Deaf-blind persons have a severe hearing impairment in addition to a vision impairment. The combination of severities varies according to the individual and often results in some residual hearing or vision.
Deaf-blind individuals may retain enough residual hearing or sight to benefit from hearing aids or prescription lenses. Deaf-blindness may be caused genetically and be present at birth, may develop over time as a result of rubella or Usher’s syndrome, or may be the result of aging.
Usher’s syndrome is a leading cause. Deaf-blind infants may exhibit autistic-like tendencies and are often misdiagnosed as retarded or emotionally ill. Parents of deaf-blind infants and children are urged to hold their children as much as possible to provide the information that someone is close by.
They are encouraged to talk, sing, and hum to their children and to hold them near their chests to allow them to feel the vibration of the sounds. If a child has some residual hearing, he can be encouraged to make sounds. Parents can expose the child to as many vibrations as possible, from the vacuum cleaner to the stereo speaker.
Parents can place their hands on the child’s face and bend to his level while talking to the child. Children can also be stimulated with toys or movements to avoid such unwanted mannerisms, as blindisms. Playing with drums, whistles, or other vibrating instruments may be helpful. If the child has some residual hearing, the association of sounds and actions or sounds, as well as people, helps to define their world.
Deaf-blind children can be gently urged to sit up, crawl, stand, and walk and should always have support until they can do these things by themselves. Such self-care activities as eating, toilet training, and dressing can begin early and should be consistent and reasonable in practice. Specific movements or signals may be used to cue such activities as meal or bath time.
As soon as the child learns that motor movements can be used to communicate, language development begins. The child’s residual vision and hearing and fine motor skills will determine which method of communication is used. Some individuals who retain enough hearing or become deaf after learning to speak can use speech.
Those without residual hearing may use finger spelling. American Sign Language (ASL) or Signed English, three sign languages that can be used by deaf and totally blind persons. In order to communicate with sighted and hearing individuals, the deaf-blind person may use the alphabet glove, the Braille Alphabet Card, or the Tellatouch device. The alphabet glove is a thin, cotton glove printed with letters of the alphabet at specific spots that are memorized by the wearer. The user or sighted person spells out words by touching the letters on the glove.
The Braille Alphabet Card is a pocket-size card that has both braille and printed letters on it. The deaf-blind individual must read braille to use the card. The user or the sighted person spells out the words by touching the letters on the card.
The Tellatouch is a small, typewriter-like device that raises braille letters under the deaf-blind readers fingertips as the other communicator types on the keyboard. The device also includes braille-writer keys for use by blind persons.
Education for deaf-blind children can begin through early intervention programs or preschools for deaf-blind persons. Those children with greater hearing and less sight may be placed in programs for visually impaired students. Those with greater residual vision and little or no hearing may be placed in programs for the hearing impaired.
Deaf-blind children entering kindergarten are protected by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which ensures them a free, appropriate, public education in the least restrictive setting, which includes special education according to each child’s needs. A leading advocacy group for the deaf-blind person is the American Association of the Deaf-Blind. There is also one in Canada, the UK, and Australia.
