Transcript Presented by the Virginia State Deaf

But My Child is So Involved,
Where do We Begin?!?!
Presented by the
Virginia Project for Children and Youth with
Dual Sensory Impairments/Deaf-Blindness:
Who does this workshop apply to?
Anyone who is not communicating
to you or understanding you
through an abstract form of
communication (ex: language).
Today’s Goal
(to gain knowledge of)
1) Significance of DBness & DSI
2) Instructional Strategies &
Materials
Census Count
2004
The December 1 count from the National Technical
Assistance Consortium (NTAC) identified 8,999
individuals between the ages of 3 to 21 as having
deafblindess.
However the federal census count (state DOE counts)
only showed 1,977 students with deafblindness.
Why the difference? Where are these individuals?
1999 Deafblind International; 85% of the total
deafblind population additional impairments additional
disabilities.
2004 December 1 count from the NTAC
63% of these individuals had cognitive impairments
56% had physical disabilities
38% had complex health care needs
9% had behavioral disorder. (behavioral issues are
typically a misinterpretation of communicative needs
being acted out physically)
Keep in that these “other” disabilities could be in any number of
combinations of other disabilities combined with their deafblindness.
Partner up with someone
One person put on the blindfold
Only rules:
NO SIGNING
&
NO TALKING
Have your partner:
1) Stand up
2) Turn around
3) Sit down
Please remember
NO SIGNING
&
NO TALKING
Switch roles
NO SIGNING
&
NO TALKING
Tell your partner
that you have hurt your
finger and you are angry
about it.
Please remember:
NO SIGNING
&
NO TALKING
Group Process
Exercise 1
To stand up, turn around & sit down
Exercise 2
Tell your partner that you have hurt
your finger and you are angry
about it.
Basics of Communication
COMMUNICATION
Conversation =
Directive =
Language =
Conversation or …
Levels of Communication Development
Pre-intentional Behavior
* reaction, reflex, no attempt at continuation
Intentional Behavior
* purposeful, self focused,
Unconventional Communication
* not socially accepted, not universally understood,
beginning of dual orientation
Conventional Communication
* typical, common, socially accepted, dual orientation
Abstract
*not related, cannot make clear connection
Language
* syntax, rules, structure
Techniques
Cue:
Communication used by an adult to let a child know
what is expected of him/her in a given situation.
Cues are a type of receptive communication (for the
child).
Designing and using a consistent routine is the
beginning of teaching cues. Given time in this type of
the routine, the child will first begin to anticipate
his/her part in the routine. Given more experience with
the routine, the child may begin to anticipate the
routine from some part of the routine.
When deciding what cues to use with a child, it is
important to remember to select cues that the child
can easily discriminate one from the other. Otherwise
the cues may be confusing to the child.
Touch cues are ways an adult can touch a child to
communicate a desired action. For example, an adult
may gently pull a child's arm upward with a grasp at the
wrist to cue the child to lift arm during a dressing
routine.
Object cues are some concrete piece of a routine
that is used to represent that routine. For example, a
diaper may be an object cue for diaper changing.
Techniques
Symbols are representations of an event, action, object,
person, or place that can be used to communicate about the
event, action, object, person, or place. Symbols can be used for
both receptive and expressive communication.
The more a symbol resembles what it represents, the more
concrete that symbol is. The less a symbol resembles what it
represents, the more abstract that symbol is.
An example of a concrete symbol would be a spoon, used during
mealtimes, to represent mealtime. A less concrete (or more
abstract) symbol would be a small line drawing of a person
eating.
Ripple Affect
Academic
Lrng
Cognition
Intellect
Daily
Living Behavior
Activities
Perceptual
Motor
Auditory VisualAttention
Lang.
Spacial
Center
Skills Perception Functions
Ocular
Motor
Control
Eye-hand
Coordination
Body
Scheme
Sensory
Motor
Postural
Security
Sensory
Systems
Olfactory
Tactile
Postual
Adjustment
Reflex
Maturity
Ability to
Screen Input
Awareness of
2 sides of body
Visual
Auditory
Vestibular
Motor
Planning
Gustatory
Proprioception
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Introduction to a few More Techniques
WAIT TIME
Allows time for their brain to process:
what’s happening,
their reaction to it
process their response
and then get their bodies to do what they want
Develop self awareness and empowerment
Helps prevent Learned Helplessness
Patterns/Mental Mapping
(types to avoid/potential “mis”mapping)
Learned Helplessness
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Auditory
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Auditory
How does Deaf-Blindness and/or
Dual Sensory Impairment impact learning?

CHILD WILL HAVE DIFFICULTING COMMUNICATING.

Child may not feel safe to explore the environment.

Child may have distorted perceptions based on
incomplete information.

Child may not learn incidentally.

Child may perceive the world as random and frightening.

Children will have to learn to maximize strongest
modalities, including touch.
Stress Hormones
Stress hormones have wide-ranging effects on the body. They
are released into the body when the brain receives the signal
that perceived danger is near. (fight or flight – startle response)
One of these stress hormones is cortisol. Cortisol gets glucose
(energy) into our bodies and also helps rev up the sympathetic
nervous system (heart rate), increase our vigilance and attention
to threat, and decrease our attention for other things.
Once you get this stress response going, you have to be able to
turn it off. Here is where the hippocampus comes in. This is
really important because chronic stress with too high cortisol
levels decreases memory and the ability to control behavior and
focus attention. It also slows the immune system.
27
Mini Modules
On Deaf-blindness
“Little Room Adaptations”
SENSE
OF
SELF
Mini Modules
On Deaf-blindness
“Pass to Act Lrng Materials”
Mini Modules
On Deaf-blindness
“Literacy & Deaf-Blindness”
http://www.dblink.org/lib/topics/modules.htm
Adaptations of Passive to Active learning Equipment
Scratch Board
Activity Board
Triangle Board
Baggie Book
Pegboard Book
Vest
Resonance Board
Examples
Crucial Interventions



Provide experiences that use the child’s likes and
access their strongest sensory input channels.
The whole team needs to interact and follow
through on routines as consistently as possible
to make life a little more predictable. (replacing
incidental learning with physical memory)
Provide adequate wait time for the child to
process information. They have to figure out what it
is, what it means to them, what to do and how to
do it. Their perception of time and ours are very
different.
If you suspect . . .



Contact project staff and have a discussion with
the family.
Project staff will contact the service providers
and the family.
Based on needs identified, project will provide
appropriate types of levels of support.