Tadoma

A tactile method of communication used by individuals who are deafblind, in which the receiver places their hand on the speaker's face — thumb lightly on the lips and fingers along the jawline and cheek — to feel the movements of speech including lip movements, vibrations, and airflow. Named after the first two children taught using this method (Tad Chapman and Oma Simpson) at the Perkins School for the Blind in the 1920s, Tadoma enables some deafblind individuals to understand spoken language through touch alone. Research at MIT demonstrated that supplementary tactile displays (such as the Palatograph) could enhance Tadoma communication by providing additional tongue-placement information. Tadoma remains one of the few methods for real-time tactile speech perception without electronic technology.