(4) The interaction partner plays an essential role in conveying and interpreting messages/utterances but is also to engage in conversations that have mutual interaction and equal participation. In this communication approach, the sensitive and responsive competences of the communication partners are seen as crucial for the child’s learning and motivation (Trevarthen, 2001). Partners need to have highly developed skills, sensitivities and insights to participate in the world of children with deafblindness, where touch and proximity are crucial (Janssen et. al., 2004; Nafstad & Rødbroe, 2015). The interaction partner should be able to notice and respond to the bodily-tactile information conveyed by the person. For instance, being aware of how his/her hands/body may convey different information depending on their tenseness of tone, speed of movement, and degree of pressure. This follows on from early communicative experiences, through the ability to establish jointly negotiated meaning of an action/ gesture, to then supporting the transition into a cultural tactile sign language (Deuce & Rose, 2019). The ability of the partner to recognize, affirm, support and adapt are vital components of developing a social environment that supports the person´s initiative and engagement. These abilities of the interaction partner are often described as partner competencies.
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4.1.1 Partner competencies and social cognitive strategies A competent interaction partner using social cognitive strategies is keenly aware of the person’s bodily-tactile signals, interprets them accurately, and reacts promptly and appropriately so that the person with CDB feels understood. Subsequently the communication or bodily conversations are made accessible for the individual with CDB. Participation in these bodily conversations requires a high level of sensitivity, special insights and considerable skills for the hearing and sighted caregivers (Rødbroe & Janssen, 2007). Examples of important partner strategies are establishing trust, responding to the child’s interests, and responding to attempts at communication using the child’s expressive forms (Wolthuis, et. al., 2019). Furthermore, studies on social partner support indicate that the provision of interaction support to social partners positively influenced social interactions with people with CDB (Damen, 2015). The following are some examples of partner competencies that are required to engage in conversations that have equal participation within the bodily-tactile modality. During such harmonious interactions, the individual learns to trust the caregiver’s availability as a source of emotional comfort and support (Janssen, et. al., 2003). Fostering a sense of togetherness (attunement and body-with-body interactions) A sense of togetherness occurs when the interaction partner is able to attune his/her own acts to the unique emotional expressions or bodily-tactile signals of the deafblind person. Attunement describes how reactive the interaction partner is to the emotional needs and moods of the person with deafblindness 71