I am grateful to Statped for the opportunity to attend the course Tactile Communication (TAKOM) – Modules 1, 2, and 3.

TAKOM (website) is an online resource where people can learn tactile signing. Tactile signing is based on sign language and involves communication through touch. It is used by people who have both hearing loss and visual impairment. 
The course combines theory around tactile communication, practical exercises in tactile signing, and the sharing of experiences.

In 2024 and 2025, I also attended the courses Tactile Book (read more: 2024, 2025), organised by Statped. Through these courses, I learned about the importance of tactile senses for blind, visually impaired, and deafblind people, and I created tactile books that can be understood through touch.


Module 1 (29 January)

One of the key learnings for me was the variety of forms within tactile communication and the barriers surrounding it. Tactile communication includes more than tactile signing; it also involves forms such as haptic communication, mimetic signs, and trace signs. I found strong potential in integrating these forms into my artistic practice as well.

There are several barriers to tactile communication. For example, some people have negative reactions to touch. This highlights the importance of building trust, having patience, and offering diverse tactile experiences.

Participants practiced tactile signing in pairs: one person wore a blindfold while the other provided tactile signing, such as introducing names and simple words. While wearing the blindfold, it was extremely difficult to guess words without any visual context. This experience made me realise again how much I rely on my visual sense.

I am very much looking forward to learning more about it in the following modules.


Module 2 (26 February)

In Module 1, I learned in the theory that there are various forms of tactile communication. In Module 2, we had group work where we practiced expressing three different types of tactile communication: sportegn (trace signs), mimetiske tegn (mimetic signs), and avlesningstegn (reading signs).

This is how I understand the differences through the theory and the practice:

Sportegn (trace signs)

A sign based on a bodily emotional or sensory experience that leaves a trace in the body, which the person expresses by touching or indicating that place.

Example: Stumbling and feeling pain in my ankle → I touch or rub my ankle.


Mimetiske tegn (mimetic signs)

A sign where the person acts out or imitates an activity, event, or movement based on bodily experience.

Example: Rock climbing → mimicking the climbing movement.


Avlesningstegn (reading signs)

A sign that is produced after tactually reading another person's sign, often repeated to show understanding.

Example: Person A signs something → Person B reads it tactually and repeats it → Person A confirms whether it was correct.


Most of the participants work in schools or other educational settings. Each of us created an action plan describing in which situations, how, and what kind of tactile communication we could use in our workplaces. This will be our homework to carry out and present in Module 3.

For example, someone who works in a kindergarten planned to use tactile communication when going for a walk in the forest with the children. They listed several tactile signs that could be used in that situation.


I believe it is important to make an action plan and actually use it in daily life, so that the knowledge becomes embodied and remembered in the body.

 
Module 3 (23 April)

There was a two-month gap between Modules 2 and 3. At the beginning of the course, we worked in groups and shared how we had used the knowledge of tactile communication over the past two months, and whether it had influenced our workplaces. Some participants had printed QR codes for TAKOM and put them up on the walls at their schools. Their colleagues and students became interested in learning tactile signs. :)

We also practiced tactile signs with each other using longer texts, and later tried communicating in groups of three. I found the role of the third person (the listener) particularly challenging, as it was difficult to understand everything accurately.

Later, we worked in groups to analyse a video of a conversation between a deafblind child and a teacher. We categorised each sign and interaction into the following categories:

• Sportegn (trace signs)
• mimetiske uttrykk (mimetic expressions)
• avlesningstegn (reading signs) 
• Peking (pointing)
• konvensjonelle tegn (conventional signs)
• avlesning og bekreftelse av kroppslige uttrykk og tegn (reading and confirming bodily expressions and signs)
• introdusering av tegn (introducing signs)
• snakke og lytte hender (speaking and listening hands)
• meningsforhandling/tolkning (meaning negotiation/interpretation)
• taktil utforskning (tactile exploration)
• kroppslig taktile tilnærming (body-based tactile approach)
• inntoning (attunement)
• haptiske signaler (haptic signals)

Some of these categories are very similar, and the differences between them are not always clear. It was interesting to analyse them in detail and gain a deeper understanding of how tactile communication works.


Overall, the three modules have been valuable for both my artistic practice and my understanding of communication. My first self-initiated collaborative art project, When I Close My Eyes and Ears, I Sense You Clearly, focuses on the needs of blind, deaf, deafblind, sighted, and hearing audiences. I hope to communicate directly with deafblind audiences using tactile sign language in this project! :)

I have also signed up for a TAKOM refresher course with Statped in September!