Program Guidelines For Individuals Who Are Deaf Blind

The California State guidelines are presented for identifying, assessing, and providing services to deaf blind individuals. Chapter 1 focuses on identification with sections on definition, etiology, referral, and unique educational needs (e.g., vision, audition, behavior, daily living). Chapter 2 discusses student assessment. Sections cover: assessment purposes and personnel, formal and informal assessment, motor skills assessment, communication assessment, hearing assessment, vision assessment, psychological assessment, academic assessment, vocational skills assessment, and the assessment report. The provision of instruction and services is addressed in chapter 3. The discussion covers the special education teacher, the itinerant teacher, students/parents/guardians, special providers of designated instruction and services (e.g., orientation and mobility specialist), the school nurse, the career-vocational specialist, the psychologist, aides and interpreters, and ancillary staff in residential programs. The final chapter considers the organization and support of instruction and services. Topics examined include: regionalization, administrative roles and responsibilities, the least restrictive environment, the continuum of services, program options, caseloads and class sizes, facilities and materials, staff development, parent education, program evaluation, and network development. Nine appendixes include a self-review guide, a listing of resources for technical assistance, an inventory of assessment tools, a description of Usher's syndrome, a summary of California Deaf-Blind services, and 39 references. (DB)

Leading experts address such problems as identification of deafblindness, planning and intervention, development, family support, and education for parents and professionals who work with people who have been deafblind from birth or a very early age.

In this ground-breaking collection, leading experts in the field address the problems of parents, intervenors, and professionals who work with people who have been deafblind since birth or from a very early age. Individuals who are congenitally deafblind face the same challenges as those who become deafblind later in life, but they have not had the same opportunity to develop the communications skills and a conceptual base needed to construct an understanding of the world. The contributors address identification of deafblindness, planning and intervention, development, family support, and education. Just as McInnes and Treffry's "Deafblind Infants and Children" helped to change the approach to and the perception of deafblind children, this collection will assist in fostering a new approach to the education of and support for older children, youth and adults who are deafblind. An essential part of this process is to set forth standards for program development, implementation, and evaluation, which this volume aims to accomplish. It will make an essential contribution to the expanding field of services for the deafblind population of all ages, and to the improved understanding of parents, family members, and professionals who support them.

Special edition of the Federal Register, containing a codification of documents of general applicability and future effect ... with ancillaries.

These California state guidelines are intended to aid in the planning, monitoring, and improvement of educational programs and services for hearing impaired students. After an introduction, chapters have the following titles and sample subtopics: (1) "Identification and Assessment of Unique Educational Needs" (screening, definitions of hearing impaired, language assessment, manual communication assessment, academic assessment); (2)"Roles and Responsibilities of Providers of Instruction and Services" (special education teacher, regular teacher, parents, interpreters, career/vocational specialist, guidance counselor, adapted physical education specialist); and (3) "Organization and Support for Providing Instruction and Services" (special education and local plan area, curriculum, least restrictive environment, infant programs, attendance area and transportation, program options, aides, audiological services, physical environment, media centers, staff development, parent education). Included in seven appendixes and a glossary is such information as testing standards for the hearing impaired, a draft of certification standards for professionals, recommendations for classroom acoustics, a statewide directory of services, and definitions of terms concerning the hearing impaired. (DB)