12 Deaf-blindness

This section includes the IDEA definition of the disability from federal law, along with specific information about eligibility criteria in Virginia. In addition, there is information about the prevalence, causes, and characteristics of this disability, along with specific strategies and accommodations that can meet the needs of students with this disability.

IDEA Definition

§ 300.8 (c) (2)

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.

Eligibility Criteria

VDOE Supplemental Guidance for Evaluation and Eligibility Virginia-specific guidance document that includes sample eligibility checklist (Refer to Table of Contents pages 2-4 and click on page number for disability category)

Advocacy organizations

National Center on Deaf-blindness  – The National Center on Deaf-blindness is a national technical assistance center that works with state level Deaf-blind Projects to support learning and quality of life of across the wide variation among individuals with both vision and hearing loss.

ABOUT deaf-blindness

Prevalence

Visit the US Department of Education’s Open Data Platform to access IDEA Child Count Data by disability category, age, and other demographic and special education variables.

This infographic (PDF) from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness provides an overview of deaf-blindness including  causes, prevalence, and other information.

Causes

National Center on Deaf-Blindness: Causes of Deaf-Blindness  – Summary of the most common causes of deaf-blindness

Characteristics

The National Center on Deaf-Blindness provides profiles of eight children who are deaf-blind. These profiles illustrate more detail about the unique and complex characteristics individuals with deaf-blindness may experience.

instructional strategies

Module 1: The Impact of Deafblindness on Learning and Development provides practical information that can be applied by teachers and early intervention providers. The module is free from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

Hand-Under-Hand technique – These Google slides provide information and videos about this useful technique to use with children who are deaf-blind.

The Hand-Under-Hand technique NCDB Practice Guide provides information instructional practices for children who are deaf-blind.

accommodations / modifications

These Practice Guides from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness provide essential details for supporting the learning of students with dual sensory loss across both specialized instructional practices and effective accommodations and modifications including:

• • Building Trusting Relationships
  • Appropriate Assessment Strategies
  • Optimizing Availability for Learning
  • Preparing the Learning Environment
  • Hand-Under-Hand Technique
  • Active Learning

• There are accessibility guides for using the NCBD website across a range of devices.

resources

Deaf-Blindness – This slide deck PDF provides a general overview of deaf-blindness including definitions, characteristics, and instructional strategies.