“Hey, what’s the big idea?” When reading a story, how do you know what the author is trying to tell you? You figure it out based on your life experiences and what you know about the topic. Learners with combined vision and hearing loss may not have life experiences on which to build when participating … Read more
Imagine sitting peacefully in a really dark room while wearing noise-cancelling headphones feeling relaxed and comfortable. You’re feeling at-ease in the quiet, dark room with your arms resting on the table in front of you when all-of-a-sudden, something grabs your hand and presses it onto a strange-feeling, unrecognizable object. You startle, panic, and scream out … Read more
How do you teach literacy skills to learners with combined hearing and vision loss? It requires communication involvement of the reader to learn and experience the book topic and its concepts. You certainly cannot just read a book aloud, show the pictures, and expect comprehension of all concepts in the story. They most likely have … Read more
How Interesting! Using High Interest/Low Vocabulary Books to Teach Concepts What are your favorite genres to read? Do you prefer historical themes, biographies, science fiction, fiction or informational texts? Anything related to history is my favorite. To tell you the truth, if I were required to read a science fiction story, I could read a … Read more
Parents of children with combined vision and hearing loss have to spend a lot of time explaining their children to new caregivers and teachers as well as to those in the medical field. They have to explain what their child’s likes and dislikes are, what they can eat and how they communicate etc. over … Read more
Trajectory Shift: Let’s Start a Revolution! (A Parental Perspective) If you are a parent of a child with disabilities, have you ever felt like no one understands them? In a world that often sees a person’s disability before it sees the person, do you desire for your child to be seen for “all” of who … Read more
Ms. Lottie ~ Nash County Public Schools There is nothing that impacts the life of a student with deaf-blindness more than a dedicated para-educator. Ms. Lottie is one of those individuals! Ms. Lottie has worked in the Nash County Public School system for the past 12 years, providing one-on-one/Intervener support to a student with deaf-blindness. … Read more
Many of us have played the game of Charades. It’s when a person acts out words or phrases and players have to guess what the person is trying to communicate. The person is not allowed to use verbal communication to give hints to the players. The participants must determine the word or phrase … Read more
Spending an evening painting on canvas is a favorite of mine. I’m not a naturally skilled artist so before the painting begins, planning must occur. I know my skills and limitations, therefore making a beautiful landscape like Bob Ross with the swish of a brush is not something I can do. It’s more defined as … Read more
Chances are, if you are reading this, you serve students who have combined vision and hearing loss and you’re searching for answers. Many times, those questions include: How can I guide my student with combined hearing and vision loss to use receptive and expressive modes of communication? Where can I turn … Read more
