Having always been legally blind, I find touch reassuring. I'm glad my husband feels similar because it means we usually are holding hands when we're walking anywhere. I wish it were easier to do so with other people I'm with, as I tend to have to devote a lot of time to making sure I'm not veering away or bumping into them (it is still really hard for me to do and I bump into people constantly when I'm walking). I know a hand at the elbow is the standard way of guiding a blind person, because it's more impersonal and has less margin for error, but I find that ends up with much more bodily contact, because the person tends to clamp their elbow to their side, which makes me uncomfortable. So I guess I have my distantist prejudices too. :)

I know I don't need it to communicate, of course, but I'd imagine many deafblind people might be used to touch as a grounding, reassuring thing rather than an overwhelming thing.