June is Deafblind Awareness Month: Celebrating Community, Breaking Down Barriers
June is Deafblind Awareness Month, a dedicated time to support and learn from the deafblind community while celebrating the people who are part of it. The month aims to foster greater understanding and create a more inclusive society for individuals living with combined vision and hearing loss.
Ryan Riehl: Finding Purpose Through Art and Sport
Ryan Riehl, a deafblind individual from Saskatchewan, embodies the resilience and creativity that defines many people in the deafblind community. An award-winning water skier, Riehl recalls how quickly he took to the sport. “It was kind of amazing. Within probably a week, two weeks I was on skis by myself,” he said.
However, a back injury forced Riehl to give up water skiing. Rather than let the loss define him, he turned to painting — specifically, sunsets. “My mother got me into painting. She thought I could do it and put images that I see in my head on canvas. So I started painting, and one image that I remember when I could see really well was a sunset. And I thought it was really nice to be able to see sunsets and trees,” Riehl shared.
His journey reflects a broader truth about life with deafblindness. As Riehl explained, “It’s about finding things to keep you busy. You can’t just… pick up the phone and call a friend.” Despite the challenges, he has found meaningful ways to engage with the world around him.
A Life Shaped by Changing Abilities
Riehl’s path to deafblindness began early. At the age of nine, he developed a tumor on his optic nerve, which affected his vision. Then, in his 30s, he began losing his hearing — a change that doctors were unable to fully explain. Over time, Riehl adapted to living with both vision and hearing loss, demonstrating that people with deafblindness can lead rich, fulfilling lives.
Raising Awareness and Challenging Misconceptions
More than 600,000 people in Canada over the age of 15 identify as deafblind. Despite this significant number, awareness and understanding of the community remain limited. Deafblind Awareness Month seeks to change that by educating the public and breaking down persistent myths.
Patricia Spicer, who is deafblind herself, works as a career counselor and early childhood and family care worker supporting others in the community. She says misconceptions are widespread. “Many people think that people in the deafblind community are completely deaf and completely blind. That’s not true. A lot of people think that deafblind people can’t communicate. That’s not true either. A lot of people think that deafblind people can’t live independently or that they can’t have a job, but they can,” Spicer explained.
How You Can Help
Spicer emphasizes that making a difference starts with education and an open heart. “Awareness is important because it helps people understand the deafblind community. It breaks down barriers and there are many different opportunities for misunderstandings, but that allows for inclusion in the community,” she said. She encourages people to take the time to learn about the community and be supportive. “It’s really important to just learn about the community as a whole.”
A Message From the Community
Riehl offered a simple but powerful reminder: “It’s important for everyone to know that we are out there. You may not see or hear us often, but we are out there.”
To mark DeafBlind Awareness Month, the City of Regina will illuminate City Hall with blue lights from June 26 through June 28, shining a visible spotlight on a community that deserves greater recognition and inclusion year-round.
