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Overview Overview of Deafblindness and
Implications Did you know that 80-95% of information comes
to us through our vision and hearing? Students who have a hearing or vision loss
cannot access the same amount or quality of information without accommodation
for their sensory losses. This “input impairment” must always be understood and
addressed before any thoughts of processing or products (such as an IQ score)
can be discussed. Think about this: - A child who is deaf or hard
of hearing
learns through vision. - A child who is blind
or visually impaired
learns through hearing. - A child who
is DeafBlind
learns through touch supplementing whatever vision
and hearing is left. He/she may not have enough vision or hearing to learn the
way children learn in programs for the deaf/hard of hearing or for the blind/visually
impaired. This is also true for other special and general education placements. - An
educational program that takes into consideration the unique learning needs
of each child will have to be specifically designed for him/her, with particular
attention to the input of information, communication skills, and consistent
access to communication.
You will also see descriptions
such as “combined vision and hearing loss, dual sensory impaired, concomitant
vision and hearing loss, deaf-blind, blind-deaf, deaf/blind”, etc. Back
to top Does DEAFBLIND mean that there is no useable
hearing or vision? Absolutely not. Only about 6%
of children who are DeafBlind are totally deaf and totally blind. Most have useable
residual hearing and vision, but even a “mild” combination of losses will impact
their access to information, communication, and all the information required for
learning to take place. Most of the children who qualify
as DeafBlind have some useful vision and/or hearing, which is VERY important to
their daily functioning. Because deafblindness is a combination of vision and
hearing losses, there are as many possible combinations as there are individuals.
For this reason, no two children with deafblindness are alike. Back
to top What about children with multiple disabilities
- can they be DeafBlind? Yes, but not necessarily. Up to
80% of children with hearing and vision loss also have other disabilities (such
as cerebral palsy or physical disabilities). The hearing and vision loss may also be a part of a syndrome
(such as CHARGE or Usher Syndrome). In all cases, the impact of the combined sensory
loss greatly affects their access to information, concept development, and communication.
A wide range of cognitive and developmental abilities exist among children with
a combined vision and hearing loss, from gifted to profound impairment. Back
to top Impact of DeafBlindness Of
the five senses, vision and hearing are primary.
Through them we gain information about people and our environment. - As much as 80% of what we learn is learned visually.
- Hearing
is the basis of the communication/language system that most people use.
Consider
the additional impact if any of the remaining three senses are involved, e.g.
loss of smell in CHARGE syndrome. When the two major channels
for receiving information are impaired or not functioning, any or all of the following
developmental areas are affected: - Communication/language development
- Movement
and motor development
- Cognitive development and the ability to learn
- Emotional/social development
- Body image and self concept
Depending
on the age of onset, the effects on learning include: - Difficulty
with communication.
- Distorted perceptions: Difficulty in imaging the whole
picture or relating one element to the whole.
- Anticipation: Difficulty
in knowing what is going to happen next, lacking the context normally provided
through "overseeing" or "overhearing" information and cues.
- Motivation:
The motivating factors may be missing from a situation, going unseen or unheard.
- Incidental
learning: The child may not be able to "overhear" or "oversee" what is going on.
Back to top Educational
Intervention is Critical to DeafBlind Children Children
who are DeafBlind need early intervention, which includes: - Individual
1:1 attention to stimulate their interest and understanding of the world around
them.
- Direct teaching of information and experiences that other children
pick up naturally from "overhearing" or "overseeing" what others say or do. Firsthand
experiences are much more effective ways for them to learn than incidental observation
or group experiences.
Sensory experiences make us
aware of our environment. They are the basis upon which we build our knowledge
of the world, others, and ourselves. When people see or hear, they are stimulated
to interact with the environment. Individuals with combined vision and hearing
losses have limited access to information, and may miss out on the incidental
learning that other people automatically have access to through sight, hearing
and communication. These children will need to be taught many things that hearing
and sighted children learn effortlessly. Back
to top Causes(Etiologies) About
200 different conditions are associated with vision and hearing losses. Over
half are genetic in origin, occasionally with both the vision and hearing
losses present at birth but more commonly having just one or neither present at
birth. Click here for causes of deafblindness in
Minnesota students. Back to top
Statistical Information/Demographics Estimates
indicate that there are approximately 40,000 people in the United States who are
DeafBlind. A study by the National Census has identified over 5,000 children and
youth. It is estimated that this number could be as high as 11,000 and that deafblindness
may occur in 3 of 100,000 births. The Minnesota Department
of Education counted 60 students with the primary disability of deafblindness
for the December 2001 unduplicated child count as reported to Congress. However,
the MN DeafBlind Project conducts an annual census that provides a much more accurate
picture of deafblindness. The current number is 208 (12-1-2004). Back
to top Communication,
Communication, Communication... Communication is one of
the major issues in deafblindness. Communication does not necessarily mean speech
or even sign language. We all communicate through body language, facial expression,
gestures and sounds that are not words. Babies communicate through crying. One
of the goals of general education is to formalize that communication into speech
or sign language with the ability to read and write. Getting to that level of
fluency takes longer when hearing and vision are not perfect. Even after excellent
expressive communication skills are established, the very act of communicating
with another human being may require accommodations such as an intervener or specialized
equipment. No matter what the age, the person who is DeafBlind always says that
communication is an issue. Therefore, in the beginning we need to work on
communication,
communication, communication
The next step is to work on
communication,
communication, communication
After that, we need to work on
communication,
communication, communication....
Back
to top The Communication Bubble Eric
Kloos says, "Don't be off the student's radar!" In other words, if the child cannot
see you or hear you, you may as well not be there. Susan
Smith, a parent of several children who are DeafBlind coined the term "Communication
Bubble" to represent the space within which a person must be in order to communicate
effectively. The size of this bubble may be different for vision and for hearing
and may depend on the type of communication going on. If a child can only see out of the upper outer quadrant of
the right eye, then anything presented on the left side or below the level of
the pupil will be "off the radar." He will not see it nor respond in any way that
seems appropriate. The Communication Bubble can
be represented graphically. If a child has RP (retinitis pigmentosa)
with tunnel vision such as is present in Usher Syndrome, then he may be able to
see perfectly in the center but lose information out to the sides. On
the other hand, if he has optic atrophy or cataracts, vision will
be blurred until an object is presented very close to the eyes and will need to
have good contrast against the background, e.g. white hands against a black shirt
for signing. If a child only hears out of the right ear,
she will be able to hear information presented from the right side only but it
will not be as loud or as clear. In addition, that child will not be able to localize
sounds accurately. On the other hand, if hearing is reduced on both sides, the
child will strain to hear anything in a noisy environment. Back
to top Federal Definition of
Deafblindness DeafBlindness means concomitant hearing and
vision impairments, the combination of which creates such severe communication
and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accomodated
in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with
blindness. (IDEA 2004). Minnesota
Rules Please click on the link above to see all
rules for Special Education. Click on the lines below to read about the criteria
to qualify for deaf/hard of hearing (DHH), blind/visually impaired (BVI) and DeafBlind
(DB). Please note that the definition for DeafBlind requires that the student
meet the criteria for both DHH and BVI or the At Risk Criteria. 3525.1327
DEAF-BLIND
Subpart 1. Definition and criteria.
"Deaf-blind" means medically verified visual loss coupled with medically verified
hearing loss that, together, interfere with acquiring information or interacting
in the environment. Both conditions need to be present simultaneously and must
meet the criteria for both visually impaired and deaf and hard of hearing to be
eligible for special education and services under this category.
Subpart
2. Pupils at risk. Pupils at risk of being deaf-blind include pupils who: - are already identified as deaf or hard
of hearing or visually impaired but have not yet had medical or functional evaluation
of the other sense (vision or hearing);
- have an identified condition,
such as Usher Syndrome or Optic Atrophy, that includes a potential deterioration
of vision or hearing in the future;
- have a medically or functionally
identified hearing loss and a verified deficit in vision determined by a functional
evaluation in the learning environment;
- have a medically or functionally
identified vision impairment and verified hearing loss determined by a functional
evaluation in the learning environment; or
- have an identified syndrome
or condition such as CHARGE Syndrome that includes hearing and vision loss in
combination with multiple disabilities.
STAT AUTH:
MS s 14.389; 120.17; L 1999 c 123 s 19
HIST: 16 SR 1543; L 1998 c 397 art
11 s 3; 24 SR 1799, Current as of 1/31/05 3525.1331
DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING. 3525.1345
VISUALLY IMPAIRED. Back to
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