Early Intervention

Teacher Support Program for Learners with DeafBlindness

Early identification of children who are DeafBlind can allow families and intervention specialists to develop appropriate team support for needs and access therapeutic specialists to address both developmental and educational needs.  Reporting children who are DeafBlind to the State DeafBlind Centers for Education census (National Center on DeafBlindness, 2014) allows continued national and state support and assistance for children with this low incidence condition as well as provides a mechanism to initiate technical assistance and supports for the families and Early Intervention providers (Wiley, Parnell and Belhorn, 2016)

NC Early Intervention and Identification Contacts

The first contact for receiving Early Intervention Services in NC is your local CDSA. Local Children’s Developmental Services Agencies (CDSAs) are available to help families, caregivers, and professionals serve children with special needs through the NC Infant Toddler Program. Contacts for the CDSAs and the Early Learning Sensory Support Programs HI and VI are listed below:

•  Children’s Developmental Service Agencies (CDSAs)
• NC Infant-Toddler Program
• Early Learning Sensory Support Program
• NC Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program

DeafBlind Project Contacts

Children with combined vision and hearing loss must be registered on the NC DeafBlind Census to receive DeafBlind Services. Each year the NC DeafBlind Project is required by the federal government to conduct a child count and submit specific information. This information determines North Carolina’s share of federal grant money which is used to provide professional development and technical assistance to families and service providers of children who are identified as DeafBlind. The count is a snapshot of eligible students on December 1st. The count includes infants and toddlers, children, and youth birth through 21 years of age. After registering your student on the DeafBlind Census you can then use the ECU/TSP Teacher Request Form to begin receiving teacher support services.

• NC DeafBlind Census Instructions, Definitions and Reporting Materials
  • New DeafBlind Census Form
• ECU/TSP Teacher Request Form
  • ECU/TSP technical assistance consultant for Early Intervention: Patty Dischinger
• DeafBlind Project – Family Support Program
  • Contact: Debra Pickens, Co-Director of the NC DeafBlind Project
• Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults

Online Trainings

• Virginia Early Intervention Module in DeafBlindness
• The Sooner the Better: A Framework for Training Early Intervention Practitioners on DeafBlindness – National DB

Early Communication

• Learning to Communicate: Strategies for Developing Communication with Infants Whose Multiple Disabilities Include Visual Impairment and Hearing Loss
• Early Interactions with Children Who Are DeafBlind – National Center on Deafblindness
• Ohio Center for DeafBlind Education: Early Intervention for Children Who Are DeafBlind

Interveners in Early Intervention

• Interveners in Early Intervention
• A Family Guide to Interveners: Utah State University SKI-HI Institute

Resources on DeafBllindness and Early Intervention

• Family Support Makes a Difference with a DeafBlind Child – Orion’s Journey-Gallaudet
• Promoting Early Identification and Intervention for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Children with Vision Impairment, and Children with DeafBlind Conditions – Susan Wiley, MD1; Leanne Parnell, BA2; Tabitha Belhorn, BA3

Fun Resources to Share with Families

• Baby Beats – Advanced Bionics Learning Through Music
• Children’s books online
• Flintstones Hearing Simulator
• WonderBaby – Tips for parents of children with visual impairments, includes recommendations for toys
• Seedlings – Free and low cost Braille books for children
• DeafBlind Fact Sheet: Using Routines in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Lessons to Encourage Purposeful Movement with Infants and Toddlers – Colorado Department of Education

Links to Videos

• Defined Spaces and Active Learning Presentation
  • Password: ArZ6MQG*
• Book Making Project PowerPoint
• Links to book videos read in ASL and using picture symbols by Colleen Hickey
  • “Worm Weather”
  • “Deep Blue Sea”
  • “Goodnight Moon”

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