Deaf Blind Disability

When a child said to have deaf-blind disability, he/she suffers from both auditory and visual disabilities that affect his/her life. Deaf-blind disability has an extremely adverse effect on a child's education. Such a disability calls for some special attention for an affected child's communication and other developmental and educational requirements, as a result of which he/she cannot be part of special education programs that are designed exclusively for children with hearing disabilities or with visual disabilities.

The severity of deaf-blind disability varies from child to child. We can find some deaf-blind children having sufficient vision so that they can move about in their surroundings, can recognize people close to them, or read large print. Some others, on the other hand, can recognize familiar sounds, and understand as well as develop some speech on their own.

Deaf-blind disability can be found when a child is born. Other children may be deaf or blind at birth and become visually challenged or short of hearing respectively in some later stages of their lives. There are also some children who are born with both sight and hearing but lose some or all of these senses because of some illness or accident. Deaf-blind disability may lead to more disabilities. Maternal rubella can damage the heart and the brain. Some factors that cause deaf-blindness may also lead to developmental delays and physical disabilities.

Deaf-blind disability poses a major, in fact, double challenge to educators. Kids having problems in both seeing and hearing need a thoughtful and unique educational approach, so that they get the opportunity to reach their potential. Unlike normal children, their language learning process is a real difficult one, as they must depend on others to get access to language. Even if there is a way of communication, language is a challenge of interaction based on their learning capacity. The importance of learning language cannot ever be underestimated as it has in it the power to convey to others their needs, emotions, and desires.

For a child with deaf-blind disability, orientation and mobility are also matters of concern. For the visual problem, a child will not only find it tough to navigate but will also be reluctant to explore the surroundings. That's why orientation and mobility experts should help parents and teachers to construct safe spaces for an affected child. Parents and teachers may require the assistance of physical and occupational therapists, vision specialists, health professionals, and/or orientation and mobility specialists to plan accessible and safe spaces for such children. Handling children with deaf-blind disability is a challenge for parents, teachers and other well-wishers as well as they must learn to include the child in the flow of the family and community life. They will have to modify their expectations and perceptions accordingly.

One must plan properly the transition from home to the community and school for a deaf-blind child. Due consideration must be given to the kid's own interests, goals, and abilities while planning the transition. As each child has distinct interests and ability of learning, education for a child with deaf-blind disability should be individualized. However, all these challenges can be overcome with a concerted effort on the part of everyone concerned, including parents, teachers and trained professionals.

American Association of the Deaf-Blind, Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind,National Family Association for Deaf-Blind, Teaching Research Assistance to Children and Youth Experiencing Sensory Impairments, The Arc of Mississippi/Parent Partners are some of the organizations that can be approached for help.

• Cassandra Bagley
• 24/03/2009, 4:59 AM
• 0 Comments