Connections Beyond Sight and Sound strives to improve content knowledge and skill in deafblindness for teachers, parents, service providers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and other educators working with students with a dual sensory loss. We provide teams with professional development opportunities that are customized to meet their students’ needs. We offer training programs by combining online resources with on-site or distance coaching/consultation to promote implementation of evidence-based practices.
Please visit our Technical Assistance (TA) and Training page for more information and how to receive support.
We can provide support:
Our team will partner with you to address questions you have about a specific child or young adult. We understand the unique access challenges for a student with a combined vision and hearing loss, and the impact on the development of communication, literacy and more.
A general question about next steps – ask about resources related to:
- Accessing communication and literacy development
- Accessing the general education curriculum, including deafblind interveners
- Classroom visits to observe how the child is currently functioning and meet with the team, including family, to determine next steps
- Selection of strength-based assessments
- Discuss meaningful outcomes or goals for a child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
- Modify the environment to make it easier for the child to be included in family life and/or classroom curriculum and activities
- Transition services: Start planning for life after high school
Articles for Educators and Administrators
Informal Functional Hearing Evaluation (IFHE)
Teaching Children Who Are DeafBlind: Professional Development for Educators
From the National Center on DeafBlindness
Module 1 “The Impact of DeafBlindness on Learning and Development”
Module 1 is divided into four 30-minute lessons, each delivered in three convenient 10-minute videos. That’s over two hours of training!
https://www.nationaldb.org/national-initiatives/iqp/professional-development-modules/
Alternative & Augmentative Communication (AAC)/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) Matrix:
Student-Centered Guidelines for AAC & Expressive Communication Development
Below is an instrument for professionals and families to balance the results of Communication Matrix assessment
(Rowland, 1996; Rev. 2004) with CVI Range assessment (Roman, 2007; Rev. 2018)