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The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness |
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NCDB
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Photo courtesy of Harvey Finkle Photography |
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NCDB HIGHLIGHTS |
Technical AssistanceSouth Dakota NCDB is partnering with the South Dakota State Deaf-Blind Project to deliver technical assistance in the use of the assessment tool ADAMLs: Assessment of DeafBlind Access to Manual Language Systems. Authors Robbie Blaha and Brad Carlson from Texas are working with Project Director Rose Moehring, who in turn will work with the team of the student who is deaf-blind. A unique feature of this particular TA is that it is being conducted solely using distance technologies: phone conferencing, web-based conferencing, and video-sharing software. Tennessee & South Carolina Project TREDS (TN) and the South Carolina Deaf-Blind Project collaboratively held a CHARGE Family Weekend in Kingsport, TN. David Brown was the guest speaker. Attending were 42 family members, 39 children and 21 professionals. Families were given an opportunity to meet with David for an individual consult. The families had a wonderful time getting together, socializing and sharing information. New York NCDB hosted a strategic planning session at Helen Keller National Center in early August for a group of parents from New York. The NY Parent Network began in 1989 and has had a strong history of supporting families with children with deaf-blindness. The leadership of the Network revisited the organization’s mission and goals and developed a strategic plan that will help direct activities over the next two to three years. |
NEWS & EVENTS |
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Perkins Webcasts Perkins’ series of “on-demand” educational webcasts have been prepared by experts in the field to help professionals, family members, friends, or consumers more effectively interact with the visually impaired and deafblind communities. The most recent is Mealtime Skills. http://www.perkins.org/webcasts Online Courses in Communication Design to Learn and Oregon Health & Science University offer two ongoing courses developed by Charity Rowland and Philip Schweigert. Pre-symbolic Communication Tangible Symbol Systems A growing number of online/distance education opportunities
pertinent to deaf-blindness are available. AER The Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) International held their conference in Chicago, IL in July. The Division on Deafblind and Multiple Disabilities wants to invite staff from the state Deaf-Blind projects, educators, and rehabilitation personnel working with persons who are deaf-blind to consider joining the organization, attending the conferences and submitting proposals for presentation. Visit the AER website to learn about their mission and work. http://aerbvi.org |
PRODUCTS & PUBLICATIONS |
New Practice Perspectives AvailableNCDB’s newest product, The Path to Symbolism, discusses gesture and intentional communication in children who are deaf-blind and their role in the development of symbolic communication. This new publication highlights research done by Dr. Susan Bruce of Boston College. Available online. Print and Braille versions available from NCDB. ResourcesBetter Together: Building Relationships With People Who Have Visual Impairment and Autism Spectrum Disorder (or Atypical Social Development), Linda Hagood. Austin: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 2008.This manual is intended to provide teachers, parents, paraprofessionals, and therapists with a relationship-based approach to teaching social skills to individuals who have dual diagnoses that include visual impairment and autism or Asperger's disorder. The ideas may also be helpful for teaching visually impaired people who have other types of atypical social development such as anxiety disorders, oppositional defiant disorders, or obsessive compulsive behaviors. Available from Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Phone: 512-206-9427. Web: www.tsbvi.edu. Early Childhood Transition Worksheet The Early Childhood Transition Worksheet lists the IDEA transition requirements and key infrastructure components in chart format. It can be used as a planning tool and discussion guide for identifying factors contributing to non-compliance and effective practices. It is a companion to the Designing and Implementing Effective Early Childhood Transition Processes framework document. Coaching Resources The July, 2008 Project Directors Meeting for State DB Projects featured a panel on promising practices in coaching. Articles and presenter power points can be viewed at http://www.nationaldb.org/TACoaching.php Bookshare .org Described as “Amazon.com meets Napster meets Talking Books for the Blind - but legal”, Bookshare.org is the world's largest accessible library of scanned books and periodicals. In 2007, OSEP awarded the project a $32 million grant to expand the availability of accessible electronic books and the software for reading those books. All K-12, postsecondary and graduate students in the United States with qualifying print disabilities have access to this library without charge. Visit: http://www.bookshare.org DeafBlind Communicator HumanWare is working with Washington State Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing to design, develop and manufacture the DeafBlind Communicator. The company publishes a bi-monthly newsletter discussing progress on the product at http://www.humanware.com/en-usa/products/deafblind E-News Subscription infoWould you like to receive the NCDB e-News? Send a blank message to; ncdb_e-news-subscribe-request@tr.wou.edu or contact Randy Klumph klumphr@wou.edu for assistance. NCDB e-News is also available online. Contact information |
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Funded through award #H326T060002 by the U.S. Department of Education, OSERS, OSEP. The opinions and policies expressed by this publication do not necessarily reflect those of The Teaching Research Institute, or the U.S. Department of Education. |