Blind or visually impaired means that a person is impacted by impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

Deaf or hard of hearing means that a person is impacted by an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance, or impacted by a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

IESDB Consulting Teachers offer supplemental services to school districts, students, other agencies and families throughout the state of Idaho.

Sensory impairment denotes an impairment of vision or hearing, or both.

Specialized/Certified Personnel refers to all personnel who are nationally certified and/or certified by the state of Idaho as required by applicable law to provide services and instruction to students who are deaf or hard of hearing and/or blind or visually impaired, including, but not limited to, certified teachers of the deaf, certified teachers of the visually impaired, certified interpreters, certified orientation and mobility specialists, speech language pathologists, and certified low vision therapists.

The state board refers to the Idaho State Board of Education.

Supplemental services are services provided to deaf or hard of hearing and/or blind or visually impaired students and their families, in addition to and in support of services the student may receive from his or her school district. Such services may include assessment, consultation and direct instruction.

A consulting teacher refers to the Specialized/Certified personnel who provide outreach services throughout the state of Idaho.

APH stands for the American Printing House for the Blind. Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind is in the process of completing the Annual Federal Quota Registration of Blind Students through the American Printing House (APH) Federal Quota Program. This federally funded program provides textbooks, educational aids, and other learning materials for qualifying children with visual impairment and blindness.

In order to be included in the Federal Quota program, eligible students must be registered in an annual census, requiring the exchange of specific personally identifiable student information (PII). To meet the the required reporting obligations, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) require parental consent so that their child's personally identifiable information can be used for these purposes.

Parental consent to be included in the annual Federal Quota Census allows the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind to purchase products and materials from the APH on behalf of students around the state. Parents may choose not to provide consent; however, doing so will mean that fewer Quota funds will be provided to Idaho.

All materials, textbooks, educational aids and other learning materials for qualifying children need to be requested by contacting your local IESDB Consulting Teacher. For additional information, please look under "What's New?"

Since January of 2016 all textbooks and materials are to be brailled in the Unified English Braille Code (UEBC). While most of the braille code remains the same or similar, some braille signs and symbols have been removed and some added to make the literacy code more streamlined and less ambiguous when transcribed electronically. Certified teachers of students who are blind or visually impaired still need to assess and teach braille skills.

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) services involve teaching students who are visually impaired or blind how to safely and efficiently navigate their environment through use of their senses, specific techniques, problem-solving skills, and may also involve the use of white cane and other tools.  It is a related services defined in IDEA and part of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC).  An O&M specialist may be part of the educational team and provide assessments; direct instruction and/or consultation with a student; and in-services to staff.

The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) is used to define concepts and skills that often require specialized instruction with students who are blind or visually impaired in order to compensate for decreased opportunities to learn incidentally by observing others. In addition to the general education core curriculum that all students are taught, students with visual impairments, starting at birth, also need instruction in the ECC. There are nine areas

1. Assistive Technology
2.  Career Education
3. Compensatory Skills (i.e., concept development, communication skills, braille, audio materials)
4. Independent Living Skills
5. Orientation and Mobility
6. Recreation and Leisure
7. Self-Determination
8. Sensory Efficiency
9. Social Interaction Skills

(from the TSBVI website)

As Consulting Teachers we can give a variety of in-services. We give in-services for staff ranging from one-on-one in-services for the teacher to whole staff in-services. The in-service can cover a variety of topics including the student’s hearing/vision loss and impact on their education, accommodations for the student, use of technology or specialized equipment, access to captioned or described media, and other resources.

We can also give classroom in-services for students to help them understand the sensory loss and how to best communicate with their classmate.

Yes, IESDB Consulting Teachers can provide an in-service to classmates of a student who uses braille or other tools. We will work out the type and length of presentation with the classroom teachers. As much as possible, we want the student to be an active participant in the presentation, and we may also discuss with classmates how to assist appropriately, answer questions about the eye, and touch on other relevant topics.

BARD, Learning Ally and Bookshare are electronic book resources which ensure that those persons unable to access print will have timely and equal access to printed materials in digital format which can be listened to on a digital player or read on a braille display.

You can get more information at:

Bard- https://nlsbard.loc.gov/login//NLS

Learning Ally- https://www.learningally.org/

Bookshare- https://www.bookshare.org/

A student attending in any Idaho LEA, who is deaf or hard of hearing and/or blind or visually impaired, can be considered to enroll in the ISDB on-campus Independent Living Skills (ILS) program for 18-21 yr olds. There are some conditions, however.

1) If the student has met high school graduation requirements that match typical high school rigor, and has received the diploma, the student is not eligible for an 18-21 program such as the ILS Program at ISDB. If the student’s IEP outlines individualized graduation requirements that are not fully aligned with high school rigor (include adapted coursework or specialized courses to meet that student’s learning need), then the student can be considered for the ILS program.

2) If the student is on track to graduate with a diploma representing typical high school rigor, and the student and IEP team agree (before the student graduates) that it is critical for the student to also receive additional training in skills for independent living, the IEP team can choose to amend the student’s graduation plan to include a requirement to attend the ILS program.

3) The ISDB ILS program has limitations in staffing and space. Students who have attended high school in their home district are considered on a space available basis. Student numbers for the ILS program can vary greatly from year to year—some years there will be space for additional students and some years that may not be the case. The ISDB staff is able to make fairly accurate predictions for ISDB campus student numbers for the ILS program looking forward a few years. Thus, teachers and parents at the home LEAs who want to consider their student for participation in this program should discuss the possibility with the IESDB Consulting Teacher for their district, and he/she will answer questions and help you get connected with ISDB campus staff to discuss it further.

Cortical Visual Impairment
Source: Perkins eLearning
Website access: Visit Perkins e Learning - Cortical Visual Impairment
Description: Offers several webinars/videos on CVI, ranging from literacy strategies to neurological implications.

Literacy and Evidence-Based Practices in Deaf Education: What We Know and We Suspect

Date: March 13, 2014
Description: This webinar reviewed the key predictors of reading success, the evidence-based practices in literacy instruction and the current standing of DHH readers. This presentation also provided educators with a strategy to aid them in determining the efficacy of an instructional practice in the absence of existing evidence.
Presenter: Jessica Trussell is a doctoral candidate in Deaf education at Georgia State University studying under the guidance of Dr. Susan Easterbrooks. She is a former teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing (TODHH) in Idaho, Virginia and Georgia. Her research is focused on literacy interventions for deaf/Deaf/hard of hearing students as well as the development and retention of TODHHs.
Recording and Handouts: Link to view recorded webinar and handouts

Idaho Educational Interpreter Act PowerPoint Slides (4/28/21)

• D/HH Video Workshop
  Source: University of Arizona College of Education
  Website access: D/HH Video Workshop
  Description: Excellent video series collection on topics including Language and Literacy, Writing Instruction, Reading Theory, Vocabulary and Reading Instruction.
  
  
• National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)
• American Society for Deaf Children
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Idaho Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Types of Hearing Loss & Resources

• CDC: Types of Hearing Loss
• Autism
• Deaf Olympics
• National Theatre of the Deaf
• National Association of the Deaf
• Auditory Verbal Center
• John Tracy Clinic
• Hands and Voices
• Deaf Websites
• Cochlear America
• CDC-Hearing Loss, Home-NCBDDD
• American Speech Language Hearing Association
• Boys Town

Videos

• Early Intervention: Missing Link
• Travel Inside the Ear
• Process of Hearing

Contact one of the educational centers in your area to inquire about the ASL classes being offered.

• College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls
• Boise State University, Boise
• Idaho State University
• Northern Idaho College
• Lewis-Clark State College
• College of Western Idaho
• Signing Time
• Signing Savvy
• ASL Defined

Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired focuses on adults becoming productive and successful members of their community. Offices are located throughout the state and counselors may begin communicating with students and their families from age 14 and up. Summer Work Experience programs may be available to high-school students, as well as college-readiness programs.

The Independent Little Bee is for parents and educators and focuses on practical ways to reinforce the Expanded Core Curriculum.

Learning Ally produces educational accessible audiobooks for visually impaired, dyslexia, and other disabilities students, including textbooks and literature. Contact your Educational Specialist to see if this service is appropriate for your student who is visually impaired or blind.

American Printing House for the Blind is a federally-funded organization that products and educational materials specifically for the B/VI. Many (not all) may be available for temporary check-out to school districts with qualifying students through an Education Specialist.

Washington School for the Blind offers distance learning classes for students who are B/VI from a certified TVI. Classes are for high school credit and frequently include a a brailled textbook.

Perkins School for the Blind has a wealth of information, including accessibility to science; the Common Core for students with B/VI; and strategies for working with students with co-occurring disabilities.

All About Vision provides a list and description of common eye conditions

Braille Authority of North America provides basics in the braille code, as well as the information on the upcoming changes in the code that will be adopted in January, 2014 as the Unified English Braille Code. (UEBC).

Wonder Baby has information from accessible Ipad apps for young children to how to introduce a child to a new teacher, and provides parents blogs and links to relevant websites.

Interested in becoming a Certified Teacher of Students who are visually Impaired/Blind? Please check out Teaching Visually Impaired for more information.

Expanded Core Curriculum, Overview:

Convergence Inefficiency

• Idaho Assistive Technology Project
• Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
• Department of Labor
• Idaho Deaf/Blind Project
• Helen Keller National Center

National Deaf Center
The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) is a technical assistance and dissemination center funded by the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP).

Our mission is to support postsecondary outcomes for individuals who are deaf, deafblind, deafdisabled, hard of hearing, or late deafened*. Our activities draw on evidence-based strategies to educate and engage with stakeholders across the nation. We seek to create conditions for optimal success in a way that recognizes and honors the experiences, perspectives, and strengths of deaf individuals.

*NDC is using the term deaf in an all-inclusive manner, to include people who may identify as Deaf, deaf, deafblind, deafdisabled, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and hearing impaired. NDC recognizes that for many individuals, identity is fluid and can change over time or with setting. NDC has chosen to use one term, deaf, with the goal of recognizing experiences that are shared by all members of our diverse communities while also honoring all of our differences.

Critical Needs of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Five Major Barriers Impacting Deaf and Hard of Hearing K-12 Students

pn2 Research Brief: Post-Secondary Enrollment and Completion for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

pn2 Research Brief: Employment Data for Adults who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

pn2 Research Brief: The Common Core State Standards - Considerations for Teachers of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

pn2 Research Brief: Serving Individuals who are DHH in Rural Communities

pn2 Research Brief: Mental Health Care for DHH Individuals - Needs, Risk Factors, and Access to Treatment

NETAC Teacher Tipsheet: Classroom Technology - How to Use AV Equipment for Visual Learners

NETAC Teacher Tipsheet: Notetaking

NETAC Teacher Tipsheet: Retention

NETAC Teacher Tipsheet: Providing Testing Accommodations for DHH Students

NETAC Teacher Tipsheet: Tutoring

Tipsheet: Adjusting to Hearing Loss During High School - Preparing Students for Successful Transition to Postsecondary Education or Training

PEPNet Tipsheet: Tips for a Successful Job Search

PEPNet Tipsheet: Transitioning to College - From Dependence to Independence

PEPNet Tipsheet: Vocational Rehabilitation for Postsecondary Programs that Serve Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology
DO-IT is a program promoting the success of individuals with disabilities in post secondary education and careers, using technology as an empowering tool.

Graduation Planning Guidance for Idaho Students with Disabilities
The purpose of this document is to provide districts, especially IEP teams, with guidance on graduation planning for students with disabilities. IEP teams should reference this document in the development of individualized education programs, planning for graduation, & transition to post-school options.

College Resources for Students with Disabilities Guidebook

Guide to Home Remodeling for Disability and Special Needs