IEP Quality Indicators for Students with Deafblindness

Versión español de este artículo

Developed by Texas Deafblind Outreach
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45^th Street
Austin, Texas 78756

Texas Deafblind Outreach: Craig Axelrod, Edgenie Bellah , Robbie Blaha, Jenny Lace, Cyral Miller, Kate Moss, Gigi Newton, David Wiley

(Revised 7-03)

The term “Individualized Education Program” (IEP) should be understood to include assessments, student performance documentation, the entire IEP document (including goals and objectives, minutes, etc.), and other relevant records.

Purpose:  This document is designed to help educational teams develop appropriate IEPs for students with deafblindness. Indicators not present may indicate a training need for the team. The presence of these indicators demonstrates a well-designed IEP in areas related specifically to the impact of deafblindness. Other factors indicating a quality IEP in general are not covered here.

Instructions:  After reading the introduction for each of the nine areas, look in the student’s IEP for the listed quality indicators. If the indicator is present in the IEP, circle “Y” on this form in the column to the right of the list of indicators. Circle “N” if the indicator is not present. If the item is not applicable for this student, circle N/A, and make a note in the comments section explaining why the indicator is not relevant at this time. The three columns to the right can be used over time to measure progress in IEP development.

Download the form as a Word file (435k)
Download the form as RTF (2.1mb)
Download the form as PDF (320k)

The information below is the text included in the form. Actual forms are provided above for download.

ETIOLOGY

Etiology - There are a number of syndromes that result in both a vision and hearing loss. This may have bearing on the best educational approaches to use with the student, or give direction to long-term medical follow-up. For example, a student with CHARGE Syndrome may be behind in experiential development due to numerous early hospitalizations, and may be at risk for retinal detachment associated with coloboma.

• The student’s etiology is indicated in the assessment documents.
• Impact of the etiology on the student’s educational needs is addressed during the development of the IEP.
• The student’s etiology has been reported on the annual Deafblind Census.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Access to Information - For a student with deafblindness, the combined effects of the vision and hearing loss create a barrier that significantly impedes the ability to gather information from the environment. This causes chronic difficulties with incidental learning and concept development. Students cannot learn what they do not detect, and they may be unaware of what they are missing. Access to information is a primary issue for all students with deafblindness, and should be addressed in each IEP.

• Sensory access is appropriately assessed and clearly defined for the student in sensory and communication reports, present level of performance, and in the IEP document.
• The IEP includes strategies to systematically develop the use of sensory information (i.e., functional vision and hearing, as well as alternative sensory information).
• The student’s instructional programming includes effective strategies and approaches that teach missing environmental information to the student (e.g., thematic units, activity-based instruction, scripted routines, active learning).
• Appropriate AI/VI/DB technology is reviewed, evaluated, and recommended as needed.
• For any device selected for use by the student, there is a plan to introduce it, maintain it, and teach the student to use the new information it provides.

SOCIAL ISSUES

Social Issues - Deafblindness impacts the ability to form relationships and respond to interactions with others in typical ways. For example, a lack of environmental information makes it difficult to identify people, locate them, know what they are doing, or understand what they want. Many ordinary interactions may seem threatening, negative, or confusing to the student. In turn, the student’s need to gather information by close viewing and/or touch can offend others. It is not uncommon to see withdrawal and problems with bonding. It is important to consider that social problems for a student with deafblindness are often the result of an on-going lack of essential information, and to address this in the IEP.

• When assessing social skills, the team considers the effects of deafblindness and lack of information before developing intervention strategies to address delays in social skills.
• The IEP includes a method to orient the student to new individuals.
• The IEP addresses a way to locate and identify people in the environment.
• The IEP acknowledges the student's need to bond and build trust in order to learn.
• Strategies are developed to increase the number and quality of interactions and relationships for the student.
• Strategies are developed to improve the ability to initiate meaningful and socially appropriate self-directed activities during free time.
• The IEP addresses how deafblindness affects sexuality, including: language related to sexuality and body parts; needs unique to gender; sexual health; and appropriate touch.

COMMUNICATION

Communication - A combined vision and hearing loss can profoundly impact the development of several learning areas that together produce communication.

• An appropriate communication assessment has been completed.
• The IEP incorporates communication assessment and strategies that appropriately reflect the student’s developmental level in the areas of:
  • communicative forms - (objects, pictures, gestures, sign, speech, etc.);
  • social aspects - functions (request, reject, label, report, etc.) and social interactions (bonding with primary caregivers, initiating interactions, maintaining joint attention, turn taking, etc.);
  • vocabulary - targeted vocabulary reflects the student's conceptual understanding;
  • content - topics (gym, eating lunch, music, etc.), meaning categories (objects, actions, people, places, etc.) and contexts (here and now, the next activity, something occurring tomorrow or next week, etc.).
• Literacy issues are considered, including the following elements:
  • are alternative static communication forms (objects, tactile symbols, pictures, print, etc.) used for a variety of functions (lists, letters, experience books, etc.)?
  • can the student spell or fingerspell?
  • if Braille is used or considered, is Grade One taught to fingerspellers?
  • is language complexity right for student whose primary language is sign, not English?

CALENDAR SYSTEM

Calendar System - Calendars provide contexts in which students with deafblindness can develop meaningful communication and time concepts. Calendars and calendar discussions also support deafblind individuals emotionally through the security that comes with anticipation of upcoming events, knowledge about changes in routine, and trust in an adult’s commitment to follow through on scheduled activities.

• The student has a calendar system that incorporates developmentally appropriate components related to:
  • time frame - (anticipation of "next step" in familiar routines, anticipation of next event, daily, weekly, multi-weekly, monthly);
  • representational symbols - (objects, parts of objects, drawings of objects, pictures, print, tactile symbols, etc.);
  • calendar-related concepts and language - (time, sequencing, choice making, etc.).
• The calendar is used as a methodology to support goals and objectives in curricular areas such as communication, social/emotional, rec/leisure and behavior.

BEHAVIOR

Behavior - For students with deafblindness, issues of challenging behavior are usually closely tied to sensory access and communication. Behavior is often the result of coping with situations that seem confusing or threatening due to lack of information available from others or from the environment. It can also be the result of frustration about being ineffective in communicating about important topics in more socially acceptable ways. The student’s difficulty in recognizing, trusting, and bonding with others can have an impact on behavior. Additionally, behaviors may result from the student’s need to stimulate or regulate sensory input, or they may be in response to pain associated with medical conditions like glaucoma or ear infections.

• Assessment of behavior includes a functional analysis of the communicative intent of, or sensory needs met by, the behaviors in question.
• The team has evaluated whether discomfort related to medical conditions or features associated with the student’s etiology are impacting the behaviors in question.
• When behavior is a concern, the IEP includes goals for improving the student’s ability to communicate ideas and concerns in more socially acceptable ways.
• When behavior is a concern, the IEP includes strategies for providing the student with more understandable information about activities, surroundings, and expectations.

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY (O&M)

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) - Deafblindness affects the ability of students to know where they are, and how to go from place to place. Certified O&M Specialists (COMS) will find that working with this population may require some changes in instructional approaches. Students with deafblindness get less information from the environment, and have a lower motivation to explore. Deafblindness affects the identification and use of sound cues. Students need more orientation to environments, and strategies to gather information about their surroundings.

• The student’s level of exploration and movement is assessed in light of the effects of deafblindness.
• O&M assessment and programming reflects the effects of hearing loss on the student's ability to localize and identify sound cues.
• The IEP reflects a plan for the Certified O&M Specialist to receive support from the team in utilizing the student's communication system during instruction.
• Instruction as reflected in the IEP provides adequate information for the student to establish a destination and recognize a particular route (use of communication system to establish a destination, use of the calendar conversation, additional time to explore the salient parts of the route).
• Instruction as reflected in IEP provides supplemental information about the environment to offset the lack of incidental learning (what is a mall?, a bus?) by experientially teaching concepts and related vocabulary.

RELATED AND SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICES

Related and Supplemental Services - Certain related services and supports are designed for students with sensory impairments, and should be considered for all students with deafblindness. For example, an intervener is a paraprofessional with special skills and training who is designated to work individually with a student who is deafblind. Sign language interpretation and O&M are also examples of specialized services. Additionally, the effects of deafblindness should be taken into account in assessment and delivery of all related services provided to the student. For example, optimal positioning for communication access should be considered by the physical therapist. Counselors may need to address changes in vision and hearing experienced by a student with deafblindness.

• The student’s sensory access to instruction has been evaluated, and the need for an interpreter or intervener to effectively meet IEP goals has been considered.
• There has been an O&M assessment that evaluates the effects of hearing loss in combination with the vision impairment in determining the need for services. (Refer to Section 7 on Orientation and Mobility.)
• The effects of deafblindness have been evaluated in a communication assessment, and services of a speech/language pathologist have been considered.
• Assessment and delivery of all related and supplemental services take into account the effects of deafblindness.
• The IEP addresses training for the family and staff on issues related to deafblindness.

TRANSITION PLANNING

Transition Planning -As a student enters the teen years and nears graduation, there are considerations for both educational programming and community services. The need for experientially based vocational assessment and instruction in real-world environments is heightened when sensory issues affect access to environmental information and practical experience. The ability to initiate and sustain meaningful leisure activities is impacted by the capacity to learn through modeling and gather environmental cues. Being an effective self-advocate about communication and access to information is essential for success in higher education, employment, and other community settings. Additionally, referrals to community services designed for people with deafblindness lead to better adult outcomes.

• Vocational assessment and instruction is based on the student’s language and conceptual development, and includes sampling a variety of job experiences in work settings.
• The student’s ability to engage in meaningful, enjoyable, and productive self-directed leisure activities has been assessed, and the IEP includes goals to improve the student’s ability to make choices and participate in activities during unstructured time as needed.
• The IEP reflects development of self-advocacy skills related to communication style and sensory needs in education, work, and social settings.
• The IEP includes assessment and instruction related to communication and travel in various community settings and situations.
• The student has been referred to appropriate services, including the deafblind specialist at the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (formerly known as Texas Commision for the Blind) , the Deaf-Blind Multiple Disabilities Medicaid Waiver Program, and the Helen Keller National Center.