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 paper summarizes the results of a symposium on assessment procedures at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, a residential/day school for children with sensory impairments. Experience with top down assessment utilizing a wholistic approach is emphasized. First a brief description of assessment in the parent infant program is given. Then…

This first volume in a two-volume series which contains training modules on the education of children and youth with dual sensory and multiple impairments focuses on training parents to be knowledgeable consumers of intervention strategies and educational services for their children. The four modules in this volume address the following areas: (1)…

Provided is a collection of presentations from a conference for ophthalmologists, optometrists, and educators meeting to exchange their concerns and share knowledge on various types of sensory handicaps of deaf blind children. The conference is seen as an introduction to the needs of deaf blind children and to the importance of stating diagnostic…

This paper presents a summary of best practices for communication assessment and intervention with individuals who are deaf/blind and have a severe intellectual impairment. Focus is on individuals who have difficulty both receiving and understanding auditory, visual, and tactual information. The impact of sensory losses on communicative…

This paper describes the Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (VISTA), a decision-making process for determining the educational support service needs of students with deaf-blindness or other multiple disabilities. The paper also analyzes perceptions of VISTA held by experts in a variety of fields. Specifically, VISTA provides a team…

Three presentations described the relation of media implosion to delivery of educational services to deaf-blind multihandicapped children, a curriculum for profoundly retarded children in development centers, and a device for screening hearing in high risk newborns and infants, respectively. In proposing an interdisciplinary approach to delivery…

This second volume in a two-volume series which contain training modules on the education of children and youth with dual sensory and multiple impairments focuses on preservice or inservice training of service providers who deliver educational services to these children. The five modules in this volume address the following areas: (1) introduction…