Lesson 1: Introduction to Deafblindness
Deafblindness is a rare condition in which an individual has combined hearing and vision loss, which limits access to both auditory and visual information. A a family engagement coordinator (FEC), understanding deafblindness and the continuum of the population is essential for planning your technical assistance (TA) for families.
Knowledge and Skills Addressed
- Defining deafblindness
- Common causes of deafblindness
- The diversity of the population of individuals who are deafblind (e.g., different etiologies, range of cognitive abilities, presence of additional physical challenges, varying degrees of vision and hearing loss)
Learning Activities
Background Information
Definition. For educational purposes, deafblindness is defined as "concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that students cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness" (IDEA Regulations, Sec. 300.8 (c) (2)).
Children who are deafblind vary greatly in terms of both degree of vision and hearing loss and their levels of functioning and educational needs. FECs need to be familiar with the continuum of children who are deafblind in order to provide effective services to families.
Causes. There are many causes of deafblindness. Congenital causes occur at or around birth. Acquired deafblindness occurs when an individual experiences combined hearing and vision loss after communication is well established. Congenital and acquired deafblindness pose different challenges. Knowledge of the cause helps determine the support a child and their families may need.
Readings
The An Overview of Deafblindness factsheet provides an easy-to-read introduction on children who are deafblind. It's a starting point for your own learning and a great resource to share with families.
The Causes of Deafblindness webpage includes descriptions and resources for some of the most common causes of deafblindness. Keep the link handy for your own reference and to share with families.
Assignment
For this assignment,
- Find the number of children who are deafblind in your state by going to the National DeafBlind Child Count webpage and downloading the most recent report.
- Compare the number of children in your state to the number in other states.
- Go to the “Etiologies” section of the report and familiarize yourself with the types of syndromes and conditions of children in your state.
- Briefly describe how this information could help inform the TA and support your project provides for families.