Think about your last visit to the GP.
A nurse calls your name. You move through the appointment, share the information you have, answer questions and then decisions are made about your health.
Now imagine being in that same room, but the conversation is out of reach.
You are aware that people are speaking, but you cannot grasp what they are saying. You wait for meaning to catch up. Sometimes it does, often it does not.
For many people who are deafblind, this is an everyday experience.
We are marking New Zealand Sign Language Week at a time when awareness is growing. More people are learning signs, more organisations are showing support, and this matters.
But awareness on its own is not enough.
New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) has been an official language for two decades, yet access to it remains inconsistent across the places that shape our daily lives — healthcare, workplaces, public services, education and community spaces.
That gap should concern all of us.
Accessible communication is not a nice-to-have. It is how we can all take part. It is how decisions are understood, trust is built and care is delivered safely. It is also how people stay connected within their own communities. Yet people who are deafblind and use tactile sign language can face reduced access to interpreting support and services compared with NZSL users.
When communication is not accessible, people are left out. They have valuable insight to contribute, but the system was not designed with them in mind.
This is where the focus needs to shift.
Too often, we place the responsibility on people who are deafblind to adapt. To request interpreters and navigate systems that were never built for them. To carry the load of access on their own.
We need to turn that around.
Communication access is a shared responsibility.
It starts with planning. Booking an interpreter should be standard practice in healthcare and other essential services, not a last-minute fix. Appointments and services, particularly in healthcare, should be designed with access in mind from the beginning.
Information should be available in formats people can use, when they need it.
It also means building capability. Learning some New Zealand Sign Language is a great step. But it is not the whole answer. Organisations need to invest in systems, training, and resources that make access consistent, not occasional.
And it means valuing the people who make communication possible. Interpreters play a critical role, yet demand continues to outpace supply. Sustainable funding and workforce development are essential if we want access to be reliable.
We also need to look at how we build a sustainable workforce for access. That includes stronger, more formal training pathways for tactile sign language interpreting, so people who are deafblind can rely on skilled support in the same way deaf people rely on NZSL interpreters. It means recognising tactile communication as a defined area of practice, investing in training, and ensuring funding and workforce planning reflect this need, not treat it as an add-on.
Inclusion does not happen by default. Even within NZSL spaces, people who are deafblind and use tactile communication can find themselves on the margins. Creating connection means recognising and valuing different ways of communicating and making space for everyone to take part.
Most importantly, it means listening.
People who are deafblind are experts in their own lives. They know what works, what does not and what needs to change. When they are part of designing services and systems from the start, the outcomes are better for everyone.
At Blind Low Vision NZ, we recognise how access to communication shapes connection every day, including for people who are deafblind and rely on tactile forms of communication. Different people communicate in different ways. What matters is that the environment supports that, not blocks it.
NZSL Week is an opportunity to move beyond awareness and into action.
Think about the next healthcare appointment you support, attend, or design.
Who is it not working for?
And what will you do differently?
Because if communication matters — and it does — then access must, too.
• Andrea Midgen is the chief executive of Blind Low Vision NZ
