Deaf-Blindness

UNIT 6
FOUNDATION OF SPECIAL AND

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
 “Kindness is the language which the
deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
 Learning Objective:

Identify the causes, problems, struggles

and challenges, prevalence and
accommodations
• Deaf-blindness means a concomitant hearing and visual
impairments, the combination of which causes such severe
communication and other developmental and educational
needs (Newark, 2015).
• It is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a
person’s ability to communicate, to access all kinds of
information and to get around (Sense, 2015)
• Deaf-blindness impacts access to people, language and
communication as well as the environment in school, home
and community. (Miles, D. and Riggio, M. (1999).
 History

Victorine Morriseau, first Victorine Morriseau

deaf-blind woman to receive

formal education, is taught in The first deaf-blind woman to

Paris, France. receive formal education, is
taught in Paris, France.
 History

Victorine Morriseau, first Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia,

deaf-blind woman to receive Alabama. She was afflicted at the age
formal education, is taught in of 19 months with an illness (possibly
Paris, France. scarlet fever) that left her blind and
deaf.
 History
Helen Keller’s life created a worldwide
Victorine Morriseau, first
interest in the education of deaf-blind
deaf-blind woman to receive
children.
formal education, is taught in
An American author and educator
Paris, France.
who was blind and deaf. Her
education and training represent an
extraordinary accomplishment in the
education of persons with these
disabilities.
 History

Victorine Morriseau, first A worldwide epidemic of

deaf-blind woman to receive rubella resulted in the birth of
formal education, is taught in thousands of deaf-blind
Paris, France. children, most of whom had
other mental and physical
handicaps.
 History
• Congress passed P.I. 90-230, which legislated the
creation of centers and services for deaf-blind
children and Youth.

• Congress passed P.I. 92-142, which mandated states

to provide a free, appropriate public education to all
children with special needs.
 Philippines

Victorine Morriseau, first

deaf-blind woman to receive • The Philippine School for the

formal education, is taught in Deaf is the pioneer school for
Paris, France. the handicapped in the
country and in Asia.
 Philippines

Victorine Morriseau, first

deaf-blind woman to receive Miss Delia Delight - a teacher of

formal education, is taught in the deaf and the daughter of
Paris, France. deaf parents started a class of
three pupils.
 Philippines

Victorine Morriseau, first

deaf-blind woman to receive In June 1963,R.A. 3562, the school

formal education, is taught in for the deaf was separated from the
Paris, France. Philippine National School for the
blind.
 Characteristics
• Deaf-blindness has been described as a disability
of information gathering.
• difficulty bonding with caregivers and
maintaining interpersonal relationships
• feelings of vulnerability
• difficulty developing skills for communicating
with others in a meaningful way
• trouble learning object permanence
 Characteristics
• delayed understanding that there are
consequences to actions
• inconsistent responses to sounds or visual
images
• unusual responses via the impact senses
• an overactive startle response
• delayed motor skills
 Characteristics
Possible referral characteristics for children with deaf-
blindness may consists of the following:
A. Cognitive
• Inability to perform basic academic tasks
• Difficulty in performing functional life skills
B. Communication
• Difficulty with spoken language
• Limited vocabulary
Characteristics

C. Behavior
• -Exhibits low frustration tolerance
• -Difficulty in demonstrating age-appropriate
behavior
• -Exhibits problems in adjusting to change
Screening and Diagnosis
• The red reflex test
A red reflection should be seen as its
reflected back. If a white reflection is seen, it could
be a sign of an eye problem.

• The Pupil reflex test

The baby should automatically shrink in
response to the light. If it doesn’t, it could be a
sign of a problem with the eyes.

• Attention to Visual objects

A midwife or doctor will try to catch the
baby’s attention with an interesting objects. They
then move it to see if the child’s eyes follow.
Screening and Diagnosis
• Snellen and LogMAR charts
The child will be asked to read out or
match the letter it can see from a specific
distance.

• Range of movement tests

A child attention will be drawn to an
interesting object, which is then moved to
eight different positions: up, down, left,
right, and half between each of these points.
Screening and Diagnosis
• Refraction test
It is carried out of an optometrist at
a high street optician and is used to
determine if the child needs glasses and
the prescription they need.

• Color vision deficiency test

Color vision deficiency tests also
known as color blindness tests. A child
who cant tell the difference between two
colors won’t be able to see the number
or letter.
Eye Problems Affecting Babies and Children

• Lazy eye (amblyopia)

- where the vision in one eye
does not develop properly.

• Squint (strabismus)
- where the eyes look in different
directions.
Eye Problems Affecting Babies and Children

• Short-sightedness (myopia)
- where distant objects appear
blurred, while close objects can be
seen clearly.

• Long-sightedness (hyperopia)
- where you can see distant
objects clearly, but nearby objects
are out of focus.
Eye Problems Affecting Babies and Children
• Astigmatism
- where the cornea is not perfectly curved.

• Color vision deficiency

- difficulty in seeing colors or
distinguishing between colors.

• Childhood cataracts
- cloudy patches in the lens of the eye
that are present from birth.
 Hearing Tests
• Automated acoustics emissions
- a soft earpiece is placed in the baby’s ear and quiet clicking sounds are
played through it; the earpiece picks up the response from the inner ear and
a computer analyses the results.

• Automated audiometry brainstem response test

- three small sensors are placed on the baby’s head and neck, and soft
headphones are used to play quiet clicking sounds.

• Play audiometry
- sounds will be played through headphones or speakers and the child
will be asked to perform a simple task when it hears the sound.
Hearing Tests
Hearing Tests
 Causes of hearing loss that may be detected during routine tests
• Glue ear - a build up of fluid in the middle ear

• Infections that develop in the womb or at birth

• inherited conditions which stop the ears or nerves from working

properly

• damage to the cochlear or auditory nerves

• being starved of oxygen at birth

• illnesses such as meningitis and encephalitis

 Prevalence
• There are over 10,000 children( ages birth to 22 years) in
U.S. who have been classified as deaf-blind(NCBD,2008)

• In the Philippines, 1,443 persons had disability (2010

census)

• There were more males then females

What causes deaf-blindness?
There are many potential causes of deaf-blindness. Some babies are
born deaf-blind, but in many cases, hearing and/or vision loss occurs later
in life.

Causes of deaf-blindness include:

• age-related hearing loss

• eye problems associated with increasing age, such as cataracts

• genetic conditions like Usher syndrome and CHARGE syndrome

• viral infection during pregnancy, including infections such as rubella

(German measles)and encephalitis
What causes deaf-blindness?

• Cerebral palsy - a problem with the brain and nervous system that mainly
affects movement and co-ordination.

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

• Premature birth

• Illness, trauma, or injuries

Problems, Challenges and Struggles

• uncomfortable interacting non-verbally with others

• need help to accompany the introduction of words

• mental stress affects many people with deaf-blindness

• need preparation to receive some form of symbolic

communication
Information about Child’s Education

Children who are called deaf-blind are singled out

educationally because the combined impairments of sight
and hearing require thoughtful and unique educational
approaches to ensure that children with this disability have
the opportunity to reach their full potential. The good news
is, there are many teaching strategies that have proven to be
effective when teaching a student who is deaf-blind.
Challenges the Child May Have in Educational and Other Settings

• Difficulty with communication:

Students difficulty to communicate with others and others difficulty to
communicate with the student.

• Distorted perceptions:
Difficulty in grasping the whole picture or relating one element to the
whole.

• Lack of anticipation:
Difficulty in knowing what is going to happen next because they may
not ‘overhear’ or observe information and these cues are often missed or
distorted.
 Challenges the Child May Have in Educational and Other Settings

• Lack of motivation:
Things that might motivate the student or are going unseen or
unheard, or may be missing from the situation.

• Lack of incidental learning:

Difficulty in grasping information when participating through
observation or group experiences because they don’t see or hear what is
happening around them.
Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques

• Help the student communicate and understand communication of many

types.
• Make use of the student’s usable hearing and vision. Know what the
student can and cannot hear or see and how that changes in different
environments.
• Consider the use all any of the five senses to help the student learn.
• Respect the student’s use of touch as his hands may be the link to
everything and everybody.
Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques

• Allow plenty of time for reactions and decisions. Since understanding the
whole picture is difficult, it may take longer to ‘put the pieces together.’
• Develop positive self-esteem by giving the student opportunities to make
choices.
• Give immediate feedback to the student’s actions and attempts to
communicate, including reinforcing success and giving strategies to make
them more successful.
• Plan experiences so that problem solving is required and then give the
student the time necessary to work it out.
Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques

• Use practical activities that can be learned in the natural routines

of the day.

• Plan activities and experiences so the student is involved from

start to finish of an activity. Too often, people and objects appear
and disappear as if by magic.

• Include communication in all aspects of the IEP.

Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques
Educational Assessment Strategies

The assessment of children who are deaf-blind is challenging. Their

intelligence is often underestimated. However, there is a
comprehensive approach to assessment known as authentic
assessment, which can be used with children who are deaf-blind or
have multiple disabilities.
 Key Points of Assessment
• Assessment is the starting point of a child’s education.

• Family involvement in the assessment process is essential.

• Information should be gathered using a combination of techniques including

interviews with people who know a child well, informal and structured
observations, and evaluations by specialists.

• Assessment of children who are deaf-blind must go far beyond the use of
assessment instruments.

• Standardized tests may be necessary to qualify a child for services but are
inappropriate as tools to guide educational planning.
 Suggestions for interacting one-on-one with a student with deaf-blindness

• Patience, respect, and a willingness to find a way to communicate are your best
tools.

• When you approach a person with deaf-blindness, identify yourself and speak
directly to them.

• Ask permission before touching the individual, unless it is an emergency.

• Speak directly to the person, not to the intervenor.

• If you are not sure what to do, ask, “Can I help?”

Suggestions for interacting one-on-one with a student with deaf-blindness
Thank You
For Listening!