Characteristics of Good Programs

Children with deafblindness require teaching methods and educational settings that take into account all the ways that the combination of absent or limited vision and hearing impact learning.

Boy with deaf-blindness sitting at a table with two educators.

The resources on this page provide an overview of characteristics of good programs, such as:

Building trust
Individualizing instruction
Providing structured, responsive environments
Maximizing the use of vision, hearing, and other senses
Coordination of instruction by team members

Other sections of the Info Center provide more detail on these topics.

Students who are deaf-blind present a unique challenge to families, schools, and communities. Despite their designation, they represent an extremely heterogeneous population. Given their relatively small size in number, as well as their diversity, curriculum and instructional arrangements must remain flexible. (Jackson, 2005)

Introductory Resources

External Resource
Fundamental Classroom Conditions to Enhance Learning Experiences for Students Who Are Deaf-Blind
External Resource
Teaching Strategies and Content Modifications
Document
Home Visits with Families and Their Infants Who Are Deaf-Blindpdf|271.4 KB
External Resource
Observational Overview for Programs with Students with Deaf-blindness

Learn More

Offline Resource

Book chapter: Welch, T, R. (2005). Effective service delivery. In K. M. Heubner, J. G. Prickett, T. R. Welch, & E. Joffee (Eds.), Hand in hand: Essentials of communication and orientation and mobility for your students who are deaf-blind (pp. 111-149). AFB Press.

Reference

Jackson, R. M. (2005, updated 2011). Curriculum access for students with low-incidence disabilities: The promise of universal design for learning. National Center on Accessible Educational Materials.

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