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The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness |
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NCDB
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NCDB HIGHLIGHTS |
Technical AssistanceArea 1 The Washington project is in its second year of Family Leadership Training. The training is designed to develop the skills of family members so that they may take on leadership roles in their local, regional or state communities. This year there are four family members involved, joined by two mentors from last year’s training. This year’s group decided to bring together families to share information and support. This event, which occurred in April, included 14 families and was a great success. These new leaders are now busy planning their next family get together. Area 2 At the most recent area meeting entitled Looking BACK/Looking AHEAD, participants shared highlights from current project efforts and looked ahead to proposed activities. Topics included: interveners; new components of NCDB; the second post-secondary transition survey; and methods for collecting video examples of evidence-based practices. Information was shared about video, web and teleconferencing technology. The group found the possibilities so exciting that it decided to learn more by holding a meeting in June using a web conference format. We'll let you know how it goes! Area 3 Puerto Rico is working on supporting the inclusion of two students in regular education settings, something new to the region, as well as supporting 5 transition aged students in their attempts to find successful employment. Also, technical assistance in Louisiana to the Recovery School District included presentations on deaf-blindness and targeted training on the use of the Classroom Observation Instrument. Area 4 In collaboration with the Vermont State Deaf-Blind Project, Dr. Chris Roman will provide on-site consultation to Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) mentors in June. This visit will be the culmination of a five year, multi-state initiative that has produced a cadre of Vermont vision teachers and other related professionals with skills in assessing CVI and providing appropriate CVI interventions. Dr. Roman will review and evaluate the case studies and portfolios of each mentor. Similar on-site consultations will be taking place throughout the summer with CVI mentors in Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia. Families2008 Family Specialist Workshop Twenty-five family specialists from state projects participated in the 2008 Family Specialist Workshop, the first family specialist workshop in two years. The theme was “Together Again – Together We Can!” John Reiman, from NCDB and CADRE, provided training on enhancing communication and building agreement with others. On the second day, nine family specialists provided information to their colleagues on strategies they are using in their states. The presentations, done by individuals and panels, included the following topics: Family Leadership Training, Person-Centered Planning, Infant Massage Techniques, Intervener Training, the NFADB Transition Study, School/Community Simulation Activities, and an upcoming National Family Specialist Survey. Paddi Davies spent the final afternoon sharing different technology solutions for supporting and training families from a distance. NCDB will host the next family specialist workshop in the spring of 2009. North Carolina Family Leadership Training North Carolina is the first state project to be accepted for NCDB’s family leadership training. This is an application program developed for state deaf-blind projects which provides training to families in 1-3 states per year. The goal of the program is to train and support family members of children who are deaf-blind to become leaders in their local or state communities. Four family members from across North Carolina are participating. The training content is being delivered collaboratively by staff from NCDB, the North Carolina deaf-blind project and East Carolina University. Underserved Families The complete set of materials developed by NCDB in collaboration with the state of New Jersey to provide technical assistance and training to serve families from traditionally underserved populations is now available from the NCDB website. Check it out! (http://www.nationaldb.org/TAUnderserved.php). Personnel TrainingNCDB’s Personnel Preparation Consortium met in Orlando in May. The work with CEC to formalize competencies (SPA’s) for teachers and interveners of students who are deaf-blind, continues. The group also considered a matrix for organizing research and evidence based practices within the field. For a more complete summary of the groups activities visit: http://www.nationaldb.org/PTActivities.php#Collaboration |
NEWS & EVENTS |
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Upcoming Trainings Topical Workshop Proceedings OSEP Project Directors Meeting, July 2008 |
PRODUCTS & PUBLICATIONS |
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New Research Articles Online Professional Development for Early Interventionists: Learning a Systematic Approach to Promote Caregiver Interactions With Infants Who Have Multiple Disabilities by Deborah Chen, Diane Klein and Lavada Minor. In Infants and Young Children, vol. 21, #2, 2008, pp. 120-133. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an online course designed to train early interventionists to implement strategies with caregivers (parents) that promote interactions with infants who have multiple disabilities. 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. |