The Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute, Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Toddlers with Visual Impairments and Their Families, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was a national project that developed resources with the goal of building the capacity of colleges and universities to prepare personnel to…

While some people feel that an infant who will never see or hear can bring only heartache, Orion's family knew differently. Deafblindness is not just about the absence of sight and sound. It is so much more than the sum of these two parts. What one learns from experiencing the collaboration between a teacher of the deaf and a teacher of the…

Data from the 2014 National Center on Deaf-Blindness Count show that fewer than 100 infants and toddlers are currently identified with deafblindness across the United States and that identification rates for this population vary greatly from state to state. The author presents a key rationale for timely and accurate identification of early-onset…

Research on child- and family-related service needs for families of children with severe disabilities is scant, and the literature regarding the service needs of children/families with deaf-blindness is almost nonexistent. This study examined child and family disability-related service utilization and satisfaction with services from the…

This article presents an early intervention model for infants who are deaf-blind that focuses on the significance of infant-caregiver interaction. It proposes intervention strategies to develop contingent responsiveness in caregivers, promote active learning in infants, support mutually satisfying exchanges, and address the exceptional learning…

The article addresses such issues as the effects of definition of deaf-blindness on programs and training, the functional interpretation of deaf-blindness, intervention theories, early intervention, the development of residual vision and hearing, and an integrated sensory approach. Recommendations include developing appropriate preservice…

Children who have both a hearing loss and a visual impairment are a very small but extremely heterogeneous low incidence group. These children vary greatly in the types and degrees of visual impairment and hearing loss. The majority of them have some usable vision and/or hearing, and many have additional disabilities. Most professionals (i.e.,…