Lingue dei segni e sordità

Social-Haptic Communication in Brazil and its Developments

Paths and Possibilities

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Abstract

Social-haptic communication (SHC) is a kinaesthetic language structured through touch on the body of a person who is deafblind. It extends beyond conventional visual and tactile modes of alternative communication, enabling linguistic organisation through grammatical rules. This article presents and discusses the main findings of the first author’s doctoral research, focusing on the training of guide-interpreters and the structuring of SHC in its consolidation as a natural language. In addition, it examines the role of narrative in constructing knowledge about and within SHC. This qualitative, narrative-based study draws upon the accounts of deafblind individuals and guide-interpreters who participated in a training course conducted by the first author. Their experiences served as the foundation for data collection and analysis.


open access | peer reviewed

Submitted: March 20, 2025 | Accepted: Sept. 22, 2025 | Published Feb. 2, 2026 | Language: en

Keywords Narrative • Libras • Deafblindness • Social-Haptic Communication • Training • Guide-Interpreter

Copyright © 2026 Elaine Gomes Vilela, Adriana Barroso de Azevedo, Stephanie Caroline Alves Vasconcelos. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/979-12-5742-007-9/006


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