Definition of Deafblindness
"Children and youth having auditory and visual impairments, the combination of which creates such severe communication and other developmental and learning needs that they cannot be appropriately educated without special education and related services, beyond those that would be provided solely for children with hearing impairments, visual impairments, or severe disabilities, to address their educational needs due to these concurrent disabilities."
What does this definition tell us?
- It indicates that deafblindness is a unique disability. It is not visual impairment PLUS a disability in hearing, nor is it deafness PLUS some level of visual impairment
- A loss in one area impacts the loss the in the other area - hence the emphasis on "combination" and "concurrent" in the definition
- Persons with this combination of sensory losses have different needs than persons who have single sensory disabilities - such as deafness, or visual impairment
- A person who is determined "multi-disabled" may have a different set of needs than a person who is "deafblind multi-disabled"
Although not stated in this definition, there are children who have had trauma of some nature to the brain which has affected both vision and hearing.
Eligibility for Services
The term "deafblind" refers to individuals who experience BOTH vision and hearing impairment. The combined effects of both these sensory impairments, even if both are mild, may make the student eligible for services available through the Oregon Deafblind Project.
Click to download a PDF version of the Oregon Deafblind Project's Eligibility Chart.
This chart illustrates ranges of vision impairment and hearing impairment from mild to severe. Students who fall in the four colored areas (A, B, C, D) may be considered deafblind. The student’s IFSP or IEP team would determine whether the combination of hearing impairment and vision impairment creates severe communication and/or other developmental and learning needs, which could make them eligible for services. Most students who are deafblind are neither totally deaf nor totally blind.
Note that there are many children who do not fit into any of the colored blocks, but may fit into the final category - the black bar at the very bottom of the chart. Remember, if a person has additional challenges (e.g., cannot walk, eat comfortably, or breathe well, does not like being touched, or can’t smell and taste), this will compound the impact of the person’s deafblindness.
