Deafblind

Question 1

What is deafblindness?

Answer 1

A condition in which a person has a combined loss of vision and hearing, whereby neither their vision nor their hearing can compensate for their loss of the other sense in accessing information
The combination of which results in significant difficulties in accessing information

Question 2

What are the types of deafblindness?

Answer 2

Totally deaf and totally blind (no light perception, over 80dB hearing loss)
Deaf and visually impaired (has residual vision, profound hearing loss)
Blind and hearing loss (has residual hearing and no usable vision)
Vision impaired and hearing loss-with vision the primary disability
Vision impaired and hearing loss-with hearing as the primary disability

Question 3

How do we learn?

Answer 3

80-90% of what we learn is learned through our visual sense
Most of our communication is through our hearing sense
Deafblind learners do not experience incidental learning

Question 4

How do you refer to a deafblind person?

Answer 4

Combined vision and hearing loss
Dual sensory loss
Dual sensory impaired
Visually impaired and hearing loss
Co-occurring/co-existing vision and hearing loss
Multi-sensory disability

Question 5

What are some critical factors for deafblindness?

Answer 5

Age of onset
Degree and type of sensory losses
Stability of each sensory loss
Additional disabilities
Educational intervention provided

Question 6

Do many of these children have additional disabilities?

Answer 6

Yes, about 80%
Cognitive challenges
Physical disabilities
Health impairments
Emotional challenges

Question 7

What are some key principles of deafblindness?

Answer 7

No single profile
Most individuals have and make use of some degree of vision and/or hearing
Communicate in a wide variety of ways
Can participate in almost any activity, but may need adaptations
All share isolation and communication challenges

Question 8

How do deafblind kids differ?

Answer 8

Etiology
Degree of vision loss
Degree of hearing loss
Ways they communicate
Learning styles
Additional disabilities (cognitive impairment, physical impairment, health impairment, emotional impairment)

Question 9

How should you work with a deafblind person?

Answer 9

Patience
Processing Time
Sensory Needs/Issues
New Environment
New Experience
Communication