DeafBlind: Newsletter and Resources

VIBRATIONS Newsletter

The project’s newsletter VIBRATIONS is published and disseminated three times a year. The newsletter is free to all interested persons. The original version of the newsletters are kept on the webpage for one full year, then converted to topical newsletters.

• Winter 2009-2010 (PDF)
• Spring 2010 (PDF)
• Winter 2010-2011 (PDF)
• Spring 2011 (PDF)

Copies of former newsletters concerning specific topics can be found:

Lending Library

A lending library is maintained with up-to-date books, articles, workshop materials, videotapes, and manuals related to the topic of vision and hearing loss. A current directory is available upon request, and lending library materials are mailed out upon request. For a copy of the Lending Library Inventory; or the Lending Library Request Form.

Learning Media and Communication Learning Plan for Students with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss

All school age (3-21 years) children and youth with visual impairment in the State of Colorado must have a Literacy Modality Plan on file as a part of their Individual Education Program. This plan highlights the results of a Literacy Modality Assessment by a teacher certified in the area of visual impairment.

Specific information recorded on the Literacy Modality Plan includes:

• identification and justification of primary and secondary literacy modes,
• information about how the literacy modes will be implemented and integrated into the student’s educational activities,
• the level of competency expected in each selected mode(s) that the student will achieve by the end of the period covered by the Individual Education Plan, and
• the braille competency status of the person delivering braille instruction, if braille is a selected literacy mode.

All school age (3-21 years) children and youth who are deaf/hard of hearing in the State of Colorado must have a Communication Plan on file as a part of their Individual Education Program.

This plan must include information on:

• the child’s primary communication mode(s),
• the availability of deaf/hard of hearing adult role models and peer groups of the student’s communication mode or language,
• an explanation of all educational options provided by the administrative unit and available to the student,
• the proficiency status of teachers, interpreters, and other specialists delivering the communication plan in the student’s primary communication mode or language
• the communication –accessible academic instruction, school services, and extracurricular activities that the child will receive.

A form that addresses the documentation needs of both the Literacy Modality Plan and the Communication Plan has been created for use on behalf of school-age children and youth with both vision and hearing loss.

• Literacy and Communication Learning Plan for Students with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss form (PDF)
• Literacy and Communication Learning Plan for Students with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss form (Word)

Colorado Resources for Families of Children who are Deafblind

• Hands and Voices (Colorado Office)
• Helen Keller National Center - Rocky Mountain Office
• Peak Parent Center

National and International Resources Specific to Deafblindness:

• A-Z to Deafblindness
• American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB)
• Deafblind International
• Hands and Voices
• Helen Keller National Center for Deafblind Youth and Adults (HKNC)
• National Consortium on Deafblindness (NCDB)
• National Family Association for the Deafblind (NFADB)

National Resources Specific to Children with Disabilities

• NIHCY - National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
• NORD - National Organization of Rare Disorders

Other State Projects on Deafblindness

For more information about the Colorado Services for Children and Youth with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss project, please contact:

Tanni Anthony
Phone: (303) 866-6681

Gina Quintana
Phone: (303) 866-6605