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Helping Students with Deaf-Blindness by Paul Bivens, What is deaf…
Helping Students with Deaf-Blindness
by Paul Bivens
"Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness." - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Some individuals with deaf-blindness have limited sight or hearing. Others have neither.
How do people with deaf-blindness comminciate?
A person with deaf-blindness may communicate through an interpreter via tactile sign language. This is done through touching hands using a two-handed alphabet. This is sometimes called finger spelling.
Communicate directly to the student, not to the interpreter.
A person with deaf-blindness may communicate using sign language. Some will require small window interpreting, signing within their restricted range of vision.
What accommodations can be made for students with deaf-blindness?
If possible, work should be sent to the student electronically.
Students should be allowed to audio-record lectures.
Students should be given preferential seating.
This may mean allowing students with limited sight or hearing to sit in the front of the classroom.
This may mean allowing students to sit near an electrical outlet.
Exams and Evaluations
Exams that include graphic content such as charts or illustrations should be transcribed into a format that's more accessible to the student.
If needed, provide an alternative method of evaluation.
Some students with deaf-blindness may require an interpreter for their exams.
Offer alternatives to more traditional assignments such as an oral presentation rather than a written presentation.
Some students with deaf-blindness may use an interpreter for oral assignments.
Teachers should arrange to meet with students to discuss specific learning needs and strategies for success.
Provide braille translations of exams and other materials.
Assistive Technology
Screen Reader
A screen reader converts text on a website to a speech translation.
Braille Displays
Braille displays convert digital text into braille dots.
Speech Recognition Software
Allows the student to interact with websites using only their voice.
Enhanced Listening Devices
A hearing aid or cochlear implant can be beneficial to student with a loss of hearing.
Systems can be connected directly to student's enhanced listening device.
"The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness estimated in 2008 that there are approximately 10,000 children (ages birth to 22 years) and approximately 40,000 adults who are deaf-blind in the United States. This census of the deaf-blind in the United States did not count the many senior adults with severe combined hearing and vision loss."
What is deaf-blindness?
Sources:
Sec. 300.8 (c) (2) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (2017, May 3). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/c/2
Teaching Students with Deaf-Blindness. (2017, February 27). Accessible Campus.
https://accessiblecampus.ca/tools-resources/educators-tool-kit/teaching-tips/teaching-students-with-deaf-blindness/
Deaf-Blindness. (2019). National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress.
https://www.loc.gov/nls/resources/deaf-blindness/
