It’s hard to imagine what it is like to be both deaf and blind. But for 16-year-old Susan Price, from Knighton on the Shropshire-Powys border, this is an everyday reality.

“I love dancing and partying but I need to be in a safe environment that I know well because moving around can sometimes be dangerous,” she says.

“Sometimes I feel frustrated that I can’t read and write as well as I’d like to. I just want to be like everyone else my age – I want to be independent and hang out with friends.”

Susan was born with sight and hearing, but both senses began to deteriorate when she was around three years old.

The cause of Susan’s deterioration was not known at the time, but in children it is often the result of a genetic condition.

Today Susan is almost completely deaf and has nerve damage in her eyes which restricts her field of vision significantly.

Her peripheral vision is extremely limited so she has to turn her whole head to face something she is looking at.

The deaf-blind charity Sense estimates there are 2,066 deaf-blind people across Shropshire. This number is set to increase to 3,674 by 2030.

It believes there are more than 18,800 deaf-blind people across Wales. The over-70s are likely to be most affected by deaf-blindness as hearing and sight begin to deteriorate with old age.

But, through working with Jan Hughes, a multi-sensory impairment consultant and teacher for the deaf-blind charity Sense, Susan’s future is looking brighter.

Jan acts as a champion for deaf-blind children and families across Wales and her job is to ensure Susan and her family have the support they need to empower them to make decisions about the future.

She visits Susan at home and at school to asses her communication, educational and social needs.

Recently, she has been supporting Susan, who attends Bishop’s Castle Community College, and her family as they look for a new college for Susan to go to.

It is important, says Jan, that the support Susan currently receives at school is continued into her college life.

“She needs specialist mobility training as she has difficulty crossing roads as she can’t see or hear where vehicles are coming from,” she says.

Susan is also very keen to learn and wants to develop her reading and writing and Jan is ensuring that wherever Susan goes, she will have the support she needs to do this.

About three years ago, Susan had a cochlear implant, a surgically implanted electronic device to provide a sense of sound, which has dramatically improved her hearing.

Before the implant, Susan used hearing aids but couldn’t hear much at all and was prone to infection, making the aids uncomfortable.

Since having the implant, she has begun to distinguish between different sounds and her speech and vocabulary have also improved and she has increased in confidence and independence.

“She tried the phone of her own accord one day and found she could begin to hold conversations on it. She has also begun to watch television and read books,” says Jan.

“So much of what we know about the world around us comes from our senses of sight and hearing, so people who are both deaf and blind face many barriers to understanding the world.

“But with the right support, tailored to their individual needs, deaf-blind children like Susan can achieve so much.

“Susan has a fantastic sense of independence and is very much involved in her future educational choices – my job is to make sure she is empowered to make her own choices and feel part of her community.

“She is a joy to work with and I’m learning a lot from her as well – she is helping me experience the world from a whole new perspective.”

Susan’s mum, Mary, admits that before she came across the the work of the deaf-blind charity and Jan, the family was at a bit of a loss.

“We were overwhelmed with the task of finding a college to suit Susan’s complex needs,” says Mary.

“Jan visited Susan at home to learn about her needs and discuss her education with her.

“It’s fantastic to see Susan grow in confidence and become excited about her future.

“We’ve seen leaps and bounds in her social development as well. She recently started using the phone thanks to a cochlear implant and she is looking forward to going on Sense holiday this year where she will take part in activities like swimming and horse-riding while making new friends her own age, which is so important for her.”

Susan herself says she is growing in confidence about herself and her future.

“I want to leave home and have a job. I like being around people, so working in a shop or a restaurant would be great.

“Without Jan, I would feel a lot more isolated. I wouldn’t have been able to experience new places and activities like I have on Sense holidays that I’ve been on.

“She has given me a lot more confidence and helped me to become more independent.”

On top of this, she has aims which may seem mundane to people who can see and hear but which would be a real achievement to Susan.

“I want to be able to go shopping by myself,” she says.

• For more information or advice from Sense contact 08451 270066 or visit www.sense.org.uk