Transcript Deaf-Blindness - Family Leadership

Deaf-Blindness
The Big Picture
8:30-2
April 23
Communication
Rights
Communication Rights





Right to Request desired
objects, people, events
Right to Refuse undesired
actions, objects, events
Right to Express personal
preferences and feelings
Right to be Offered choices and
alternatives
Right to Request attention and
interactions
TASH Resolution
Communication Rights




Right to reject offered choices
Right to ask for and receive
information about changes in the
routine and the environment
Right to receive a response to any
and all communicative intentions
Right to have access to
augmentative and alternative
communication and assistive
technology
Tash Resolution
R- e –s- p- e- c- t
Right to be spoken to
with respect and
dignity………..
TASH Resolution

This child can’t communicate!
Communication: 3 Basic
Ideas

1. Everyone communicates. Whether it be a
sigh, blink, point, gesture, sign or word.
Everyone can communicate.

Our challenge is to find out how our learners
with deaf-blindness communicate and respond
to it. We can then try to 'shape' the
communication into more formal systems.

“With deaf-blind kids I always do . . .
Communication : 3 Basic
Ideas

2. Everyone is unique. There is no single
description of a learner with deaf-blindness that
fits all learners. What works for one learner
may not work for another.

The "I" in IEP and IFSP stand for
"individualized" and that is what our learners
with deaf-blindness are - very individualized
and thus need very individualized instruction.
Most learners with deaf-blindness have some
usable vision and hearing. Every effort should
be made to use and enhance the remaining
vision and hearing.

“He’s deaf-blind! He doesn’t need to
know all of this!”
Communication : 3 Basic
Ideas

3. Everyone needs input. Deaf-blindness is an
information-gathering disability. We all need
information about the world around us. Most of
us receive that information by observing and
listening. Imagine if the only information you
received about the world was through your
touch, taste, smell and distorted vision and
hearing.

We need to find the most appropriate way to
provide input to learners with deaf-blindness.
What is
Communication?
Communication is
A basic need and an
individual right of all
persons
Communication
is:
Sending and receiving
messages
Communication
Way of
communicating
Reason for
communicating
Something to
Communicate
The Reasons We Communicate

to socialize
and to interact
with others

to exchange
information

to make
requests
Expressive and Receptive
Communication



Expressive communication is how we
communicate to others.
Receptive is how we understand others
For many children with deaf-blindness.
Expressive language may be different
from their receptive language – for
example, they may understand some
signs, but only communicate using
gestures such as pointing
How Do We Communicate?

Approximately 70% of information we
receive during typical communication
is nonverbal.
In other words:

Only 30% of the messages we
receive and send are conveyed
through words.
SKI Hi Unit 1
How Do We Have Successful
Communication?

Both people must be able to send a
message and understand the
message being sent to them.
Ski Hi Unit 1
Getting the Message Across

Communication
Cues
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Environmental
Object
Touch/Tactile
Movement
Gesture
Picture
Signs
Verbal Language
How Do People Send and
Receive Messages?


Messages could be sent through eye
gaze or a slight movement toward
and object.
Messages can also be sent in one
way and received in a different way.
Ski Hi Unit 1
People Can Communicate
Through:
Facial Expressions
 Body Expressions and movement
 Gestures
 Vocalizing
 Sign Language
 Talking
Communication does not require
talking or the use of language.
Communication leads to language!

Ski Hi Unit 1
Basic Elements of
Communication
o
Turn taking – we can’t talk at the same
time or we’ll miss the other person’s
communication and vice versa
o
Joint attention – we have to both know
what we are talking about and pay
attention to the topic or the thing we are
talking about
o
Role of communication partner – the
persons we are communicating with play
an important role in whether we are
communicating or just talking to ourselves!
The Importance of Understanding
the Child as a Communicator



Since messages are sent and received in
unique ways, you must observe the
child’s communication attempts.
You must also understand how the child
sends and receives messages.
You should watch for patterns and
consistent behaviors and don’t rule out
any behavior as a possible
communication attempt.
Ski Hi Unit 1
As Your Child Does Things
Ask Yourself:

What might he be
saying?

What is she trying
to tell me?
One Parent Role Is To Be A
Communication Facilitator/Partner
The Facilitators Role
 “Tune in” to behaviors
that the child prefers
to use
 Foster a nurturing
relationship of security
and warmth
 Provide comfort,
support and affection
 Create positive
environments for
interactions
 Focus on the
individual’s interest at
the moment
What are the Stages of
Communication Development?

Children begin to communicate in simple ways and
develop more complex ways as their physical and
mental capabilities increase.

The three stages of communication development:
– Early Communication (Pre-Intentional
Communication)
– Simple Communication (Pre-symbolic
Communication)
– Complex Communication (Symbolic
Communication)
Ski Hi Unit 2
“Pre-Intentional Stage”

In this stage, a child
responds or reacts to
her environment,
feelings or needs
through reflexive,
unintentional
behaviors, like crying.
As other individuals
respond to her
behaviors, she begins
to learn that her
behaviors can get her
what she needs.
Ski Hi Unit 2
Pre-Intentional Stage

Children may cry, push or reach with their
feet or arms, laugh – but they do not know
they are sending a message to someone
else – only that they have a particular
feeling. When another person gives
meaning to their behavior – “Are you wet?
Let’s change you,” and meets their need,
then they begin to “shape” the children’s
reactions to their feelings and help them
understand that they are sending a
message and someone understands it
and will respond.
Pre-Intentional Stage

It is this interaction over-time – baby cries
and adult tries changing, feeding, rocking,
etc. until the child is comforted – that
helps children begin to communicate –
and leads to the parent who hears their
baby crying and can tell whether they are
hungry, wet, or just tired and trying to
soothe themselves to sleep! As we get
better at meeting their needs, the child
gets better at making small changes in his
communication behavior – such as crying
– to communicate different things, in other
words to send a different message.
Video Clips

http://www.dblink.org/lib/topics/modul
es.htm
Intentional but Pre-Symbolic
Stage


At this point she
moves on to the next
stage, pre-symbolic
communication.
There are often many
inappropriate
behaviors such as
pulling hair, biting,
and hitting
Ski Hi Unit 2
Intentional but Pre-Symbolic
Stage

Because children with deaf-blindness
may not be able to use a lot of
different behaviors to communicate,
many of the behaviors we see as
“bad” are their only ways to tell us
things like “I don’t like this!” “Leave
me alone!” “Hey, pay attention to
me!” “I’m frustrated!” and so forth.
Simple or Pre symbolic
Communication


Children use behaviors or actions
intentionally to communicate their needs,
thoughts, feelings, and wants.
For example:
– Waving goodbye
– Pointing at an object
– Tapping someone on the shoulder
– Shaking your head yes or no
These are called gestures and are used
intentionally to express specific needs,
feelings, or thoughts.
Ski Hi Unit 2
Complex or Symbolic
Communication


In the complex
communication
stage, symbolic
communication is
used as a base.
Spoken language is
symbolic
communication. We
have words that
represent people,
things, actions, and
emotions in our
environment.
These symbols are used
intentionally with the purpose
of communicating something.
Ski Hi Unit 2
Complex or Symbolic
Communication

For example, reaching your arms
toward someone when you want to be
picked up is pre-symbolic
communication – saying “up” or
pointing to a picture or picture symbol
is the first step in symbolic, complex
communication – later, more complex
symbolic communication might
including saying or pointing to picture
symbols: “Up now, please!”
In this stage children with
sensory losses may rely on:






Picture symbols like a photograph or
drawing
Object symbols like a spoon to represent
dinner time
Manual symbols like sign
Verbal signals like spoken language
Written words or raised symbols like
Braille.
A combination of some or all of these
forms, or other symbolic systems
Ski Hi Unit 2
Communication Forms


Picture symbols and object symbols
are more concrete symbolic
communication forms.
Sign language, spoken language,
and written language or Braille are all
more abstract symbolic
communication forms.
Ski Hi Unit 2
Communication Forms
Object
cue
Partial
Object
cue
Tactual
symbol cue
Picture
Cue
Picture
symbol
cue
An Assessment Profile for Your
Use.



http://www.designtolearn.com/pages/matri
x2.html
Toward the bottom of the page click on
ONLINE Communication Matrix website
Click on Design of the Communication
Website and read the description of the
stages of communication
Communication Forms that are
Best for Children with Sensory
Losses

Children with sensory losses need to
be exposed to all forms of
communication without being
overloaded with too much information
in different ways.

Keep communication clear by using
ways that the child seems to
understand.
Ski Hi Unit 2
Communication Forms that are Best
for Children with Sensory Losses



Most children will use a variety of forms
within their own communication system.
Children need to move through early
communication and realize that their
behaviors communicate something before
they can move into more sophisticated
communication forms found in the next
stages.
Many children will express communication
in one form and receive it in another form.
Ski Hi Unit 2
What you need to develop
communication




Routines
Communication Approaches-- Ways
for you and your student to express
and receive information
Behavioral Supports
Routines, routines, routines
Three Essential Building
Blocks of Communication
1.
2.
3.
Attention seeking signals – a
way to let people know you
have something to ‘say’
Acceptance signals – a way to
let people know you ‘heard’
them
Rejections signals – a way to
let people know you don’t
want to interact with them
Communication Record

What are some of my child’s
– Attention-seeking signals
– Acceptance signals
– Rejection signals
D. Brown CDBS
Communication Record

How does the student let me know that he
or she:










Likes something?
Doesn’t like something?
Wants something?
Doesn’t want something?
Wants to be moved?
Wants more of something?
Is tired?
Is finished with something (or has had enough)?
Wants to keep going with an activity or interaction?
Wants help?
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports
Beginning at the beginning - a Personal
Passport as an aid to enhancing
realistic positive expectations of the
individual, increasing the confidence &
competence of the family, making
assessment data effective and
accessible, creating appropriate so
successful programs, assisting with
transitions, & recording progress.
D. Brown CDBS
A special way of sorting and
recording information about an
individual (not everything you know
but what others need to know)
 An efficient way of presenting the
information and making it
accessible (simple, clear, direct,
first-person, specific, honest,
detailed, lively)

D. Brown CDBS
An empowering and positive way of
presenting information - showing a
person as human, individual, and
recognizable
 A tool for helping an individual
during transitions (meeting new
people and starting at new places
like nursery, school, hospital,
holiday program, workplace)

D. Brown CDBS
A way of orientating new people
quickly
 A tool for working towards
consistency in how different people
interpret, understand, and
approach the individual
 A way of de-mystifying professional
knowledge, and of helping people
to observe more competently

D. Brown CDBS
A reminder that behavior is
communication and that ALL
people communicate
 An approach that gives a specific
focus to discussions for parents,
other family members, friends, and
professionals to achieve a deeper
understanding of an individual
(and of each other)

D. Brown CDBS
A way of recognizing and valuing
the roles of family and carers, and
of giving them more influence
 ADAPTED FROM CALL CENTRE
INFORMATION SHEET 5 (JULY 1997

D. Brown CDBS
D. Brown CDBS
Initial basic information










Most important is the child’s “likes and
dislikes” (or their “want and don’t want”
behaviors) - and a description of how
you know which of these opposite
feelings the child is probably
demonstrating. Consult with those who
know the child best, and if it is not
clear then at least have a ‘best guess’
which will be an important step on the
journey to an effective assessment
D. Brown CDBS
Hello, my name is Terry
I cannot hear you when
you talk, but I like to watch
your mouth move
I don’t see with my right
eye but I do with my left if
things are less than 2 feet
away
I love to be picked up and
held as long as you let me
know you are going to pick
me up and then do it
slowly using a firm grip
and supporting my head
the whole time
I love gentle bouncing
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports - Possible
topics (1)
• Title/ Cover page
• Introduction (what
this is all about)
• Contents (pages
color-coded)
• The most
important things
you need to know
about me
Likes (and how I
express this)
• Dislikes (and how
I express this)
• Other things I can
tell you (and how I
do this)
• Strengths (things I
am good at)
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports - Possible
topics (2)
How I work best &
what you can do to
help
Things I can do
with supervision or
help
• Things I can do for
myself
• Things I need
you to do for me
• Things I like to
talk about
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports - Top Tips
(1)
Having a clear
reason for making
the Passport helps
with timescale,
framework, content,
and perspective
Start small and
brief, and expand
the Passport when
it feels right
Take time and have
patience, and enjoy
the process
Keep it personal
and include
photographs, and
also the child’s
own work and
words when
possible
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports - Top Tips
(2)
Work to think and
write from the
child’s perspective
Use color-coding
instead of page
numbers
Write the text
before taking the
photographs
Select a coordinator,
especially to
organize periodic
updates
Present it well, use
humor to make it
real & interesting
Share as widely as
possible but agree
confidentiality rules
D. Brown CDBS
Personal Passports as a Tool


This is a great tool for working with
and getting to know families and their
child
Let’s try it!