Central Ohio Nonprofit Columbus Speech & Hearing Announces DeafBlind Storytelling event on Feb. 2, 2025 at area art museum
Columbus Speech & Hearing (CSH), central Ohio’s premier nonprofit for speech-language and audiology services, will host a storytelling event featuring five DeafBlind adults served through its Support Service Provider (SSP) program.
The event is free and open to the public on Sunday, February 2, 2025 from 1-3p at the Columbus Museum of Art, including free entry to the museum as part of free community days.
The storytelling event is made possible through program funding from the Ohio General Assembly allocated in the 2024-2025 Biennial Budget.
Each storyteller experiences deafblindness in a unique way. Many will use Tactile American Sign Language, which is communicating with another person by touch, hand over hand. When our storytellers use this technique, an interpreter will speak for the benefit of the audience’s understanding.
The five participants in the Feb. 2 workshop are from Columbus (far east area), Westerville, Blacklick, and Parma (Cleveland area). The participants experience a variety of deafblindness from Usher Syndrome, progressive decline of vision or hearing, or complete loss of both at birth.
Ohio Support Service Provider (SSP) Program
As the only SSP program in the state, Columbus Speech & Hearing seeks to serve all DeafBlind individuals who would benefit from these specialized services. Deafblindness is an isolating condition. SSPs are trained sight guides and providers of visual information. These services allow DeafBlind individuals to maintain independence.
“We’re proud to offer an SSP program to the DeafBlind community but there is a great need in our state for more services like ours,” said James O. Dye, president and CEO of CSH.
For more information about the SSP program, how to apply for these services or to become a Support Service Provider, visit our SSP pilot program page.
About Columbus Speech & Hearing
For 100 years, Columbus Speech & Hearing has been the leading nonprofit serving the communication needs of central Ohio. CSH has offices in Clintonville, Dublin and Westerville.
For questions about the DeafBlind “My Life, My Story” event, contact Bridget Tharp at btharp@columbusspeech.org or 614.261.5435.