Morrison’s Space: A DeafBlind Activist

The Story Behind a DeafBlind Saying

May 4, 2026

By Morrison

People have asked where the DeafBlind saying “Touch you later” or “Touch you tomorrow” comes from. If you’ve spent time in a Protactile-DeafBlind community, you have probably seen it exchanged with warmth, humor, and deep cultural meaning. But many outside the community don’t know its origin.

So here it is.

Years ago (about ten to eleven years ago), I was in Seattle for a three‑month training at Tactile Communications, founded by Jelica Nuccio a brilliant, innovative DeafBlind leader who shaped so much of my understanding of DeafBlidn culture and Protactile language. Every day in that space was a lesson in autonomy, interdependence, and the power of touch as language. I loved my lessons with Jelica. She truly knew how to connect with her students, and guide us into the DeafBlind world. I am grateful.

Anyhow, one afternoon, I was leaving Jelica’s house after a long day of training. She smiled and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I paused. Something about that phrasing didn’t fit the world we were living in, what I was being taught by her and the DeafBlind community – a world built on touch, contact space, and shared presence. So I looked at her and said: “No… I’ll touch you tomorrow.” She smiled at first then laughed. I, too smiled and then laughed. And that was it, the moment the phrase was born.

From there, this phrase spread through the Protactile community. It became a way of saying goodbye that actually reflects our lived reality. A way of honoring how we connect. A way of naming our culture in our own language. So the next time you see or tactile a DeafBlind person say, “Touch you later.” Now you know: It didn’t come from a textbook. It came from a moment of recognition, it was organic, a moment of truth – between two DeafBlind people living through the Protactile philosophy, way of life.

A moment that said: Our language, culture, community, and connection is through touch – that is ours.

Touch you later.