Narrator:
The National Center on Deaf-Blindness.
Our mission is to improve the services, educational results, and quality of life for children age birth to 21 who are deaf-blind and their families. Today in the US, there are about ten-thousand children who’ve been identified as deaf-blind. And no two are alike. They vary in ways like the cause of deaf-blindness, level of sensory loss, and additional disabilities. Because it’s so individualized, services and support must be designed to meet each child’s unique needs and abilities. As a national technical assistance and information center, NCDB is part of and collaborates with a network of projects that helps those who support children and youth with deaf-blindness. Our key focus is to assist state deaf-blind projects in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Pacific Basin, and the Virgin Islands.  We support their efforts to provide a range of services, from child-specific assistance to system-wide efforts to create or improve state and local services. For more than 45 years, the Department of Education has supported this work. And today, thanks to funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, we’ve expanded our services and the deaf-blind network by partnering with other high-impact organizations -- each with extensive expertise in the highly specialized field of deaf-blindness. Most of NCDB’s goals and services are aligned with four national initiatives... 
Family Engagement helps families partner with service providers and advocate for their children. Identification and Referral works to identify and refer children with deaf-blindness for appropriate services as early as possible. The Interveners and Qualified Personnel initiative focuses on personnel development and promoting the use of interveners and teachers of the deaf-blind. And the Transition initiative helps to enhance the educational opportunities and planning that result in a meaningful adult life. We also keep track of the demographic details of children with deaf-blindness. With our “National Deaf-Blind Child Count,” we annually compile, analyze, and publish this valuable data. The Child Count and a wealth of other resources can be found on our extensive website, which includes a comprehensive collection of free products, tools, and materials. Included are webinars, training modules, and information on high-quality instructional practices. The National Center on Deaf-Blindness ... Working together to improve educational results and quality of life for children who are deaf-blind and their families.
To learn more, visit nationaldb.org.