| IDEA defines DEAF-BLINDNESS as "concomitant hearing and vision 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." |
| The concomitant vision and hearing difficulties (sometimes referred to as dual sensory impairments) exhibited by people with deaf-blindness result in severe communication deficits as well as developmental and educational difficulties that require extensive support across several professional disciplines. The impact of both vision and hearing loss on the educational needs of the student is a matter of debate among professionals. One view of deaf-blindness is that individuals have such severe mental retardation that both vision and hearing are also affected. Another view is that they have average intelligence and lost their hearing and sight after they acquired language. Intellectual functioning for persons with deaf-blindness may range from normal or gifted to severe mental retardation. All people with deaf-blindness experience challenges in learning to communicate, access information, and comfortably move through their environments. These individuals may also have physical and behavioral disabilities. However, the specific needs of each person will vary enormously according to age, onset, and type of deaf-blindness. |
| PREVALENCE DEAF- BLINDNESS In 2002, the Department of Education reported that 1,320 students between the ages of 6 and 21 were labeled deaf-blind. This accounts for 0.0002% of the students with disabilities served under IDEA. |
| Touch is a reciprocal sense. Positive touch promotes health and well-being. People who relate to children who are deafblind need to become especially conscious of how they use touch. Tactile sensitivity can be the result of touch experiences or it can be related to neurological conditions and especially sensitive nervous systems. Children who are deafblind use their hands as tools, eyes, ears, and voice and also to relieve stress. Touch can be a basis for genuine conversations with a child who is deafblind. The gestures that children make to reach out and explore are actually the beginning of mobility. Children who are deafblind need access to others' hands. Children who are deafblind usually need to learn language through touch or at least with touch as a strong support. Even children who have significant amounts of vision and hearing can greatly benefit from touch as a support to these senses and to help these children focus. |
| What causes Deaf-Blindness? (A to Z) congenital deaf-blindness acquired deaf-blindness Aicardi syndrome Alport syndrome Alstrom syndrome Apert syndrome asphyxia Bardett-Biedl syndrome Batten disease CHARGE association Chromosome 18 Cockayne syndrome Cogan syndrome congenital rubella Cornelia de Lange syndrome Cri du chat syndrome Crigler-Najjar syndrome Crouzon Syndrome cytomegalovirus Dandy Walker syndrome Direct trauma to the eye and ear Down syndrome encephalitis Fetal Alcohol syndrome Goldenhar syndrome Hand-Schüller-Christian disease (also known as Histiocytosis) Herpes zoster (not at birth or childhood stage) Hunter Syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II or MPS II) Hurler syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IH or MPS IH) hydrocephalus infectious diseases (Venereal diseases, toxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, trachoma and cytomegalovirus (CMV) jaundice Kearns-Sayre Syndrome Klippel Feil/Wildervanck syndrome Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome Kniest dysplasia Leber's Congenital Amaurosis Leigh's Disease Marfan syndrome Marshall syndrome Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS VI) maternal drug use meningitis microcephaly Moebius syndrome Monosomy 10p Morquio syndrome (MPS IV-B) Neonatal Herpes Simplex (HSV) NF1 - Neurofibromatosis (von Recklinghausen disease) NF2 - Bilateral Acoustic Neurofibromatosis Norrie disease Optico-Cochleo-Dentate Degeneration Pallister Killian Mosaic Syndrome Pfieffer syndrome (also spelled Pfeiffer) Prader-Willi Pierre-Robin syndrome Refsum syndrome Scheie syndrome (MPS I-S) Severe Head/Brain Injury Smith-Lemli-Opitz (SLO) syndrome or SLOS Stickler syndrome stroke Sturge-Weber syndrome Congenital Syphilis Congenital Toxoplasmosis Treacher Collins syndrome Trisomy 13 (Trisomy 13-15, Patau syndrome) Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) Turner syndrome Usher syndrome type I, II, III Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome Waardenburg syndrome Wolf-Hirschholm syndrome (Trisomy 4p) |
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| DEAF-BLINDNESS |