"The term, 'children with DeafBlindness,' means children and youth with auditory and visual impairment, the combination of which creates such severe communication and other developmental and learning needs that they cannot be appropriately educated without special education and related services, beyond those that would be provided solely for children with hearing impairments, visual impairments, or severe disabilities to address their educational needs due to these concurrent disabilities."
Students with DeafBlindness in Texas have been estimated to be fewer than 800 children ages birth to twenty-two. This is an extremely low incidence disability. The range of vision and hearing loss occurring with individual students is great. Some students have mild vision and hearing loss, others total blindness and profound hearing loss, most fall somewhere in-between with one of the sensory losses being more significant than the other. These children use various forms of communication at different times for receptive and expressive communication such as speech, sign language, braille, tactile or object symbols. Many of these children have additional physical, cognitive, and medical challenges. They are educated in regular education classes, life skills classes, programs for the deaf and programs for the blind, and/or special residential schools. Frequently they are the only student in a school district with deafblindness.
Individuals who work with these students may lack specific training in DeafBlindness and therefore require a great deal of support to meet an individual student's needs. Even specialized teachers such as a teacher of the deaf, teacher of students with visual impairments, and orientation and mobility specialists may have little or no experience with students who are DeafBlind.
Additionally, family members require information, training, and support to become the life-long advocates that their child with DeafBlindness may need. The birth of their child with DeafBlindness begins a long journey of learning about DeafBlindness and finding specific resources they need to help their child achieve a productive and happy life.
Deafblind
- A Process for Identifying Students Who May Be At-Risk for Deafblindness
- A Process for Identifying Students with DeafBlindness (Birth-22)
- A Standard Tactile Symbol System: Graphic Language for Individuals who are Blind and Unable to Learn Braille
- Active Learning and the Exploration of Real Objects
- Activity Calendars
- AI, VI, SPED, TDB Roles for Students with DeafBlindness
- Are You Listening? Auditory Issues for Children with Visual Impairments
- Checking Hearing Aids
- Conversations without Language: Building Quality Interactions with Children Who are Deaf-Blind
- Creating Pathways for Children with Deafblindness - the NTAC/NFADB Parent Training
- Creative Thinking Maximizes Parent Training Opportunities
- Deafblindness
- Develop a routine that incorporates one of your student’s “Likes.”
- Disabilities Organizations
- Driving with Usher Syndrome
- Early Identification of Hearing and Vision Loss is Critical to a Child's Development
- Education Protocol for Cornelia de Lange Syndrome
- Experience is the Best Teacher
- Five Phases of Educational Treatment Used in Active Learning Based on Excerpts from Are You Blind? By Dr. Lilli Nielsen
- Formal Versus Informal Hearing Tests: What Is Functional Hearing?
- Formal Versus Informal Hearing Tests: What Is Functional Hearing?
- Hearing Quick Check
- Hearling Quick Check
- Helping You and Your Child Get a Good Night's Sleep
- IEP Quality Indicators for Students with DeafBlindness
- Incorporating Active Learning Theory into Activity Routines
- Interveners for Students with Deafblindness in Texas
- Issues in DeafBlindness: When the IEP Is Aligned with the General Curriculum
- It Takes a Team to Teach Independent Living Skills
- Joseph's Coat: People Teaming in Transdisciplinary Ways
- Learning to Communicate: Strategies for Developing Communication with Infants Whose Multiple Disabilities Include Visual Impairment and Hearing Loss
- Learning to Trust, the Key to Quality Intervention
- Let Me Check My Calendar
- Let's Talk DeafBlind Eligibility – FAQs and their answers
- Living the Good Life
- Living the Good Life: A Glimpse into Life with Usher Syndrome
- Make It Routine
- Minimal Losses...Major Implications
- New to Deafblindness? Five Tips for Administrators
- Orientation and Mobility Training for Students Who Are Deafblind: Going Beyond the Blue Book
- Parent Networking and Connection to Resources
- Primary Identified Etiology - Deafblind
- Role of Teacher of DeafBlind (TDB) Itinerant in Texas 2012 - 2013
- Sexual Health Care - Excerpts from Introduction to Sexuality Education for Individuals Who Are Deaf-Bind and Significantly Developmentally Delayed
- Statewide, National and International Deafblind Resources
- Students who are Blind or Visual Impaired at Risk for Hearing Loss
- Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing at Risk for Vision Loss
- Supporting High Quality Interactions with Students Who are Deafblind
- Supporting High Quality Interactions with Students Who are Deafblind Part One: A Summary of Current Research
- Supporting High Quality Interactions with Students Who are Deafblind Part Two: Research to practice
- Syndromes Which Often Result in Combined Vision and Hearing Loss
- Taking a Look at the FIELA Curriculum: 730 Learning Environments by Dr. Lilli Nielsen
- Teaching Strategies and Content Modifications for the Child with Deaf-Blindness
- The Importance of Auditory Training for Children who are Deafblind
- The van Dijk Approach to Child-Guided Assessment
- Turning "Me" to "We"
- Vision Quick Check
- What a Concept!
- What's with the Wax in Your Ears?