DeafBlind Awareness Week 2026: A Nationwide Celebration of Connection
DeafBlind Awareness Week 2026 brought together partners, proclamations, and communities across the country under the theme "Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges." Here's how the week unfolded.
As DeafBlind Awareness Week (DBAW) 2026 comes to a close, we celebrate the collaboration, learning, and community engagement that took place nationwide. This year’s theme, “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” highlighted the many ways DeafBlind individuals connect, communicate, and thrive.
Observed June 25 through July 1, DeafBlind Awareness Week began in honor of Helen Keller’s birthday and has grown into a national advocacy campaign to raise awareness of individuals who are DeafBlind. Participation across the country was strong, with Regional Representatives, partner organizations, state agencies, educators, service providers, families, and community members joining together to advance awareness and inclusion.
Free Education for the Field
HKNC offered four free online courses covering foundational topics in DeafBlindness, creating opportunities for professionals, families, and community members to learn more about DeafBlindness, communication, accessibility, and support strategies.
The week also featured two national webinars:
Tactile Orientation and Mobility Strategies for DeafBlind Travelers, presented by Dr. Amy Parker and Dr. Tara Brown-Ogilvie, shared research findings from HKNC and Portland State University, with ACVREP CEUs available.
Introduction to Protactile Philosophy, presented by renowned Protactile trainers Rhonda Voight-Campbell and Roberto Cabrera, explored the philosophy, culture, and transformative impact of Protactile communication within the DeafBlind community.
A National Proclamation, Six Partner Organizations
Six national organizations joined HKNC as co-signers of the national proclamation: the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA), the American Association of the DeafBlind (AADB), the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, the National Center on Deafblindness (NCDB), the National Family Association for DeafBlind (NFADB), and the Usher Syndrome Coalition.
Proclamations from Nine Jurisdictions
Nine state and local jurisdictions issued proclamations recognizing DBAW 2026: Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, the City of Louisville, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. North Carolina went further, designating the full month of June as DeafBlind Awareness Month.
Each proclamation represents real people showing up, real conversations happening, and real progress toward broader recognition of the DeafBlind community. The full list, with the language of each proclamation, is available on the DBAW 2026 Proclamations page.
Read more in our earlier post: Governors of Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Sign Proclamations Recognizing DeafBlind Awareness Week
A Bridge Lit Red in Louisville
On June 27, Helen Keller’s birthday, the Big Four Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky was lit in red across the Ohio River in honor of DeafBlind Awareness Week. Kentucky’s celebration also included a public reading of the state’s proclamation, with legislators, Mayor Craig Greenberg’s office, and Congressman Morgan McGarvey’s office in attendance to learn more about the DeafBlind community.
This year’s theme was “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges.” In Louisville, that last phrase took physical form. A bridge across a river, connecting two states, standing in for everything this week is meant to do.
A Campaign That Reached New Audiences
Social media played a significant role in extending the campaign’s reach this year. Because many in the DeafBlind community and our partner networks do not regularly access Facebook, we want to share some of the campaign’s most-engaged moments here.
The campaign launched on June 4 with the unveiling of this year’s poster and theme, “Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges.” That post, which linked to the poster reveal blog article, drew 52 reactions and 58 shares.
The June 10 post celebrating the Kansas proclamation signing drew 141 reactions and 48 shares, making it one of the strongest state-level moments of the campaign. A follow-up post on June 17 highlighting proclamations from Kansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania continued that momentum under the banner “Building Bridges, State by State.”
The opening day post on June 25 announced that DeafBlind Awareness Week had officially begun and featured an image from the campaign creative. It reached 132 reactions and 86 shares.
The June 27 post honoring Helen Keller’s birthday became one of HKS/HKNC’s most-shared Facebook posts to date, reaching more than 330 shares, close to 1,000 reactions, and 70,000 views. The post featured a lesser-known quote from Keller’s 1908 book The World I Live In: “The warm, endearing contact of human hands.” More than a century after she wrote it, the line still holds.
Two ASL video posts promoting the national webinars also drove strong engagement. The Tactile O&M promo, delivered in ASL by Maricar Marquez, reached 7,600 views with 60 shares. The Protactile Philosophy promo, delivered in ASL by Ashley Benton, reached 6,400 views with 37 shares.
A closing post on July 2 featured the Big Four Bridge lit red in Louisville, connecting the campaign theme to a physical moment of recognition across state lines.
The Campaign Poster
The 2026 DBAW campaign poster was distributed nationwide to support local outreach. If you would like a hard copy, please contact the HKNC Marketing team at marketing@helenkeller.org while supplies last.
Thank You
To the governors, mayors, and legislators who issued proclamations. To the Regional Representatives who organized readings and celebrations. To the HKNC staff and community members who hosted webinars, planned events, and showed up. To ADARA, the American Association of the DeafBlind, the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, the National Center on Deafblindness, the National Family Association for Deaf-Blind, and the Usher Syndrome Coalition, our joint proclamation partners. And to everyone who joined a webinar, shared a post, or learned something new this week.
Thank you. You are the bridges that connect us.
Looking Ahead to DBAW 2027
Planning for DBAW 2027 will begin soon, with the planning committee expected to launch in August or September 2026. States and partners are encouraged to begin considering awareness activities and collaboration opportunities. The 2027 theme and proclamation template are expected to be released by January 2027.
The full DBAW 2026 campaign archive lives at www.helenkeller.org/dbaw2026.
