Parent Perspectives, Videos, National Center for Deafblindness

An important part of understanding and gaining practical skills for working with infants and toddlers who are deafblind is understanding parents’ perspectives.

In the short videos in this training module, you’ll hear from Kari Harbath and Madeline Cheney about what it is like to be the mother of a young child who is deafblind. Listen as they share their experiences during the critical years of early intervention and the teamwork that’s involved.

Teaching Children Who Are Deafblind: Professional Development for Educators

These modules are designed for practitioners who want to improve their knowledge of deafblindness and gain practical information they can put to use right away in the home or classroom.

Module 1: “The Impact of Deafblindness on Learning and Development” Foundational information that’s essential for working with children who are deafblind (Watch the Module 1 Trailer)
Module 2: “Early Intervention for Children Who Are Deafblind” Strategies for encouraging communication, concept development, and more for infants and toddlers who are deafblind (Watch the Module 2 Trailer)

User-Friendly Training
Modules in this series were designed to be easily incorporated into a wide variety of in-person or virtual training programs, courses, or events.

Each module includes more than two hours of training, divided into four 30-minute lessons. For ease of use, each lesson is presented in three short video sections and includes additional activities and resources.

Read an overview (PDF) of the series, module topics, and project plans.

National Center for Deafblindness (NCDB)

NCDB is part of a network of projects for children and youth with deafblindness (birth through 21) that includes state deafblind projects in every state, as well as Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Pacific Basin, and the Virgin Islands. We are funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Our primary mission is to support state deafblind projects as they assist educators, agencies, and organizations to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to help children with deafblindness learn, access the general education curriculum, and successfully transition to adult life.

If you have questions about this site or need assistance finding something, send a message to support@nationaldb.org.

NCDB Website Tour (Video)

USE OF “DEAFBLIND” VERSUS “DEAF-BLIND”

On October 1, 2023, NCDB changed its name from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness to the National Center on Deafblindness. The use of the term deafblindness, without a hyphen, is accepted usage in both the United States and Europe. It emphasizes that being deafblind is a unique condition and not simply the addition of deafness and blindness.

Down Syndrome Resource Foundation: Short Films

Each fall, the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation (DSRF) releases a short film on a topic related to Down syndrome. In these films, we share the lived experiences of people with Down syndrome and their families, along with expertise from DSRF’s team of professional Down syndrome specialists.

CrossRoad: Where Down Syndrome Meets Autism (2023) features three families whose child has both Down syndrome and autism. The families open their lives to let us see both the joys and the challenges they experience as they navigate multiple disabilities. DSRF speech therapist Liv Meriano explains the similarities and differences between the two conditions, why it can be difficult to identify autism in a child who has Down syndrome, what to do if you suspect your child might have autism, and how to support a child with Down syndrome and autism.

Down Syndrome: Guide for Inclusive Education

Down Syndrome: Guidelines for Inclusive Education is the first document of its kind in the United States. The document addresses the education settings that support students with Down syndrome, covering the period from early intervention and primary education through secondary and through higher education, with the primary focus being K-12 students.

Download the publication after completing the informational form.

About 1 in 36 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. [Read article]
ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. [Read article]
ASD is nearly 4 times more common among boys than among girls. [Read article]
About 1 in 6 (17%) children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability, as reported by parents, during a study period of 2009-2017. These included autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, blindness, and cerebral palsy, among others. [Read summary]

Parent Perspectives, Videos, National Center for Deafblindness