Deafblindness and Multiple Disabilities
Deafblindness is not deafness plus blindness: it is a condition of its own, because each sense usually compensates for the other. With both affected, access to information must be built deliberately — through touch and routine.
- available resources
- 23
- available resources
- Pedagogical Strategies
- 7
- Pedagogical Strategies
- Specialized Courses
- 7
- Specialized Courses
A predictable routine as the foundation
Without reliable vision and hearing, the world arrives without warning. A stable routine is what allows anticipation — the first condition for learning here.
- Same sequence, same order, every day — predictability is the initial curriculum
- Announce every transition through the channel the student accesses, before it happens
- Never move the student without warning through the agreed touch cue
- A change of routine must be prepared, not announced in the moment
Tangible symbols
Objects that stand for activities — a spoon for snack time, a ball for PE. The concrete bridge before any symbolic system.
- The symbol must bear a real relation to the activity, not be arbitrary
- Always use the same object for the same activity, without exception
- Hand over the symbol before the activity, with time to explore it
- Build an object calendar: the day's sequence in a box
Hand-under-hand, never hand-over-hand
Placing your hand under the student's lets them explore and withdraw. Guiding from above removes control and tends to create touch aversion.
- Their hand on top, yours underneath: they decide when to explore and when to stop
- Never pull the student's hand towards an object
- Announce touch beforehand: a fixed cue on the shoulder or arm
- If they withdraw, respect it and offer again later
Using residual senses
Deafblindness is rarely total. Finding out exactly what the student still sees and hears changes everything planned afterwards.
- Request a functional vision and hearing assessment — do not rely on the report alone
- Test under real classroom conditions: with noise, with the usual lighting
- High contrast and adjusted volume may open a channel that seemed closed
- Record in writing what works, so the whole team can use it
The role of the intervener
The intervener mediates access to information and communication — they do not replace the teacher nor do the work for the student.
- The pedagogical relationship remains between you and the student
- Share your planning with the intervener in advance
- Talk to the student, not to the intervener about the student
- Mediation is not execution: the intervener gives access, they do not do it for them
Signal the start and end of every activity
Without vision and hearing, activities begin and end without warning. Marking start and end through touch gives structure to time.
- One fixed touch cue for 'we are starting' and another for 'it is finished'
- A 'finished' box: the student puts the completed activity's symbol in it
- Never remove material without signalling the end
- Closing well reduces agitation more than any behaviour-management strategy
Participation, not presence
Being in the room is not being in the lesson. The question is what the student did today that relates to what the class studied.
- Adapt the same content: change the level and the form, not the topic
- Every lesson should have a concrete objective for them, written beforehand
- A parallel activity unrelated to the lesson is presence, not participation
- Involve classmates: connection with the group is a learning objective
Object calendar
A box with one object per activity of the day, in order — the tactile version of a routine board.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Choose objects with a real relation to each activity and keep the same correspondence every day.
Touch cue map
A document with the agreed touch cues, so the whole team uses exactly the same ones.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Agree with the team and the family on one cue per essential message and record it with a photo.
This student's objective for the lesson
A short procedure to ensure the student has a real objective tied to the class content, not a parallel activity.
Materials
Objectives
Implementation
Before the lesson, write in one sentence what this student will learn from the same topic, and how you will know.
Open Hands, Open Access — intervener modules
National Center on Deafblindness
NCDB module catalogue
National Center on Deafblindness
Foundations of Inclusive Education
Instituto Rodrigo Mendes
AVAMEC — the Ministry of Education training platform
Ministério da Educação
15 distance courses in special education
Ministério da Educação
Escola Virtual.Gov
Enap / Governo Federal
Escola Virtual — Fundação Bradesco
Fundação Bradesco
Intervener training — Utah State
Training materials on the intervener's role and how mediation works in practice.
Published by: Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice — Utah State University · EN · Site
Open materialThe intervener's role
What the intervener does and does not do — useful text for aligning the school team.
Published by: California Deafblind Services · EN · Site
Open materialLiteracy and deafblindness
Literacy strategies for deafblind students, including tangible symbols and tactile systems.
Published by: Perkins School for the Blind / TSBVI · EN · Site
Open materialMultiple disabilities
Materials for students with more than one associated disability, focused on access and communication.
Published by: Perkins School for the Blind / TSBVI · EN · Site
Open materialNCDB — services supporting state networks
What the national centre offers schools and families: technical assistance, training and support for identifying deafblind students.
Published by: National Center on Deafblindness · EN · Site
Open materialPerkins School for the Blind
The institution where much of deafblindness practice originated, with teacher training and material on communication and routine.
Published by: Perkins School for the Blind · EN · Site
Open materialThe Inclusive Mainstream School
MEC/SEESP booklet on organising the mainstream school from an inclusion perspective.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialSpecial Education from an Inclusion Perspective
Foundations of inclusive special education, an official Ministry of Education publication.
Published by: MEC / SEESP · PT · PDF
Open materialDIVERSA — inclusive education in practice
Free platform by Instituto Rodrigo Mendes with practice reports, articles and materials.
Published by: Instituto Rodrigo Mendes · PT · Site
Open materialUniversal Design for Learning Guidelines
A framework for planning lessons accessible to everyone from the start, instead of adapting case by case.
Published by: CAST · EN · Site
Open materialBrazilian Ministry of Education portal
Legislation, policies and official publications on special education from an inclusive perspective.
Published by: Ministério da Educação · PT · Site
Open materialProgress Center — evidence-based instructional practices
A collection of evidence-based instructional practices and support material, applicable across conditions.
Published by: Progress Center — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open materialIntensive intervention — decision tools
What to do when an intervention produces no progress: how to measure, decide and intensify.
Published by: NCII — American Institutes for Research · EN · Site
Open material