Educational Resources

Evidence-Based Practices for Students With Sensory Impairments is a 2014 Publication from CEEDAR Center with an entire section on practices for students who are deaf-blind, visually impaired or deaf/hard of hearing.

 

Deafblindness: Educational Service Guidelines offers state and local education agencies a framework from which meaningful, appropriate programming for students who are deafblind can be developed. These guidelines identify the knowledge and skills educators need to assist their students who are deafblind reach their full potential and become successful, contributing members of our society.

 

IEP Quality Indicators for Students with Deafblindness produced by the Texas Deafblind Outreach, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.  This resource will guide the entire team through making sure that goals and considerations address the needs of students with combined vision and hearing impairments

 

ECC Essentials
The first comprehensive book for teachers working to meet the unique learning needs of their students with visual impairments. It focuses on the education of children and adolescents in the expanded core curriculum by providing the rationale, suggestions, and strategies necessary to implement instruction. ECC Essentials gives teachers a road map for helping their students achieve success in school and life.

Available in print or electronic format through AFB Press

 

Words in My Hands, A Teacher, A Deaf-Blind Man, An Unforgettable Journey

Bert Riedel, an eighty-six year-old deaf-blind pianist, cut off from the world since age forty-five, discovers a new life through tactile sign language.  This is a heartwarming narrative about the life changing power of american sign language communication told by Diane Chambers, Bert's sign language teacher.  Diane finds her world transformed as well by her relationship with her unique student.  Words in My Hands is the true story of their unforgettable journey. 

Available in print, or on CD for use with screen reading software.  Also available as e-book on Kindle!

ISBN 9760967-0-6, Words in My Hands is in soft cover, 263 pages and includes photographs. Available online at the following bookstores: Harris Communications, Eden Prairie, MN, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or Kindle.

 

Archived Webinars

NYDBC Webinar Series Archived Recordings
All webinar recordings are FREE to access and are provided in spoken English with simultaneous ASL interpretation.

"Early Identification & Referral of Children with Dual Sensory Loss"

"Enhancing Parent-Professional Collaborations"

"Increasing Advocacy Skills"

"Understanding the Role & Function of an Intervener"

"Transition Planning for Young Adults who are Deaf-Blind"

 

College & Career Resources

Scholarships and Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities -http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/scholarships-financial-aid-for-students-with-disabilities/

 

Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students: Resource Guidebook -
https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/deaf-student-college-career-advice/

 

Visually Impaired Student Resources -

https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/colleges-helping-visually-impaired-students/

 

College Opportunities for Students with Disabilities: Resources and College Options - http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/best-accredited-colleges-schools-for-students-with-disabilities/

  

CTE Education with a Disability: Support services, Tools, and Resources - http://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/vocational-trade-school/people-with-disabilities/

 

Resources for Sign Language Courses using ASL (American Sign Language)

Please note that these resources are NOT connected to our project in any way other than that we are listing them in the event you would like to contact them to find out more information. 

ASL University is an online curriculum resource for American Sign language (ASL) students, instructors, interpreters, and parents of deaf children.  Feel free to use the various lessons and resources for self-study.  There is no need to register or pay (unless you want documentation to fulfill high school, college, or continuing education course requirements).  If you are a teacher, I give you permission to use the lessons to teach your in-person classes.  Enjoy! -- Dr. Bill Vicars 

ASLPro.com was created to be a free resource for the classroom teacher.  Teachers can create accounts and personalize a quiz for their students' use, then take them into a lab and let them practice seeing models other than their own teacher.  Because our signs are designed to be used in student quizzes, non-Manual Signals are purposefully omitted.  We welcome the general public to view our site, but it should be noted that this site is not designed to be a stand alone learning tool.  A user's best course of action is to enroll in an ASL class with a qualified teacher who can guide them in such variations as regional differences and facial expressions that are not addressed in our video database. 

Read With Me: Stories for Your Deaf Child
Created by: Brenda Schick, Ph.D. and Mary Pat Moeller, M.S.
Produced by the Center for Hearing Loss in Children at Boys Town National Research Hospital.  Signers show you how to make the language of the story clear and exciting and how to share the book in a way that your child will want to watch.  The video can also serve as a teaching aid for parents and other adults seeking to improve their sign-language story telling skills.  The video can also serve as a teaching aid for parents and other adults seeking to improve their sign-language story telling skills.  These videos will entertain both children that are Deaf and hard of hearing, and helps you to improve your sign language story telling skills by demonstrating how you can: use your face and body to animate the story and how to simplify language and sign concepts in a clear, visual manner.  These videos are available for purchase from Boystown Press.

Sign With Me: A Family Sign Language Curriculum
Created by Brenda Schick, Ph.D. and Mary Pat Moeller, M.S.
Produced by the Center for Hearing Loss in Children at the Boys Town National Research Hospital.  This 3 volume set of unique instructional video with an accompanying workbook will help you open the lines of communication using American Sign language (ASL).  In Volume 1 learn signs and techniques for everyday conversations with a young deaf child.  Volume 2 teaches parents how to sign abstract concepts encountered daily by deaf toddlers, such as funny, soft, and sticky.  And then Volume 3 teaches how to use signs for praising and effectively disciplining your young deaf child.  Each Sign With Me volume is available for purchase from Boystown Press.

Signing Online offers web-based courses designed to effectively teach you American Sign Language (ASL) at your own pace from anywhere in the world.  The courses focus on conversational ASL and make extensive use of digital video to demonstrate the visual nature of signing.  The courses are perfect for anyone wanting to learn ASL.  State Board Approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available to educators and Continuing Education (CEs) contact hours are available for nurses.

Signing Savvy is the most complete online sign language video dictionary.  Signing Savvy contains several thousand high resolution videos of American Sign Language (ASL) signs, fingerspelled words, and other common signs used within the United States and Canada.  Signing Savvy is an ideal resource to use while you learn sign language.  it also is an excellent reference for your day-to-day sign language needs.  

Signs of Development, Inc. is dedicated to  products and trainings approved by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.  Very high and reliable quality.  

Studying American Sign Language: ASL Degrees & Where to Find Them https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/asl-degrees/

A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms consists of a few American Sign Language terms to help those of you who are trying to communicate with a person who signs, but does not hear.  New word definitions are being added, and this will soon bring the total number of ASL terms to more than 1,270!  Also included is the basic alphabet and numbers 1-10. 

This dictionary has both animated and text definitions.  The text definitions also have letter or number sign images to aid in visualizing the sign.  This will allow you to quickly locate a word, read how to sign the word, and choose to view the animated sign if you wish.

The sign images are displayed from the perspective of the viewer, not the signer.  It is easy to remember this if you imagine that someone is signing to you while you are viewing the word definitions. 

In Sign Language, facial expression including the raising or lowering of the eyebrows while signing, and body language are integral parts of communicating.  These actions help give meaning to what is being signed, much like focal tones and inflections give meaning to spoken words.

Handspeak is a subscription based website, consisting of American Sign Language (ASL) online dictionary,lessons and resources, including Baby Sign, International Sign language, gesture, manual alphabet (fingerspelling) and numeral, Sign storytelling and art. 

http://www.42explore.com/signlang.htm

Recommended Books:

• Signing:  How to Speak With Your Hands (paperback), Elaine Costello, Ph.D. New York, Bantam Books, 1995.  (This one is wonderful for use in the classroom as the illustrations are clear to read and easy to copy for making flashcards, posting on the walls, sending home to the caregivers/families so they may also work on the same signs at home, using them for communication schedule, such as for identifying a visit to the farm or grocery shopping.  This book offers signs/concepts for both new learners as well as long-term users.

• Random House Webster's American Sign Language Dictionary (paperback), Elaine Costello, Ph.D.

• The American Sign Language Phrase Book (paperback), Lou Fant.

 

 PLEASE NOTE: These resources ARE NOT connected to our project in any way other than that we are listing them in the event you would like to contact them directly to find out more information. 

 

If you need to obtain a vision evaluation, please feel free to use this pdf form for your eye_report.  It can provide us and your educational team with much clearer information so that we can better serve your child.  We really like this form developed by the Texas School for the Blind for obtaining information from the eye doctor.

For obtaining either hearing or vision evaluations, you might try contacting:

South Mississippi

Audiologists with experience with children with dual sensory impairments:  Vickie Cruse, Au.D., Laurie Starek, Au.D., Gordon Stanfield, Ph.D. can be found at:

Gulf Coast Audiology 
15190 Community Road
Suite 100
Gulfport, MS  39503
228.539.3824

   OR

2781 CT Switzer Drive
Suite 400
Biloxi, MS  39531
228.388.4585

Rod Fields, OD
Tri-County Eye Clinic
15122 Dedeaux Road
Gulfport, MS  39503
228.832.1242

   OR

431 Bertucci Blvd.
Biloxi, MS  39531
228.385.2020

 

Community Services for Vision Rehabilitation (CSVR)
Dr. Joseph Fontenot
Dr. Stephanie Montgomery
600 Bel Air Blvd., Suite 110
Mobile, AL  36606
251.476.4744 (phone)
251.476.4741 (fax)

OR

9229 Highway 49
Gulfport, MS  39503
228.760.0788

The University of Southern Mississippi
Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences
Audiology Clinic
118 College Drive #5092
Hattiesburg, MS  39406-0001
601.266.5216
 

Central Mississippi

Alicia Swann, Educational Pediatric Audiologist
Auditory Processing Center, LLC
604 HWY 80 West
Building B, Suite O
Clinton, MS  39056
phone/fax: 601.488.4189
cell: 601.497.1240
email: alicia@auditorycenter.com

DETECT of Mississippi
Improving the health of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities by providing educational opportunities, hands-on training and patient consultations to healthcare providers in Mississippi.
Hudspeth Regional Center
100 Hudspeth Center Drive
Whitfield, MS 39193

601-664-2333

The Mississippi School for the Blind
Low Vision Clinic
ATTN: Margie Owens
1403 Eastover Drive
Jackson, MS  39211
601.984.8210

The Mississippi School for the Deaf
Audiology Clinic
ATTN: Dr. Emily York
1253 Eastover Drive
Jackson, MS  39211
601.984.8036

University of Mississippi Medical Center
Department of Otolaryngology and Communicative Sciences
Dr. Jeffrey D. Carron
601.984.5456

UAB Center for Low Vision Rehab
Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital
Dr. Dawn DeCarlo
1720 University Blvd. Ste. 405
Birmingham, AL  35294
(205)-488-0736

North Mississippi

ENT Physicians of North Mississippi
618 Pegram Drive
Tupelo, MS
662.844.3583

Ophthalmology

Dr. Rashmi Pandya-Lipman
Ophthalmology
3964 Goodman Road E #125
Southaven, MS  38671
662.890.7361

 

Southern College of Optometry
The Eye Center
Debra Moore
1225 Madison Avenue
Memphis, TN  38104
(901) 722-3276

 

Resources for Free or Low-cost Eye Exams and Glasses
Eye Exams:

EyeCare America

A public service foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) that provides comprehensive eye exams and care for up to one year, often at no out-of-pocket expense to eligible candidates age 65 or older.

InfantSEE

A public health program that provides comprehensive vision assessment by member optometrists to ensure early detection of eye conditions in babies during the first year of life, regardless of a family's income or access to insurance coverage.

Lions Clubs International

A volunteer service organization with local chapters; sponsors community programs that may help with the purchasing of corrective eyewear or obtaining eye health care for individuals that meet their criteria.  use the Club Locator on the organization's website to find a Lions Club near you.

VISION USA

Coordinated by the American Optometric Association (AOA), this program provides free eye care to eligible uninsured, low-income workers and their families.

Consumer Affairs - Eyeglasses

The Consumer Affairs team developed a buyer's guide all about purchasing glasses online. The guide was created to help consumers find verified reviews, compare brands, and determine which online eyeglasses best fit their needs.

Sight Savers America

Sight Savers America works to identify and secure treatment for vision needs, from the first pair of eyeglasses that allow a child to succeed academically and gain more self-confidence, to extensive sight saving treatment for serious eye conditions.

Surgery:

Mission Cataract USA

Provides free cataract surgery to people of all ages who have no other means to pay.  surgeries are scheduled on one day each year.

Eyeglasses:

New Eyes for the Needy

Purchase new prescription eyeglasses through a voucher program for children and adults in the U.S. who cannot afford prescription glasses on their own.

Sight for Students

A Vision Service Plan (VSP) program that provides free eye exams and glasses to eligible lo

 

 A few resources for the hearing impaired.

 Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment Fund

Every child deserves the chance to hear and we are here to help!  It is our joy to provide hearing devices for children (across the United States) with hearing losses between the ages of newborn and twenty years whose parents are unable to meet this special need financially.

 Starkey Hearing Foundation
Whether its protecting against preventable hearing loss through Listen Carefully, helping low-income Americans through Hear Now or giving new life to hearing aids through our recycling program, we use hearing as a vehicle to change lives in the U.S. and around the world.

Sertoma
A civic, service organization with national mission of hearing health.  We offer a list of resources for listening devices.

Foundation for Sight and Sound
Offers the Help America Hear Program as a last resort which provides NEW high quality hearing aids Nationwide to men, women, and children with limited financial resources. 

Hearing Loss Association of America
financial assistance programs/foundations

Hands & Voices
"What works for your child is what makes the Choice right"

Hearing Aid Funding and Other Resources
compiled by Beth Jordan, Helen Keller National Center - KS Office - May 2006