2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/10/2015 | 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM | Transition Supports for Children with Deafblindness | Clements | 7
Transition Supports for Children with Deafblindness
In the U.S., there are roughly 10,000 children who are deafblind. Deafblindness is a low incidence disability and within this population of children there is great variability. Ninety percent of children who are identified as deafblind have additional physical, medical, and/or cognitive disabilities.
Although the term deafblind implies a complete absence of hearing and sight, in reality, it refers to children with varying degrees of vision and hearing loss. The key feature of deafblindness is that this combination of loss limits access to auditory and visual information and creates unique challenges for communication and education. As a result, families often face difficulties in securing the knowledge and resources needed to support their children. Students who are deafblind require special teaching methods and accommodations to succeed as learners and because the majority of these children receive their education in their local schools, there is an increased need for specialized professional development to train teachers and service providers.
This session will provide information and considerations for IFSP teams and IEP teams as the child transitions from early intervention services to a preschool classroom learning experience. Using Ohio’s “Bridge to Preschool” resource, created by Ohio School for the Deaf and Ohio Hands & Voices, we will review the transition process as defined by IDEA, and the evaluation and IEP processes as they pertain to children with deafblindness.
- Learn effective evaluation processes for children who are deafblind, be able to identify who should be involved in the evaluation process and what tools should be used for evaluation.
- Be able to identify 6 potential need areas in a deafblind student’s IEP that should be reviewed by the IEP team.
- Be able to identify 5 potential IEP supports or accommodations for preschool children with deafblindness.
Presentation:
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Presenters/Authors
Tabitha Belhorn
(Primary Presenter,POC), Ohio Hands & Voices, tbelhorn@gmail.com;
Tabitha Belhorn is a parent of Deaf child. She has worked with families for 13 years, providing resources, guidance, and support to families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She has experience supporting families of children who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, and deaf plus additional disabilities. She is the Executive Director of Ohio Hands & Voices and Ohio ASTra Coordinator. She serves as the Regional Coordinator. Tabitha has presented on a variety of topics such as special education law, educational advocacy, preschool transition, and family support and is a co-author of the Communication Planning Guide for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Leanne Parnell
(Co-Presenter), Ohio Center for Deafblind Education, lparnell@ohiodeafblind.org;
Leanne has a background in Deaf Education and ASL/English interpreting. She has worked in the Deaf/Deafblind communities for many years. She has experience working with families and children, as well as adults who are deaf and deafblind.
Leanne is currently the Outreach Specialist at the Ohio Center for Deafblind Education. She coordinates many of the training opportunities, including INSITE, VIISA and SKI*HI. She is also responsible for organizing DBTAP visits, the Mentor Program, Milestone Packets, Lending Library and product requests.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Carrie Davenport
(Co-Presenter), The Ohio State University College of Medicine, carrie.davenport@osumc.edu;
Carrie Davenport, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Carrie is a teacher of the deaf by training with a Master's degree in Family-Centered Early Education from Gallaudet University. She earned her doctorate in special education at OSU in 2017. Prior to entering the PhD program at OSU, she was the Early Childhood Consultant for the Center for Outreach Services at the Ohio School for the Deaf. Carrie is a founding Board member of Ohio Hands & Voices. Her research interests include parental self-efficacy, parent-to-parent support, and parent-infant interaction. She is especially interested in building academic-community partnerships with families with deaf/hard-of-hearing children and other stakeholders.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.