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The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness |
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NCDB
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NCDB HIGHLIGHTS |
Technical AssistanceNevada NCDB and the Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project are training Nevada early interventionists in practices promoting early literacy development for young children with deafblindness and other significant disabilities. Patsy Pierce, an Associate Director for Early Childhood Services at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at the University of North Carolina, provided training to 75 service providers. Additional workshops will be held in January, 2009. North Dakota NCDB staff shared the Classroom Observation Instrument (COI) with outreach workers from the North Dakota Deaf-Blind Project. The COI will be utilized in future classroom and home visits. As a follow-up, NCDB and the North Dakota DB project will identify and offer support to individual outreach workers who would like more assistance in implementing the COI in local classrooms. Maryland NCDB’s Parent Leadership Training Program continues to expand in Area 4. Six families from the state of Maryland participated in their first training in November. Liz Healey, Executive Director of the PEAL Center, the Parent Training and Information Center in Pennsylvania focused family members on becoming agents of change. TransitionArea 2 hosted a two day customized employment workshop in New Orleans. Nine states participated with staff from state deaf blind projects and vocational rehabilitation agencies as well as parents, related service providers and regional representatives from the Helen Keller National Center. Participants developed profiles and employment plans for youth who have not fared well in traditional job assessments and laid the foundations for developing a community of practice. Personnel TrainingThe NCDB Personnel Prep Consortium held their fall meeting at the OSEP office in Washington, D.C. The group continues to work on issues pertinent to professional development in the field of deaf-blindness. A webinar on the group’s activities and accomplishments is planned for February, 2009. A four-year grant, Extending a Legacy: Training Personnel to Serve School Age Children in Low Incidence Disabilities through the Development of Helen Keller Fellows, from the Office of Special Education Programs has been awarded to the Teaching Research Institute. This project will work to develop a cadre of teacher leaders in the field of deaf-blindness. A cohort of 7-10 students will be chosen each year from graduate programs across the country. The students will participate in webinars, attend the NCDB Topical meeting and receive integrated training in leadership and systems change strategies. During the summer, each Fellow will spend two weeks with their state deaf-blind project exposing them to a variety of technical assistance experiences. Questions about the NCDB Personnel Development initiative or the Helen Keller Fellows Project can be directed to Dr. Christina Reagle, 503.838.8871 or reaglec@wou.edu. FamiliesFamily Leadership Training Program October marked the beginning of NCDB’s third year of the Family Leadership Training Program. Four state projects, Oregon, Maryland, Illinois and Michigan, will be participating this year. NCDB offers the opportunity for TA and support to 1-4 state projects each year to deliver the training program for families in their state. Watch for application materials in July 2009. Culturally Competent Family Outreach NCDB, the New Jersey Deaf-Blind Project and the New Jersey Parent Center have partnered for the past three years to explore effective TA practices for underserved families. The first two years focused on New Jersey families who are Spanish speaking. This year’s work will focus on serving New Jersey’s African American families. We are also partnering with the Texas DeafBlind Project to implement the focus group practice with Spanish speaking families in southern Texas. Focus group and training materials are available on the web at http://www.nationaldb.org/TAUnderserved.php |
NEWS & EVENTS |
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New State Deaf-Blind Projects The Wisconsin Deafblind Technical Assistance Project (WDBTAP) is a new project housed within the Wisconsin Educational Services Deaf/Hard of Hearing Outreach Program. Marcy Dicker is Project Director and Heidi Hollenberger is Project Coordinator. The Kansas State Deaf-Blind Project is now at the University of Kansas. Jean Ann Summers, Ph.D., is the new director and Megan Cote is the new coordinator. The New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative is now housed at Queens College. Samuel Morgan is Project Director and Susanne Morrow is Project Coordinator. Wendy Buckley will offer an online course in Spring 2009, Technology for Students with Visual and Multiple Disabilities. More details… The 2009 Texas Symposium on Deafblindness is scheduled for February 13-14, 2009 in Austin. Keep checking our website for current information on NCDB webinars in early 2009. |
PRODUCTS & PUBLICATIONS |
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HumanWare begins shipping new DeafBlind Communicator. More details… Webby Talents is a new forum and free video hosting website for people with disabilities. A broad base of videos that highlight the many talents of people with disabilities, it seeks to “sweep away preconceived ideas about people with disabilities”. Teaching Children with Visual Impairments is a free online video that was filmed during Camp Abilities, a summer sports camp for children with visual impairments, blindness, and deafblindness. Search tip: Remember to use the site search feature on the NCDB website, top right hand corner of any page. It is a quick way to locate items on pages further into the site. 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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Artwork courtesy of the Helen Keller International Art Show From all of the staff at NCDBHAPPY HOLIDAYS |
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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. |