Deaf-Blindness

The Regulations Governing Special Education Programs for Children with Disabilities in Virginia (effective July 7, 2009) defines the term as follows:

“Deaf-Blindness” means hearing and visual impairments occurring at the same time, 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.  34 CFR §  300.7 (c) (3); 8VAC20-81-10.

Resources

• Guidelines For Working With Students Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing In Virginia Public Schools - Revised September 2019 (Word)

• Deaf-Blindness Eligibility (PDF)

• Educational Interpreting Services (PDF)

• Training & Technical Assistance Centers (T/TAC) – funded by VDOE, work to improve educational opportunities and contribute to the success of children and youth with disabilities (birth - 22 years).

• Guidelines for School Division Policy Regarding Service Dogs in Virginia's Public Schools (PDF)

• Refer also to Deaf & Hard of Hearing and Visual Impairment Including Blindness

Outside Resources

• Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals – Certification agency for O & M specialists.

• Accessible Instructional Materials Center of Virginia (AIM-VA) – accessible core instructional material.

• Alexander Graham Bell Association – the world's oldest and largest membership organization promoting the use of spoken language by children and adults with hearing loss.

• American Association for the Deaf-Blind

• American Council of the Blind

• American Foundation for the Blind

• American Printing House for the Blind

• American Society for Deaf Children – organization of parents who are advocates for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association – professional and consumer resources from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Contains a career FAQ and a glossary of terms.

• Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired

• Boys Town Center for Hearing Loss in Children – Boys Town National Research Hospital's resource for parents of babies who have just been diagnosed with a hearing loss or for families of any child who is deaf or hard of hearing.

• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) – general information about children and youth with disabilities.

• Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) – provides services designed to support equal educational opportunity and improve the academic achievement of students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

• Hands and Voices – established by parents of Colorado Home Intervention Program supporting all communication options for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

• Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia – Early Intervention (Part C, IDEA) services

• National Association of the Deaf – provides services and support for deaf individuals and their families. Includes local chapter links and articles.

• National Consortium on Deafblindness (formerly DeafBlind Link) – works collaboratively with families, federal, state and local agencies to provide technical assistance, information and personnel training. NCDB brings together the resources of three agencies with long histories of expertise in the field of deaf-blindness.

• National Federation of the Blind

• TTAC Online – A community linking people and resources to help children and youth with disabilities.

• Virginia Consortium for Teacher Preparation in Vision Impairment – Virginia’s preparation program for teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired.

• Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (VDBVI)

• Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH)

• Virginia Project for Children and Young Adults with Deaf-Blindness – technical assistance, training, distance education and networking information to families, service providers and individuals who are deaf-blind/dual sensory impaired.

• VA Relay – enables people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or speech disabled to communicate by TTY or another assistive telephone device with anyone who uses a standard phone.

• Virginia Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf – the Virginia affiliate chapter of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.

• Virginia's Resource Guide for Families of Children with Hearing Loss (2016) (PDF)