Guide Dogs WA

Congratulations to our wonderful volunteer, Kasia Pasternak, on becoming an Australian citizen! 🇦🇺 🐾

Today, Kasia celebrated this special milestone at her citizenship ceremony in the Undalup Room at the City of Busselton, with Guide Dog in Training Maxi and Puppy in Training Lila by her side.

Kasia has been an incredible supporter of Guide Dogs WA, previously boarding Daisy and most recently welcoming Lila into her home. We're so grateful for everything she does and were thrilled to help celebrate this memorable occasion.

*Pictured with Mayor Phil Cronin and Federal Member for Forrest, Ben Small.

Your gift this tax time will help ensure people like Patrick and his family have access to a lifetime of support.

Donate now: https://bit.ly/4uMfytB

This week is Deafblind Awareness Week (DBAW) 2026, and we’re doing our part to spread the word!

DBAW exists to raise awareness about the challenges faced by people with combined hearing and vision impairments. But it’s also a great opportunity to celebrate the resilience and achievements of those living with deafblindness (also known as dual sensory loss).

The first Deafblind Awareness Day was held in 1984 and was created to coincide with Helen Keller’s birthday (but more on her soon!) It’s now been going for 42 years – no small achievement!

This year’s campaign is centred around the theme: "Connected by Touch: Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges". It highlights the essential role of touch in communication, connection, and independent access for Deafblind individuals.

On that theme, let’s talk a little about deafblind communication:

Deafblind communication varies from person to person. In large part, this is informed by each person’s specific needs, as well as to what degree they are deaf and blind/low vision. While traditional sign languages, such as Auslan, were typically designed only with deafness in mind, people with deafblindness often use modified versions adapted to their needs. Tactile or Hand over Hand Auslan, for example, adapts Auslan into a touch-based format. Deafblind fingerspelling is another way someone with deafblindness might communicate, which changes traditional sign language alphabets into touch-based ones!

There's always more to talk about, but we will leave it there for today. Let's all come together to spread the word, and make DBAD 2026 one to remeber!