Dreams

I have wondered for a while how those who are both blind and deaf think and dream. People that are not blind or deaf may think words and dream pictures, and I assume someone who has just one of the conditions  would think and dream using the things learnt through senses which they do have. However a person who is both deaf and blind would not know what words sound like or things felt like, and would have no memories of vision or sound to call upon.
Having looked it up today I found that they simply think the signs which they will have learnt to communicate with, "feeling" the words in their hands in the same way that someone who still has both senses would "hear" and "see" thoughts. They may also imagine braille if they use it, or if they can write than they may imagine the movement use to make the word.
A deaf-blind person can also experience feelings, smells and tastes in their dreams often recalled for memories - just as a person without either condition would recall memories - rather than movements and the feelings of their usual methods of communications, as dreams often more closely resemble reality.
I find this incredibly interesting as I, having no visual or hearing impairments, have of course always been incredibly reliant upon both my hearing and vision. The idea of dreaming in smells and tastes seems incredibly interesting to me and I would love to experience such a dream.

During a student panel interview which I took part in the other day, a candidate mentioned a really interesting idea - a community day for primary school students, during which basic language skills are taught using games and fun activities. I really like the sound of the idea, and if she does not get the job and bring this idea to the school, I may suggest it to the language teachers myself. I believe that introducing children to languages at a younger age is a great thing to do. In Europe, children are taught languages from a very young age, and are constantly exposed to other languages - especially English - and their success in picking up foreign languages seems to suggest that they're doing something right. I really hope we will be able to introduce this kind of community day within the school.