As a teacher of the deaf as well as the classroom teacher, Kimberly Mockler works very closely with the teacher of the visually impaired. This involves sharing ideas, resources, and lesson plans for the deaf/blind students. Their lessons and goals are very similar and overlap in several areas. A major challenge for both of them is maintaining high…

Experiences that occur during the earliest years of life critically impact children's abilities to learn, move, and interact with others. This is especially true for children with severe sensory and multiple disabilities, for whom physical, communicative, cognitive, social, and emotional developmental domains are deeply intertwined. In recognition…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 states that individualized education program (IEP) teams are composed of members with distinct identities, roles, expertise, and histories. Although team members must work together to implement educational and related services for learners with special needs, little is known about…

Because little is known about teacher-student relationships that involve students with acquired deafblindness, the authors performed a multiple case study with a multiple-method design to investigate the relationship between need-supportive teaching behaviors and student engagement. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), they…

Vocational Education, Community Training, and Occupational Relations Program (VECTOR) serves a variety of students with disabilities, about one-third of whom are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf/blind. As part of what the federal government calls a "traditionally underserved population," these students come from the homes of immigrants and…

Research on Self-Determination Theory has shown that teachers' need-supportive behaviour is associated with student motivation and engagement. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at increasing the motivation of students with congenital and acquired deafblindness by enhancing teachers' need-supportive…

Educators and children with congenital deaf-blindness experience major challenges in building interactions that are reciprocated and sustained. Studies have shown that affect attunement and sensitive responsiveness are crucial for a child to feel recognized and for synchronizing early conversations. The authors previously presented the Diagnostic…

A person who is considered deaf-blind is someone who is deaf or hard-of-hearing in combination with a visual impairment or blindness. The range of capabilities and support needs of individuals with deaf-blindness varies substantially from person to person because of differences in the extent of partial vision or hearing, if any, or the presence of…

Children and youth who are deafblind with multiple disabilities have several identified risk factors for experiencing toxic levels of stress, and such stress is known to impair physical, mental, and emotional health. This single-case multiple baseline study examined the frequency and duration of behaviors thought to indicate stress, the duration…

There are many techniques for communicating with individuals who are deaf-blind. In Japan, another technique, known as fingerbraille, is also used. Fingerbraille is a tactile method of communication that is based on Japanese braille script. This article introduces the reader to the history of the development of this communication technique and to…

Introduction: It has been well established that children with visual impairments tend to be less physically active and more delayed in motor skills than their sighted peers. As a result, there has been some research focusing on inclusive physical education for these children. However, there is a clear lack of research on the current status of…

Children who are deafblind are one of the lowest-incidence yet most diverse groups receiving services mandated by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Despite this population's diversity, the development of communication skills is critical for all children who are deafblind, and is the foundation on which good transition…

Rehabilitation efforts for children with congenital dual sensory impairments, or deafblindness, have a long-standing history. Rehabilitation for older people with acquired dual impairments has recently moved to center stage because of the increasing number of clients who require such services (Saunders & Echt, 2007). For both these groups of…

"The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Literacy" brings together state-of-the-art research on literacy learning among deaf and hard of hearing learners (DHH). With contributions from experts in the field, this volume covers topics such as the importance of language and cognition, phonological or orthographic awareness, morphosyntactic…

The Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans (MNCDHH) and the Minnesota Department of Education co-sponsored remote participation in two National Summits on Deaf Education in 2009 and 2010. The summits were focused on improved outcomes for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing students, partnerships, and collaboration. Summit…