Music is a way of representing the patterns of frequencies and vibrational relationships--and at St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf, it is used it to promote language learning and transform students' educational experiences. Traditionally defined through the medium of sound, music has been seen as an approach that excludes deaf and hard of…

This brief, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), provides important information about students with dual sensory loss who also have significant cognitive disabilities, as well as recommendations for identification and implications for instruction. The…

This publication describes a comprehensive approach to assessment known as authentic assessment, which can be used with children who are deaf-blind or have multiple disabilities. Authentic assessment involves obtaining information about children in their everyday environments during normal activities. It provides a way to learn what children know…

Every year, under the federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), millions of children with disabilities receive special services designed to meet their unique needs. Early intervention services are provided through the state to infants and toddlers with disabilities under three years of age and their families. For…

Although the term deaf-blind implies a complete absence of hearing and sight, in reality, it refers to children with varying degrees of vision and hearing losses. The type and severity differ from child to child. The key feature of deaf-blindness is that the combination of losses limits access to auditory and visual information. Children with…

The paper examines the use of concrete symbol systems to make the transition from presymbolic to formal symbolic communication for deaf blind students. Comments focus on expressive use of concrete symbols and address two issues requiring further research: (1) the critical features of referent objects, concrete symbols, and concrete symbol arrays…

The case study demonstrates the use of negative reinforcement for initial response conditioning of a seven-year-old deaf, blind, physically handicapped boy. A systematic procedure for reinforcer sampling failed to identify items for positive reinforcers. A procedure for removal of an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcement) was then successfully…

The document presents the final report of the Sensory Multihandicapped Project, which planned a comprehensive program for the education of children who were sensory multihandicapped (deaf blind, deaf with other handicaps, or blind with other handicaps) in Alberta, Canada. Project activities included reviewing the literature, visiting sites serving…

The component parts of a continuum of services needed for the deaf blind individual to function in the least restrictive environment are discussed. The need for both public and private interagency cooperation for the service delivery system to be effective is cited. (PHR)

Case studies are used to demonstrate several strategies used in the San Francisco Bay area to ensure the inclusion of persons with dual sensory impairments and other multiple disabilities in integrated community employment. Strategies include heterogeneous group placement, job restructuring, use of natural support, volunteerism, and social skills…

Keith Park, advisory teacher for Sense (the National Deafblind Rubella Association) in Greenwich and Lewisham, London, has written about his approach to interactive storytelling for BJSE before. This article describes a series of poetry workshops based on chapters 37 to 45 of the Book of Genesis (the story of Joseph and his family) using the text…

The authors describe how the "I CAN" physical education program, an individualized instructional management system for developing skills, associated concepts, and social growth in handicapped children, was adapted for use with deaf blind children (5 to 21 years old) at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind. (SBH)

The authors describe personal experiences with Usher's Syndrome, a condition involving visual impairment (due to Retinitis Pigmentosa) and deafness. Prevalence and onset of Usher's Syndrome are described along with characteristics of two different types. Problems connected with diagnosis are reviewed, including genetic aspects and the progressive…

The Communication Observation Schedule (COS) records systematically the pragmatics of communication with children who have deaf-blindness and are functioning from the prelanguage to true words level. The COS provides the opportunity to record the purpose of an interaction, who initiates and who responds to it, the mode of response, and whether the…

The Including Exceptions in Schools (IES) Project attempted to develop, implement, and validate a system for educating students with the most extreme dual sensory and other cognitive, physical, and health impairments in general education settings. The project involved 17 elementary and secondary students in Oregon, Idaho, and Louisiana over a…