Karine V. Hestholm at Deafblind International
DbI conference, Aalborg 2017
By Karine V. Hestholm:
I really appreciate all the positive feedback and I'm touched that a whole room was moved by my story about the sense of touch - and about Jesper. "The sense of touch is a complex interplay of many senses and is experienced throughout the entire body - something many people may not realise on a daily basis.
During the ninth European conference "Touch of closeness" organised by Deafblind International (DbI), together with Grzegorz Kozłowski, Grete A. Steigen and Kari S. Brede, I had the opportunity to present my personal story and experience of using the tactile sense. This was in front of hundreds of participants from all over the world.
- It was a bit surreal to stand in front of so many people and tell my story, my experiences and reflections on the topic of touch. I was very excited - and hoped that through my story with my horse Jesper and congenital deafblindness, I could help to illuminate, inspire and challenge the view of the complexity and use of the tactile sense. For Jesper has been a central part of my life and the story has a deeper meaning than just having a horse. I received stimuli and development in a unique way through Jesper that has affected my function and awareness of sensing the world with my whole body. This is what my talk "Feel the world" was about at the DbI conference. I was asked two years ago if I would like to give a presentation at the DbI European conference in 2017 and share some of my experiences of how I use the tactile sense in my everyday life. It was nice to be asked, but also a bit scary. I really had a lot on my mind, but there's an art to putting my points into words - especially in English.
- In reality, sensing "the world" is a complex interaction where motor, sensory and cognitive processes interact and provide feedback, but not least factors in the environment and individual preconditions also have an impact. When one sense fails in this interaction, other senses must compensate, develop and create new experiences. Sensing through creating movement experiences has been important to me, and on horseback I have had a safe environment to explore movements and my senses. In addition, all-round physical activity growing up has given me a foundation to build on. In order for movements to become automatic, you need repeated repetitions, so the question is how to create a safe environment so that people with a combined vision and hearing loss can have the opportunity to express themselves. It's a balancing act between challenge and mastery. If the challenges are based on an unreasonable framework, there is no opportunity to explore, repeat and experience mastery. Awareness of factors - physical, psychological, social and individual - has an impact on these elementary conditions. I don't have a set answer, but I hope that by becoming aware and having the opportunity to explore, everyone can find their own answers to this, which is something I ended my talk by saying something about:
"My relationships become my senses and helps me develop my own strength and capability for reaching new goals. Climbing new mountains. As I do here, telling my stories to you and hopefully inspiring others to find their paths in life. When do you feel safe? Who do you feel safe with? Where are your future mountains to climb, and when are you going to dare to take the first step? Maybe you are too safe, and maybe you really need to start hiking? Find your foundation. For me it was my relationship with my life companions, two-legged and four-legged, and our mutual relationship built on communication, respect, most importantly, collaboration. I hope you find yours!"