The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness

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Network Highlights

Intervener Services

In July, NCDB published Recommendations for Improving Intervener Services. The full publication is available as a web-based report: http://interveners.nationaldb.org. There is also a link to a printable version on the recommendations home page. We want to again thank the families and professionals who helped us gather data and information. The next steps for the Intervener Services Initiative include work on some of the higher priority implementation strategies outlined in the report.  These include initiating work groups that engage stakeholders from the deaf-blind network in recommendation activities, adoption of a consistently applied definition of intervener services, development of guidelines that IFSP/IEP teams can use to make informed decisions about the need for intervener services and the development of national open-access intervener-training modules. NCDB is partnering with members of the deaf-blind network, as well as experts who are outside the field of deaf-blindness who have expertise in module development, to produce and evaluate a foundational set of 8 training modules by the end of June 2013. Two face-to-face meetings will be held this fall. In October, a committee of folks who have created or sustained training for interveners in the U.S. will meet, followed by a meeting in November of teams that include lead writers and contributors. To stay up to date with news about the Intervener Services Initiative, sign up for the Intervener Services Initiative Group.

Literacy

Interest in the website, Literacy for Children with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss, continues to grow. Three state projects have planned team trainings highlighting the site for literacy instruction for children with deaf-blindness and multiple disabilities. Collaboration activities with five other state projects will add content to sections still under development. Opportunities exist for contributors to add content in a number of areas. If you are interested, please contact Nancy Steele (nsteele@utk.edu) or Barb Purvis (barbara.purvis@hknc.org).

Technology Solutions

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared August 2012 "Connected Educators Month", an effort to encourage educators to collect and collaborate via online communities. The website connectededucators.org served as the nexus of events and will continue to offer opportunities to get connected. The efforts in Connected Educators Month parallel NCDB's efforts to leverage technology to expand collective knowledge and improve practice within the deaf-blind network of projects. Tech Solutions staff shared information about distance consultation/mentorship to the SPDG Low Incidence Affinity Group in an online session in September. This low incidence community is made up of directors and coordinators of State Personnel Development Grants who are implementing initiatives focused on supporting students with significant needs.

National Child Count

Good news for mobile app users. The National Child Count maps were originally developed using Flash technology but have been converted so that they can now be viewed and used on iPads and other mobile devices. You can now access this powerful tool any time any place. Take a look! http://nationaldb.org/childcount. The 2011 National Child Count report is almost ready for publication. This past year saw another increase in the total count to 9,387 compared to the 1,587 identified through the Part B Special Education Child Count. Look for the report in the next few weeks as we disseminate it and post it on the NCDB website Child Count page.

New Webcast - Distance Mentorship

Check out NCDB’s newest product, a webcast on Distance Mentorship. Done in conjunction with Perkins School for the Blind, the webcast features NCDB’s Jon Harding and Megan Cote from the Kansas Deaf-Blind Project speaking about the work they have done using technology to build teams in Kansas.

Network Connections

Join in the conversation. Try out one of the groups or forums at Nationaldb.org.

NEWS & ANNOUNCMENTS

NFADB Announces New President
Elisa Sanchez Wilkinson was announced as the new president for the National Family Association of Deaf-Blind (NFADB) at the July 2012 symposium. She is a mother of two children and has served as a board member of NFADB in the past. For 11 years Wilkinson has worked as a Family Resource Specialist with the Project for New Mexico Children and Youth Who are Deaf-Blind.

McLetchie Receives Anne Suliivan Award
Dr. Barbara McLetchie, a long time practitioner in the field of deaf-blindness and, as Assistant Professor at Boston College, coordinated the teacher training program in deafblindness for more than 20 years, received the Anne Sullivan Award for 2012. Dr. McLetchie has been a mentor to many and you can watch her acceptance at a ceremony at Perkins School for the Blind.

INFORMATION & RESOURCES

New “Why Wiki’s”
Check out this brief tutorial on Using Wiki’s in Technical Assistance.

National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program
NDBEDP has been established to provide support for the local distribution of a wide array of accessible communications technology to the thousands of Americans who have combined hearing and vision loss. Find the certified program for distribution in your state. The FCC is funding a national outreach campaign. Find informational materials here.

Training Modules Include Deaf-Blindness
East Carolina University and the Office of Special Education Programs have produced a series of topical modules to be used in courses to prepare special education teachers or for professional development activities. The MAST modules cover a number of topics and include a 5 modules series on Students with Deafblindness.

NCDB Products
We appreciate that many in the network make an effort to go paperless when providing information. NCDB still maintains a large supply of print materials that you may want to use to educate individuals in your state about children who are deaf-blind. Contact us at info@nationaldb.org or 1-800-438-9376 and let us know the titles and quantity you need and we will do our best to get available items to you.

National Conference Calls in Spanish for Parents
The New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative (NYDBC) in collaboration with NCDB, hosts national conference calls in Spanish for parents who have children with Usher Syndrome and children with CHARGE syndrome. For dates and registration information, contact Clara Berg (718) 997 4855 or email clara.berg@qc.cuny.edu or check the NCDB Website.

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Current news, information and resources

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Contact information
Phone: 800.438.9376
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Fax: 503.838.8150
info@nationaldb.org
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Photo Courtesy of the McVicker family

Funded through award #H326T060002 by the U.S. Department of Education, OSERS, OSEP. The opinions and policies expressed by this publication do not necessarily reflect those of The Teaching Research Institute, or the U.S. Department of Education.