THE MANY FACES OF DEAF-BLINDNESS

North CarolinaFamily Leadership Training

April 21-22, 2008Greensboro, NC

How We’ll Spend OurTime Together

Today– National and State Deaf-Blind Program

– Deaf-Blind Census

– Etiologies Associated with Deaf-Blindness

– Bringing it All Back to Your Role as a FS

– Moving past the Etiology

This Evening– Personal Goals and Supports

– Follow-up Project

Tomorrow– Deaf-Blindness: The Big Picture

– Bringing it All Back to Your Role as a FS

– Wrap-Up and Next Steps

What We Want to Accomplish

Increase your understanding of:• National and state resources related to deaf-blindness

• The diversity within the population

• The major etiologies of deaf-blindness

• The impact of deaf-blindness on overall development

• Communication Development and array of expressive and receptive communication forms

• The need for an individualized communication system

The Deaf-Blind Program

Families

NFADB

AADB

Hilton-PerkinsProgram

Nat’l Coalition on

DB

North CarolinaDeaf-Blind Project

NCDB – TA & Information Services

HKNC

US Dept of EducationOffice of Special Education

Programs (OSEP)

From

Birth

To 22 years

Birth to 3

Programs

School Program

s

Young Adult

Programs

The National Deaf-Blind Census

• National and State Definition of Deaf-Blindness

• Why Collect Census Information

• Process and Forms

• North Carolina and National Results

• Practice

National Definition ofDeaf-Blindness

Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and

visual impairments, the combination of which

causes such severe communication and other

developmental and educational needs that they

cannot be accommodated in special education

programs solely for children with deafness or

children with blindness. 34 CFR 300.8 (c) (2)

North Carolina Definition of Deaf-BlindnessNorth Carolina currently uses the national definition of deaf-blindness for defining students in early childhood special education (ages 3-5) and school age special

education (ages 6-21) programs.

“Deaf blindness means concomitant hearing and vision impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other

developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with

deafness or children with blindness”. (IDEA, 2004)

For infants and toddlers receiving Part C early intervention services, deaf-blindness is defined as:

“Concomitant hearing and vision impairments or delays, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other

developmental and intervention needs that specialized early intervention services are needed.”

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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Sensory Perspectives

SPARKLE DVD

Etiologies Related toDeaf-Blindness

eti·ol·o·gy“the cause of a medical or disability condition”

• Tell Us About Your Child

• Top Etiologies of North Carolina and Nationally

• Finding Information about Etiologies

Points to Consider About Etiologies

• To know an individual’s etiology is NOT to say that you know the individual

• Absence of a diagnosis can be a nagging mystery or fear

• Possible etiologies should not be casually mentioned

• Need to gather information to establish an appropriate educational program

• Need to gather information to be aware of delayed manifestations

• Pay attention to source and publication date of print and Internet resources

• Connecting with another person or family who shares the diagnosis can be invaluable

Thanks to California Deaf-Blind Services, Fact Sheet #33

So What Do I Do Now

• Your Role as a Family Specialist

• Using HomeTalk with Families

For additional copies (http://www.designtolearn.com/pages/HomeTalk.pdf)