Moniqua Gallop Being closed off from communication opportunities can be tough on any of us. Imagine how tough it can be for individuals with DeafBlindness who, without access to communication methods, may have limited awareness/interactions with their environment. It is our job as educators to ensure that they have the resources needed to receive and initiate communication. … Read more
One of the biggest issues facing DeafBlind Projects all over the country is the under-reporting of children with DeafBlindness birth to three years on the states’ DeafBlind Census. This is a problem because the early years are so important in a child’s overall development. Young children with dual sensory impairment must begin receiving individualized services … Read more
We all have things we like and things we don’t like. At the risk of sounding old, I really like watching old Columbo reruns. I’ve seen all of the episodes multiple times and still enjoy them all. I don’t like old cowboy TV shows but my husband loves watching them. To me, they are just … Read more
Upon hearing the saying, “Hey, what’s the big idea?”, old episodes of “The Three Stooges” come to mind. We can relate to this phrase when trying to determine the main idea of an event or story, minus the physical interactions of the show’s characters, of course! When reading a story, how do you know what … Read more
Last May, I was very happy to see that I had a text message from the mother of one of my former students, Stephanie Costabel. I always love to get updates on how my former families and students are doing. When I opened the text, I was so excited to read “Hey!!! Thought I would … Read more
Check out great informational video about CVI with Marcy Meachum.
Anyone working with children with complex medical issues and/or DeafBlindness will have encountered children with the diagnosis of Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). CVI is a brain based visual impairment which requires different approaches and strategies than other non-brain based visual impairments. Chris Russell has provided us with a handy Fact Sheet on CVI that covers … Read more
Recently, I did a presentation for the NC Beginnings Parent Educators about services available for learners with DeafBlindness and I happened to mention the iCanConnect DeafBlind Equipment Distribution Program. Immediately several of the parent educators asked me to stop and explain what this program was! iCanConnect is a federal program administered locally in all 50 … Read more
by Patricia Dischinger Most of us are familiar with the Communication Matrix and have used it as an assessment tool to determine a level of expressive communication for our learners with complex needs and/or DeafBlindness. The Communication Matrix rates the level of communicative competence the learner is using to express the four basic reasons for … Read more
By Jen Chao What is CHARGE? It is an all-encompassing genetic syndrome that affects the entire body. CHARGE occurs in week 2 of pregnancy, when a chromosome flips to cause five defects, typically before the mother knows she’s pregnant. The diagnosis is identified by the presence of the same 5 defects, each letter standing for … Read more