Deaf-Blind

The National Center on Deaf-Blindness Site (NCDB) (external link) is a national technical assistance (TA) and dissemination center for children and youth who are deaf-blind. In partnership with state deaf-blind TA projects throughout the U.S., NCDB conducts initiatives and activities to achieve the following goals:

• increase the capacity of state and local early intervention and education agencies to improve policies and practices for children and youth who are deaf-blind;
• promote the use of evidence-based practices; and
• increase the capacity of families to develop relationships with fellow families, service providers, and others, and expand their knowledge of deaf-blindness and skills in self-advocacy and self-empowerment.

While there be sure to check out:

• The family page (external link)

Through the PaTTAN system, the Deaf-Blind Project offers a variety of training, technical assistance, and resources to assist educators in assessment and instruction for students who are deaf-blind, between birth and 22  years of age. The Deaf-Blind Project offers family involvement activities, such as family-to family networking, an online study group for families, an annual conference, and connection to other low incidence initiatives under PaTTAN. PaTTAN Deaf-Blind Initiative (external link) 

The Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (external link) maintains a registry of information that is used to identify the needs of persons with deaf-blindness, and as a planning tool. Registry Form (external link)

The National Center on Deaf-Blind (external link) has information on Early Identification and Referral (external link) as well as Family Engagement. (external link)

The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (external link) supports persons who are Deaf-Blind and their families.(external link)

The Pennsylvania Partnership for the Deaf-Blind (PPDB) is an organized network of individuals with deafblindness, their parents and family members, friends, service providers and other interested people.  We support our members as they deal with the daily issues of life, such as relationships with family and friends, health, education, finances, employment, insurance, service agencies and others.

This is a link to an online bulletin board of resources for families of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who have dual sensory loss of both vision and hearing and the professionals who work with them.  You can suggest additions to this bulletin board by double clicking on a blank spot on the page and creating a resource suggestion which will be reviewed and approved for addition. Take me to the Bulletin Board (external link)

This tool was created to assist classroom teachers, therapists, school nurses, and parents in identifying sensory impairments in children with multiple disabilities. A Tool for Identifying Vision and Hearing Loss in Children with Multiple Disabilities PDF (external link) 

This new 62-page publication from the Intervener (external link) website was created especially for parents of children who are deaf-blind. A Family’s Guide to Interveners (external link) 

A new checklist for early intervention professionals and parents to be used in conjunction with the “Getting Started” publication that gives guidance on best practices. Deaf-Blind Checklist (external link) 

 When you enter the world of a child who is Deafblind you may not have all of the resources you need at your fingertips.  Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children Who are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple Disabilities might be the exact tool you need.  Whether you are assessing a child, developing interventions, or coaching a family with a child who is Deafblind you can find answers to your questions here.  Take a moment to read this document and let us know if you are interested in a facilitated discussion about this resource by emailing  agaspich@pattan.net with deafblind in the subject. (external link) 

This online course introduces participants to deaf-blindness, its causes and the impact of combined vision and hearing loss on the development of very young children. Supporting Young Children Who are Deaf-Blind (external link) 

This job aid provides background information about deaf-blindness, explores considerations for children who have combined hearing and vision loss, and leads you through a variety of resources. It is the same information as the above course, but available at any time (without credit).Interventions for Children with combined Vision and Hearing Loss(external link) 

This framework offers a collection of online resources that can be used to provide customized training and technical assistance to early intervention providers as well as to families. It focuses on the identification of children with combined vision and hearing loss, key instructional strategies, and the developmental domains used by Early Interventionists. The selection of resources was guided by CEC’s Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices. The Sooner the Better Framework(external link)