanding of sensory disabilities.
People who are deaf, blind or deafblind often struggle to be seen as individuals in their own right.
Helen Keller believed that "the highest result of education is tolerance". Perhaps the best way to educate society on disability issues and to create a wider understanding is by encouraging the increased participation of people with disabilities in civil society through empowerment and "mainstreaming".
A crucial part of the mainstreaming process is not simply for the needs of people with disabilities to be considered by decision-makers but also for people with disabilities to be part of the decision-making process. This raises the question of whether mainstreaming will bring about greater inclusion, or vice versa.
While individuals and disability groups are doing what they can to encourage greater inclusion, a more conscious and widespread effort is needed to mainstream disability issues into everyday life and decisions.
Consider the number of new technologies that have become part of our everyday lives: ATMs, online shopping and banking, chip and pin transactions and mobile phones.
The failure to consult people with vision impairments in the development of such technologies has meant that many are inaccessible. If the functionality of such technologies was considered from all angles at an earlier stage in the development process, there would be no need for the backfilling that now has to be done to ensure accessibility after huge amounts of money have already been invested.
Greater social inclusion will require that all aspects of social policy are examined from a human rights viewpoint and for the impact on people who are marginalised in society. People with disabilities must have the opportunity to give feedback and for their views to be seriously considered and acted upon.
The achievement of this ideal need not take away from the important work that is being done by disability groups and the value of the specialised services that are being offered. To take away special services in the name of inclusion is to sometimes impoverish rather than to enrich the lives of people with disabilities.
People with disabilities have been adapting for centuries but in the coming years we must find real and workable ways to meet half way. In the words of Helen Keller, "It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision."
Des Kenny is the chief executive of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland. For more information visit www.ncbi.ie or phone 01 8307033.
Shalini Sinha is on leave.