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Info Topics

This section contains links to Info Topic pages on subjects that are important for children and youth who are deafblind. 

Each Info Topic contains selected information and resources gathered from the wonderful knowledge base in deafblindness that has developed as a result of the work of practitioners and researchers over many decades. Some of the resources were created by NCDB, but most were created by other individuals and agencies, such as state deafblind projects and Perkins School for the Blind, that have generously made them publicly available. Note that the resources for each topic are only a selection of what is available. 

Please help us make this section as useful as possible by providing feedback and suggestions. Do you know of a specific factsheet or article on a topic that you find especially helpful? Do you have a photo or video that illustrates a key practice? Let us know! We review suggestions on a case-by-case basis to ensure they align with our selection guidelines.

Send suggestions to support@nationaldb.org.

Categories on this Page

Foundations of Learning

Assessment

Educational Services

Communication Basics

Communication and Concept Development

Promoting Learning

Socialization and Recreation

Life Skills

Transition to Adulthood

Foundations of Learning

Understanding children with deafblindness and knowing how to connect with them forms the foundation for learning.

Collage of asl flash cards, braille blocks, and tactile signing.

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Assessment

Individualized assessments conducted by trained evaluators guide educational program development.

An aide and young boy are sitting at a table playing with a plastic toy.

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Educational Services

Qualified personnel trained in deafblind assessment, planning, and instruction are essential.

Circle time in a classroom of students with disabilities. There are five children, each with a one-to-one aide.

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Communication Basics

Communication is broader than just spoken or signed language. It includes gestures, movement, facial expressions, and more. 

A teacher and a teenage boy with blindness sitting at a table that has papers and markers on it. The boy is signing to the teacher.

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Communication and Concept Development

Children with deafblindness require specific interventions to build communication skills and conceptual understanding.

An open binder with pictures of activity choices.

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Promoting learning

There are many instructional strategies, accommodations, and other supports available to help children with deafblindness learn.

A man sits beside a student witch a cochlear implant. The student watches a tablet on the desk in front of them.

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Socialization and Recreation

Relationships and participating in enjoyable, interesting activities are as important as academic and functional skills development.

Three students sit next to eachother in front of a library shelf. The student in the middle has a cohlear implant.

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Life skills

The development of key life skills is essential in order for children and youth to be as independent as they can possibly be.

A dad holds his son's hand as they walk on the sidewalk in a neighborhood.

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Transition to Adulthood

Transition planning helps children and youth get ready for employment, post-secondary education, and community life once they leave school.

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