DEAF-BLINDNESS
Definiton:Deaf-blindness refers to a child with both hearing and visual disabilities. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) officially defines the term as “concomitant [simultaneous] 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.”
Primary CharacteristicsIndividuals with deaf-blindness (D/B) represent a heterogeneous group and may include (1) students who have both significant hearing and significant vision impairments with acuities measured or estimated in light of cognitive and adaptive functioning; (2) students who have hearing and vision impairments of a mild to severe degree and additional learning and/or communication disabilities and who may have been diagnosed as having a disease that will affect vision and/or hearing acuity; or (3) students who are multidisabled due to generalized central nervous system dysfunction and exhibit inconsistent responses to visual and auditory stimuli (functionally deaf-blind). Children identified under this disability category are also referred to as having a dual sensory impairment. Within this population a large number of students have both educational problems and cognitive, behavioral, communicative, and physical impairments. Possible referral characteristics for children with deaf-blindness may consist of the following:
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Accommodations & ModificationsPrincipal communication systems for persons who are Deaf-blind are these:
Assistive Technology
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