Orientation and Mobility (O&M): The Early Years Of Infancy Through Preschool
Discusses the three primary areas that are important for developing O&M within an early intervention program.

The Roots of Orientation and Mobility: Birth to Three Years
Charts the continuum of motor skill development and concepts for the first three years of O&M instruction

An Introduction to Dr. Lilli Nielsen's Active Learning
Dr. Lilli Nielsen's theory of "active learning" is based on the premise that children who are blind with additional disabilities learn best by being actively involved in their environment.  She encourages environments designed to motivate children to reach out and explore.

Space for Active Learning
Children who are deaf-blind need to explore safely in a space that is highly responsive to the smallest movements.

Importance of Orientation and Mobility Skills for Students Who Are Deaf-Blind
Movement is an opportunity to gather sensory information, to communicate, and to make choices. O&Minstruction provides a set of foundational skills that can broaden the student's awareness of the environment, resulting in increased motivation, independence and safety.

Orientation and Mobility for Children Who are Deafblind
Movement is a critical component for the deaf-blind child in perceiving and organizing the world. It is essential for concept development. This fact sheet outlines the basic strategies of O+M for children who are deaf-blind.

Using the Teaching Cane Strategy with Children who are Deaf-Blind
Describes an approach to early cane use that facilitates all areas of development and particularly applicable for children who are deaf-blind.

Hold Everything
These 20 stay put play spaces are designed to promote self-initiated exploration to enable sensory impaired children to use their unique abilities to exercise control over the environment.

Environmental Checklist for Developing Independence
This checklist attempts to look at factors that can be addressed in the visually impaired child's environment that will lead to more independence.  Looks at both the physical and social  environment.

Overview on Deaf-Blindness
It may seem that deaf-blindness refers to a total inability to see or hear. Read More
This NCDB publication by Barbara Miles provides excellent information, fundamental to understanding the unique considerations of children who are deaf-blind.

Children Who Are Deaf-Blind
This NCDB publication provides details about the population of children who are deaf-blind, including the classification of vision and hearing loss, the types of additional disabilities that may be present, and the causes of deafblindness.

There a many different phrases used to describe deaf-blindness. Among those are combined vision and hearing loss, dual sensory impaired, concomitant vision and hearing loss, deaf-blind, blind-deaf, deaf/blind, DeafBlind, and deafblind. Over the past two decades, with the growth of the disability rights movement, there has been an effort to use person first language when referring to a person with a disability and many people prefer the term "person who is deaf-blind". The term "deafblind", no hyphen, has also gained momentum in the United States. In the early 1990's, Salvatore Lagati of the Servizio di Consulenza Pedagogica in Italy proposed international acceptance of the single word "deafblind" in place of the hyphenated version. The intent was to indicate that deafblindness is a unique condition that is not simply the addition of deafness and blindness and that impact of dual losses is multiplicative rather than additive. This version is prominently in use in European countries. In the United States, practitioners, service providers and agencies still chose between the two versions. Both of the national consumer organizations, the American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB) and the National Family Association of Deaf-Blind (NFADB) and the federal government are represented by the hyphenated term.

What are the Legal Definitions for Learners with Deafblindness?
From Indiana State University's training module Introduction to Learners with Deafblindness

Federal and state definitions

Etiologies Related to Deaf-Blindness
This list from Washington details syndromes and conditions that may cause a combined vision and hearing loss.

What are the Most Common Conditions that Cause Deafblindness
From Indiana State University's training module Introduction to Learners with Deafblindness. Includes detailed information about some of the syndromes more commonly associated with deaf-blindness.

Being Born Early Means More Than You Think
This chart provides an overview of sensory development and some of the effects that an early birth can have on child development.

Overview of Deafblindness and Implications
This information from the Minnesota state project succinctly addresses the implications of hearing and vision loss.

What Impact does both Hearing and Vision Losses have on Learners?
From Indiana State University's training module Introduction to Learners with Deafblindness. The critical components of how vision and hearing losses can impact the way a learner functions, communicates, travels, and acquires knowledge are covered.

NCDB Selected Topics

Causes of Deaf-Blindness
Deaf-Blindness Overview
Demographics

Training Resources

NCDB Tools for TA section contains materials, including handouts and power points, developed by state projects for outreach and training activities.

Online courses
Many organizations and educational institutions offer coursework in deaf-blindness. For a comprehensive list check out this section of the NCDB website.