Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
2011
Subjects
Deafblind people, Deafblind people -- Services for
Abstract
Historians have described the characteristics of the field of deafblindness by examining its roots in the fields of blindness, deafness and in multiple disabilities (Collins, 1995; Enerstvedt, 1996; Fish, 1934; Hart, 2006; McInnes, 1999). Deafblindness is a unique field because it relies upon practices from the aforementioned disciplines to meet the complex communication and programming needs of individuals with very diverse conditions. However beyond its formation from multiple bases of knowledge, the deafblindness field has developed some unique characteristics which extend beyond its parent fields and it may be argued that this expansion comes from the needs of students who are deafblind themselves. Helen Keller, who is widely recognized as the most famous person to have deafblindness, represents an example of a gifted individual who happened to be deafblind. Demographic data offers a more accurate picture of the wide ranging span of abilities and needs of children and adults who have combined vision and hearing loss.
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/23084
Citation Details
Parker, A.T., McGinnity, B, & Bruce, S.B. (2011). CEC’s Position Statement on Deafblindness. Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Visual Impairment.
Description
At the time of publication Amy T. Parker was affiliated with Texas Tech University
This is the draft version of the position paper. Version was retrieved online from: http://community.cec.sped.org/dvi/resourcesportal/positionpapers