NCDB Resources for Personnel Preparation Coursework
Open Hands, Open Access: Deaf- Blind Intervener Modules (OHOA)
Originally developed for intervener training, these 27 modules cover basic information about interacting with and providing instruction to children who are deafblind. They can also be used to train teachers and related service providers.
The Sooner the Better: A Framework for Training Early Intervention Practitioners on Deaf-Blindness
This collection of online resources (e.g., video clips, handouts, photos, slide presentations) for training early intervention providers on the needs of infants and toddlers who are deafblind was guided by CEC's Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Recommended Practices.
Accessing the Dream: Preparing Deaf-Blind Youth for a Self-Determined Life
This series of video interviews with young adults, parents, and professionals provides insight into the needs of students as they transition to adulthood. This is essential information for teachers and other service providers who have the responsibility to prepare students and their families to navigate educational and adult service systems.
Families Matter Stories
This series of video stories features children with deafblindness and their families that can be used to show examples of children of different ages and with different causes of deafblindness. They are organized around topics important to deafblind education such as communication, movement, and teaming. Each also has a central theme. See the Families Matter Assignment for an example of how to embed a story into coursework.
Meet Paul Uribe
Age: 6
Etiology: CHARGE Syndrome
Theme: Learning at home and school
Meet Ava Bullis as She Transitions to a New School
Age: 11
Etiology: Usher Syndrome
Theme: How educators can prepare to welcome a student with deafblindness to their school
Meet Liam Kenrick
Age: 7
Etiology: Meningitis
Theme: Literacy
Meet Soliz and Camila Magdelano
Age: 7 (Camila) and 8 (Soliz)
Etiology: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome
Theme: Immersing children in sensory experiences outdoors
Meet Jake
Age: 22
Etiology: Neural tube defect and hydrocephalus
Theme: Preparing throughout a child’s life for transition to adulthood
2017 National Webinar: A Parent's Story
This 60-minute webinar provides great insight into the practical and emotional experiences of families who have a child with deafblindness. The mother telling the story also provides tips for professionals on working with families of children with special needs. See A Parent's Story Assignment that accompanies this webinar.
Literacy for Children with Combined vision and Hearing Loss Website
This website provides information that can be used to develop coursework on literacy instruction for children with multiple disabilities and other complex learning challenges. It includes detailed information about promoting emergent literacy.
Literacy for Children Who Are Deaf-Blind: Building a Foundation [Module]
A learning module on the foundations of literacy and supporting early emergent literacy in children who are deafblind.
National Deafblind Child Count Annual Reports
Annual child count reports provide key demographic and other details about the population of children who are deafblind (birth through age 21), including the total count by state and nationally, race/ethnicity, type and severity of vision and hearing loss, and etiology of deafblindness.
Professional Development Webinar Series: Research in Deaf-Blindness
These eight webinars were recorded between December 2016 and June 2017. They address recent research findings from the field of deafblindness including assessment and instruction, personnel development, action research, and brain research.
Practice Perspectives
This series of documents, developed between 2007 and 2011, summarize research findings and technical information on important topics in deafblindness. They were designed to make complex information understandable by a broad audience, but also include references to primary sources that will be important to college and graduate students.
Tips for Working With Families
This tip sheet was created as a resource for state deafblind project personnel to use in their work with family members of infants and toddlers who are deafblind. The suggestions provide useful advice about how to form positive relationships during interactions with families.