Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 61 Children's Research Center. 51 Gerry Drive. Champaign, IL 61820. EST

ED 478 932

AUTHOR

TITLE

INSTITUTION

SPONS AGENCYREPORT NOPUB DATE

NOTE

CONTRACT

AVAILABLE FROM

PUB TYPE

EDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

EC 309 693

Chen, Deborah

Visual Impairment in Young Children: A Review of theLiterature with Implications for Working with Families ofDiverse Cultural and Linguistic Backgrounds. TechnicalReport.

Illinois Univ., Urbana. Early Childhood Research Inst. onCulturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services.Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC.CLAS-R-72001-05-0077p.

H024560006

CLAS Early Childhood Research Institute, 61 Children'sResearch Center, 51 Gerty Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 ($7.50).Tel: 800-583-4135 (Toll Free). For full text:http://clas.uiuc.edu/ publications.html.Information Analyses (070) Reference MaterialsBibliographies (131) -- Reports Evaluative (142)EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.*Child Development; *Cultural Awareness; *CulturalInfluences; Disabilities; Diversity; Early ChildhoodEducation; *Early Identification; Early Intervention;*Educational Practices; Family Involvement; Family. Programs;Incidence; Infants; Language Role; Literature Reviews;Minority Groups; Preschool Education; Special Education;Standards; Toddlers; *Visual Impairments

This report identifies key issues for providing earlychildhood special education services to young children who are visuallyimpaired and for working with families of culturally and linguisticallydiverse backgrounds. First, it discusses the incidence of visual impairmentand associated disabilities among young children, the process of earlyidentification, and various definitions related to visual impairment. Second,it reviews relevant literature of the effects of visual impairment andassociated disabilities on early development. Third, it outlines currentintervention practices in relationship to the Division of Early ChildhoodRecommended Practices (1993). Fourth, it presents implications for servinginfants, toddlers, and preschoolers with visual impairments, those withassociated disabilities, and their families. The report includes extensivereferences, an annotated bibliography, and a list of available resources fromthe CLAS Web site. (Author/SG)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

TechnicalReport #7

I

ual I Wiciirment in YoungCh i Id rei: A Review of theLiterature with Implicationsfoir Working with Familieso Diveese Cultural and

tylAnguistic Backgrounds

Deborah ChenU.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Odic t Educational Research and ImprovementED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CENTER (ERIC)This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it.

Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OEF11 position or policy.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

61 Children's Research Center 51 Gerry Drive Champaign, IL 61820

EST Copy AVA ILAr LE 2

TECHNICAL REPORT #7

Visual Impairment In Young Children: A Reviewof the Literature with Implications for Workingwith Families of Diverse Cultural and LinguisticBackgroundsDeborah Chen

May 2001

CLASCulturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services

Early Childhood Research Institute

Early Childhood Research Institute onCulturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign61 Children's Research Center

51 Gerty DriveChampaign, Illinois 61820-7498

voiceltty 1.800.583.4135web site http://clas.uiuc.edu/

Copyright 2001 CLAS. All rights reserved.The CLAS Institute is funded with federal funds from the U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Special Education Programs, under contract numberH024560006. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or

policies of the U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names,commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Graphic Designers: Selena Douglass & Jason SmithCopy Editors: Felicia Goo ler & Mariellen Gilpin

3

E c301013

TechnicalReport #7

ual I airment in YoungChildren: A Review of theLiterature with Implicationsfor orking with Families

'Diverse Cultural andInguistic Backgrounds

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

turatt5r-wi',rly

Deborah Chen

ervices

stitute61 Children's Research Center 51 Gem' Drive Champaign, IL 61820

4rig EST COIPY AVAIILA LE

ab e o ontents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ram ,, on ent

III MN =

iAbstract

Introduction 1

Incidence, Early Identification, and Definitions 1

Incidence 1

Early Identification 3

Definitions 4

Influence of Visual Impairment on Early Development 5

Current Intervention Strategies in Relation to the DECRecommended Practices 9

Assessment 9

Family Participation 11

Curriculum and Intervention Strategies 12

Interventions to Promote Cognitive Skills 14

Interventions to Promote Communication Skills 16

Interventions to Promote Social Skills and Emotional Development 17

Interventions to Promote Adaptive Behavior Skills 18

Interventions to Promote Motor Skills 18

Personnel Training 18

Considerations for Working With Culturally and LinguisticallyDiverse Families 19

Guiding Questions for Creating Culturally Responsive Programs 23

References 25

Annotated Bibliographies 45

Resources 51

Publications 52

About the CLAS Institute 73About the Author 77

BEST COPY AVARIA IL LIE

a e o ant en Absitiaa ont6hi"

When infants and young children are visually impaired, their access to informa-tion is restricted, and they are at risk for developmental delays and other learn-ing difficulties. Further, many young children with visual impairments have addi-tional disabilities that influence their learning and development. When a visualimpairment occurs with hearing loss, access to information is even more re-stricted. This report identifies key issues in providing early childhood specialeducation services to young children who are visually impaired, and for workingwith families of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. First, it discusses

the incidence of visual impairment and associated disabilities among youngchildren, the process of early identification, and various definitions related tovisual impairment. Second, it reviews relevant literature on the effects of visualimpairment and associated disabilities on early development. Third, it outlinescurrent intervention practices in relationship to the Division of Early ChildhoodRecommended Practices (1993). Fourth, it presents implications for serving in-fants, toddlers, and preschoolers with visual impairments, those with associateddisabilities, and their families.

BEST COPY AVAIL/ 11E

6

ab é o on ants s act 'ontent

Introduction

ision and hearing are our primarysenses for learning about our

world and for interacting with others.When infants and young children arevisually impaired, their access toinformation is restricted, and they are atrisk for developmental delays and otherlearning difficulties. Furthermore, manyyoung children with visual impairmentshave additional disabilities that influ-ence their learning and development.When a visual impairment occurs withhearing loss, access to information iseven more restricted. This combinationof sensory impairments has an evenmore profound effect on early develop-ment than visual impairment alone.

Given the significance of visual experi-ences in early learning and develop-ment, this paper identifies key issues in

Ell Ell I=

providing early childhood specialeducation services to young childrenwho are visually impaired, and forworking with families of culturally andlinguistically diverse backgrounds. First,it discusses the incidence of visualimpairment and associated disabilitiesamong young children, the process ofearly identification, and various defini-tions related to visual impairment.Second, it reviews relevant literaturerelated to the effects of visual impair-ment and associated disabilities on earlydevelopment. Third, it outlines currentintervention practices in relationship tothe Division of Early Childhood Recom-mended Practices (1993). Fourth, itpresents implications for serving infants,toddlers, and preschoolers with visualimpairments, those with associateddisabilities, and their families.

Incidence, Early Identification, andDefinitions

Incidence

Visual impairment is a low-incidencedisability, occurring in 1.5 per 1000 livebirths in developed countries (OxfordRadcliffe Hospital, 1995). However,young children with visual impairmentare a very heterogeneous group in termsof the type and severity of visualimpairment. First, 50% of children with

visual impairment have enough vision touse large print, 25% have light percep-tion, and 25% are totally blind (Buncic,1987). Second, research with youngchildren (birth to five years) who arevisually impaired indicates that up to70% of these children have additionaldisabilities (Bishop, 1991; Deitz &Ferrell, 1993; Ferrell, 1998; Hatton,Bailey, Burchinal, & Ferrell, 1997).

SIZOT COPY AVAILABLE 7

Visual Impairment I TR7INCIDENCE, EARLY IDENTIFICATION,

AND DEFINITIONS

Research with youngchildren (birth to five years) whoare visually impaired indicatesthat up to 70% of these childrenhave additional disabilities.

Studies ofchildren withdevelopmentaldisabilitieshave foundthat 48% to75% of themalso havesignificant

visual impairments (Maino, Maino, &Maino, 1990).

These statistics are related to severalcauses of visual impairment that areassociated with other disabilities. First,extremely low birthweight is associatedwith retinopathy of prematurity, corticalvisual impairment, refractive errors andother types of visual impairments(Ferrell, 1998; Glass, 1993; Hoon, 1996);as well as with developmental disabili-ties, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, andother medical needs (Goldson, 1996).Compared to infants without disabilities,there is a higher incidence of corticalvisual impairments, refractive errors,and other visual problems in infantswith cerebral palsy, Down syndrome,and other genetic disorders related todevelopmental disabilities (Capute &Accardo, 1996; Hoon, 1996; Rogers,Roizen & Capone, 1996; Wesson &

Maino, 1995).

liMany children who havesevere multiple disabilities mayalso have a visual impairmentand hearing loss that are notidentified. Thus the number ofchildren who are deaf-blind islikely to be underestimated.

These findingshighlight thecritical needfor infants andyoung childrenwith disabili-ties to receivea comprehen-sive visionevaluation.

A small number of children who arevisually impaired also have a hearingloss. In every 1000 children with dis-abilities, approximately two of themhave both a visual impairment and hear-ing loss and may be called deaf-blind(Baldwin, 1993). Data on theschool-aged population who have bothvisual impairment and hearing loss(Outlette, 1984) indicate that 6.1% aredeaf and blind, 3.4% are deaf with asevere visual impairment, 48% are blindand have a severe hearing loss, and42.4% have a severe hearing loss andsevere visual impairment. These statis-tics indicate that almost 94% of thepopulation identified as deaf-blind havesome functional vision or hearing andover 50% have additional disabilities(Baldwin, 1994). More recent data in the1990s (Baldwin, 1997; Edwards, Goehl,& Gordon, 1994) also indicate that amajority of the deaf-blind population(birth to 21 years) have some usablevision or hearing and additional disabili-ties.

The heterogeneity of the population whoare "deaf-blind" has resulted in a varietyof definitions across the country, so achild may be identified as "deaf-blind"in one state and "multidisabled" inanother (Ward & Zambone, 1992).Some states have certain criteria basedon decibel loss or acuity level forhearing and visual impairments. Thebroad definition of "deaf-blind" is notcommonly recognized by serviceproviders and educational systems.Many children who have severe multipledisabilities may also have a visualimpairment and hearing loss that are notidentified. Thus the number of children

TR7 I Visual Impairment

who are deaf-blind is likely to beunderestimated (Davidson, 1993). The1997 Deaf-Blind Census reports 11,048students (birth through 21 years) asdeaf-blind and indicates an annualincrease in the federally-mandated count(Baldwin, 1997). However, it is highlylikely that these data underestimate thenumbers of infants and preschoolerswho have both visual impairment andhearing loss because of factors influenc-ing early identification practices.

Early Identification

Screening infants and young children forvisual impairment is not commonpractice despite recommendations ofboth the American Academy of Ophthal-mology (1992) and the AmericanOptometric Association (AmericanOptometric Association ConsensusPanel on Pediatric Eye and VisionExaminations, 1994) that all infantsreceive a comprehensive vision evalua-tion during the first year, and a follow-up before the third birthday. If appropri-ate medical care is available to thefamily, then an infant who is born with asignificant visual impairment is usuallydiagnosed before 4 months of age.However, if an infant has additionaldisabilities then identification of acongenital visual impairment occurs at alater age (Ferrell, 1998). The moreobvious disability will be identified first.For example, if an infant is also medi-cally fragile or has a severe physicaldisability, it is likely that these disabili-ties will be identified before a refractiveerror or cortical visual impairment.Similarly, when an infant is visually

INCIDENCE, EARLY IDENTIFICATION,AND DEFINITIONS

impaired and has a hearing loss, thevisual impairment is usually identifiedfirst. A hearing loss is not visible andfew states have fully implementeduniversal hearing screening for infants(Mauk, Barringer, & Mauk, 1995;National Institutes of Health, 1993). Infact, the average age of infants withhearing loss beginning early interven-tion is between 18 and 30 months(Kramer & Williams, 1993).

Implications for Working with FamiliesThe early identification of visualimpairment and associated disabilities ininfants and referral to early interventionservices depends on whether families (a)have the finan-cial resourcesto obtain com-prehensivemedical care,(b) have thepersistence orskills to negoti-ate medical andother systems,and (c) receiveappropriate

Families who do notspeak English, who areunfamiliar with the medicalsystem in their communities, orwho do not seek medical care,are unlikely to have their infants'visual impairment or hearing lossidentified early.

supports fromsocial service or early interventionagencies. Therefore, families who do notspeak English, who are unfamiliar withthe medical system in their communi-ties, or who do not seek medical care,are unlikely to have their infants' visualimpairment or hearing loss identifiedearly. Once these infants are identifiedas having a sensory impairment,whether they have other disabilities ornot, these families may require assis-tance in accessing early interventionservices.

Visual Impairment I TR7INCIDENCE, EARLY IDENTIFICATION,

AND DEFINITIONS

DefinitionsI1 INN I1

A number of terms are used to describevision loss, and their definitions shouldbe familiar to individuals who arevisually impaired, families, and serviceproviders.

Visual impairment is an inclusive termthat covers a range of vision loss thatwill influence the child's ability toparticipate in everyday activities.Legally blind is a federal definition thatis used for eligibility to receive services;and is defined as vision in the better eye

as 20/200 orless even withcorrection, orthat the visualfield is nogreater than 20degrees. Thismeans that the

child can see at 20 feet what a peer withnormal vision can see at 200 feet; or thatthe child who is legally blind can see arestricted area straight ahead due togreatly reduced areas of peripheralvision.

The different meanings ofterms related to visualimpairment are particularlyconfusing.

Low vision implies that the child isseverely visually impaired with correc-tion, but with appropriate supports, hasthe potential for using available visionfor everyday activities. Totally blind isdefined as having no vision at all.Functionally blind refers to having lightperception without the ability to identifythe source of light or to discriminateshapes. A child with low vision hassufficient vision to make visual dis-criminations but also has a visualimpairment that interferes with the usual

ways of participating in everydayactivities (Bailey & Hall, 1990).

When a child who is visually impairedalso has a hearing loss, the termdeaf-blind is used to indicate impair-ments in the two major avenues forlearningvision and hearing. However,children who are called deaf-blindinclude those with a range of sensoryimpairments and other disabilities. Someof these children have mild-to-profoundvisual impairments and hearing losses,some have cortical visual impairmentsand/or central auditory processingdisorders, some are hard of hearing andblind, others are low vision and deaf,some are totally blind and have aprofound hearing loss, some are hard ofhearing and low vision, and some havemedical needs, severe developmentaldelays and other physical disabilities(Baldwin, 1993; Chen, 1993; Chen &Haney, 1995; Michael & Paul, 1991;Miller & Peck, 1995; Ward & Zambone,1992).

Implications for Working with FamiliesMost families need an explanation ofterminology related to any diagnosis thattheir children receive. However, thedifferent meanings of terms related tovisual impairment are particularlyconfusing. Physicians may use the termblind to cover a range of vision lossfrom legally blind to totally blind. Whena family first hears that their child isblind, they usually interpret this diagno-sis as meaning that their child cannotsee. However, they will wonder aboutthe diagnosis if the child demonstratessome visual abilities. Similarly, if theterm deaf-blind is used for a child who

10


is just diagnosed with a visual impair-ment and hearing loss, the family andservice providers may question thisdiagnosis if the child demonstrates someresponse to auditory or visual stimuli(Chen, 1998). Furthermore, diagnosticinformation may be even more difficultfor families to understand when inter-preters are needed to translate thisinformation.

Service providers working with youngchildren with disabilities (other thanvisual impairment) also need to befamiliar with definitions related to visualimpairment to assist in referring

INFLUENCE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENTON EARLY DEVELOPMENT

high-risk chil-dren for medi-cal and relatedservices. An in-creased under-standing of re-lated terms,such as, legallyblind (includesa wide range of visual impairments) anddeaf-blind (includes a variety of prob-lems in both vision and hearing), willpromote both (a) early identification ofthese infants and young children and (b)the provision of appropriate earlychildhood special education services.

Diagnostic informationmay be even more difficult forfamilies to understand wheninterpreters are needed totranslate this information.

Influence of Visual Impairment on EarlyDevelopment

The literature reveals that a severevisual impairment will influence all

areas of early development; however, itis accompanying disabilities that willhave the most significant developmentalconsequences (Ferrell, 1998; Hatton etal., 1997). First, an absence of mutualgaze or eye contact affects the quality ofcaregiver interactions with these youngchildren. Mothers of infants with visualimpairments have been observed tospend less time looking at their infantscompared to mothers of babies who aresighted (Rogers & Puchalski, 1984).Studies report that infants with visualimpairments (those with and withoutadditional disabilities) demonstrate fewsignaling behaviors or ways to elicit andmaintain interactions with caregivers

(Baird, Mayfield, & Baker, 1997; Rogers& Puchalski, 1984; Urwin, 1984).Mothers of infants who are blindwithout other disabilities have difficultyinterpretingtheir infants'communicativeintent, estab-lishing joint at-tention, and ex-panding on amutual topic(Kekelis &Anderson,1984). Parents

Studies report thatinfants with visual impairments(those with and without additionaldisabilities) demonstrate fewsignaling behaviors or ways toelicit and maintain interactionswith caregivers.

ict

seek ways tomaintain contact with their infants; forexample, one study found that mothersof infants who are blind responded to

11

Visual Impairment I TR7INFLUENCE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

ON EARLY DEVELOPMENT

their infants' vocalizations by imitatingtheir sounds or by touching them. In thisstudy, these infants were more likely tosmile and less likely to vocalize inresponse to their mothers' vocalizations(Rowland, 1984). Another study alsofound that parents of infants with visualimpairment used familiar game routinesto engage their infants in interaction andtried frequently to elicit their infants'imitation of sounds or words (Chen,1996).

AtStudies report that infantswho are blind (without otherdisabilities) demonstrate objectpermanence, fine motor andobject manipulation skills, andindependent movement andlocomotion at a later age thansighted peers.

Ell

The adaptiveresponses ofcaregivers mayhave develop-mental conse-quences forthese infants.A study of 18toddlers withvisual impair-ment withoutother disabili-

ties (Dote-Kwan, 1995; Dote-Kwan &Hughes, 1994) reported that maternalresponsiveness to child initiations waspositively related to the child's develop-ment. These mothers paraphrased orrepeated the child's communication 75%of the time. Responsiveness includedresponding to the child's requests,repeating or rephrasing the child'scommunication, expanding the child'sutterance, and providing pacing toencourage turntaking. Mothers ofchildren who had less language usedmore cues to get their child's attention(saying the child's name more than eighttimes during an hour observation) thanmothers of children with more language.These home environments were gener-

ally favorable independent of theseverity of the child's visual impairmentor family's socio-economic level. Theseresearchers suggest that participation inearly intervention may support thefamily's ability to adapt the homeenvironment to meet the child's learningneeds.

In contrast, Rock, Head, Bradley,Whiteside and Brisby (1994) found thatalthough young children who demon-strated higher levels of developmentreceived higher levels of language andacademic stimulation, their familieswere more likely to restrict theirchildren's activities (related to freeaccess to the environment) than familiesof young children with lower develop-mental skills. This finding may berelated to families' concerns for safety.These researchers used a modifiedversion of the HOME (Caldwell &Bradley, 1984) with 31 young childrenwith visual impairments (ages 6 monthsto 6 years). Twelve of these childrenwere visually impaired without otherdisabilities and 19 of them had addi-tional disabilities.

Second, severe visual impairment alsoaffects the development of early cogni-tive and motor skills. Studies report thatinfants who are blind (without otherdisabilities) demonstrate object perma-nence (Bigelow, 1986; Rogers &Puchalski, 1988), fine motor and objectmanipulation skills (Ferrell, et al., 1990;Rogow, 1986), and independent move-ment and locomotion (Bigelow, 1992;Fraiberg, 1977; Sonksen, Levitt, &Kitsinger, 1984) at a later age thansighted peers. However, there is a wide

12


range of individual variation amongyoung children who are visually im-paired in the development of these skills(Warren, 1994).

Third, play behaviors of preschoolerswho are visually impaired (without otherdisabilities) differ in quality and quan-tity from those of sighted children(Parsons, 1986a, 1986b; Recchia, 1997;Rettig, 1994; Schneekloth, 1989;Warren, 1994) and have been the focusof many studies. In Sweden, Pries ler andPalmer (1989) found that toddlers whoare blind are relatively passive anduninvolved in a nursery school setting.In this country, Parsons (1986) foundthat preschoolers with visual impairmentare more interested in interacting withadults than in playing with toys. Simi-larly, Schneekloth (1989) reported thatpreschoolers with visual impairmentsspend one-third of their time interactingwith adults while sighted children spendmost of their time interacting with otherchildren. Further, young children whoare blind spend approximately twice asmuch time playing alone compared tochildren with low vision and four timesas much time compared to sightedchildren. Erwin (1993) also found thatyoung children with visual impairmentshave difficulty interpreting the nonver-bal communication of peers and main-taining interaction. Consequently, thesechildren spend more time playing alonethan with peers.

Preschoolers with visual impairmentshave also been observed to engage inmore repetitive behaviors during playand to handle toys in stereotypic waysby waving, mouthing and banging them

INFLUENCE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENTON EARLY DEVELOPMENT

and to use toys in less typical ways com-pared to sighted peers (Parsons, 1986b).These stereotypic behaviors may inter-fere with social interactions with peers(Brambring &Troster, 1992).Another studyobserved chil-dren with visualimpairments toengage in moregross motorplay and lesssymbolic orimaginativeplay (Skellenger, Rosenblum, & Jager,1997). Similar delays in symbolic playhave been reported previously (Fraiberg,1977; Rogers & Puchalski, 1984).However, Parsons (1986a) suggests thatthe limited repertoire of play skills inchildren with visual impairments may berelated to lack of opportunities. Thissuggestion is supported by Olson's(1983) findings that preschoolers (2 to 6years) with visual impairments demon-strated similar behaviors as sightedchildren in exploring a variety of toys;there was a positive relationshipbetween typesof behaviorsand length ofschoolexperience.

Play behaviors ofpreschoolers who are visuallyimpaired (without otherdisabilities) differ in quality andquantity from those of sightedchildren.

In Germany,Troster andBrambring(1994) interviewed parents of 91children with visual impairments (4 to72 months). Findings indicate thesechildren have less interaction with peers,a preference for tactile-auditory games

One study observedchildren with visual impairmentsto engage in more gross motorplay and less symbolic orimaginative play.

13

Visual Impairment I TigINFLUENCE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

ON EARLY DEVELOPMENT

and toys, and lower frequency ofsymbolic play compared to sightedpeers. Children who are blind prefermusical toys, noisemaking objects,household items, and natural objects(e.g., stones); while sighted childrenprefer construction toys, picture books,paints, play dough, crayons, and sym-bolic toys. With parents, children whoare blind engage in cuddling, singingsongs, and making noises; sightedchildren look at books, read stories, andplay with puzzles and other constructionand sorting games. Taken together, thesestudies indicate that visual impairmentin children affects their early activeexploration, inhibits their spontaneousimitation of others, and influences thenature of their play interactions(Brambring & Troster, 1992, 1994;O'Donnell & Livingston, 1991; Ross &Tobin, 1997).

Studies indicate that visualimpairment in children affectstheir early active exploration,inhibits their spontaneousimitation of others, andinfluences the nature of theirplay interactions.

Research sug-gests that par-ents of youngchildren whoare blind speakto their chil-dren differ-ently thanparents ofsighted chil-dren (Ander-

son, Dun lea, & Kekelis, 1993; Urwin,1978). For example, Kekelis and Prinz(1996) found that blind preschoolers hadfewer utterances than their mother's perturn while sighted children and theirmothers had a similar number of utter-ancesfewer than two per turn. Mothersof young children with visual impair-ments were more likely to ask test ques-

tionsto test the child's knowledge ofnames, object functions, and characteris-tics of toys used in play; while mothersof sighted children tended to ask realquestions about the child's feelings, orinterpretations.

Vision loss also affects the child'slanguage and communication. Erin(1990) reported that children with visualimpairments may demonstrate a fre-quent use of questions and echolaliaresponses. Other observations of youngchildren with visual impairments revealthat they tend to use physical contactrather than eye contact during interac-tions. These behaviors may not beappreciated by peers. Furthermore,preschoolers with visual impairmentsand sighted peers do not repair break-downs in communication that occur(Kekelis, 1992).

There is no recent research on thedevelopment of infants or preschoolerswho are deaf-blind. Available literatureis composed of a few case studies(Murdoch, 1994), anecdotal reports(Freeman, 1985), and validation studiesof intervention methods (Chen & Haney,1999; SKI HI Institute, 1993).

Implications for Working with FamiliesIn general, families in these studies ofinfants and young children with visualimpairment in this country have beenEnglish-speaking with the majority ofAnglo-European backgrounds (Chen,1996; Dote-Kwan, Hughes, & Taylor,1997; Ferrell, 1998; Fraiberg, 1977;Hatton et al., 1997; Kekelis & Prinz,1996) and issues of cultural or linguisticdiversity have not been examined. One

1.4


study has compared the effects ofbilingualism to monolingualism on thedevelopment of concepts by olderchildren from Spanish-speaking families(Milian, 1996). Some of the literature onyoung children with visual impairmentis from Canada (Rogow, 1992, 1988),England (Sonksen, Levitt, & Kitsinger,1984; Urwin, 1983), Sweden (Pries ler &Palmer, 1989), Germany (Brambring &Troster, 1994), and Denmark (Nielsen,1991).

Similarly, the literature on infants andyoung children who are deaf-blind hasnot addressed issues related to workingwith families of diverse linguistic andcultural backgrounds with one excep-tion. Project PLAT: Promoting learning

CURRENT INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

through active interactions (Chen, Alsop& Minor, 2000; Chen & Haney, 1999,Klein, Chen & Haney, 2000) developed,implemented,and evaluatedan early com-munication cur-riculum for in-fants whosemultiple dis-abilities in-cluded visualimpairment andhearing loss

The literature on infantsand young children who aredeaf-blind has not addressedissues related to working withfamilies of diverse linguistic andcultural backgrounds with oneexception.

with Spanish-speaking and English-speaking familiesof diverse socio-economic and educa-tional backgrounds. This project is dis-cussed in a subsequent section.

Current Intervention Strategies inRelation to the DEC RecommendedPractices

Assessment

DEC recommended practices (1993) inassessment are appropriate for evaluat-ing young children who are visuallyimpaired with the emphasis on the need:(a) to use appropriate assessmentmaterials, (b) to gather information fromparents and other significant caregivers,(c) to conduct assessments on multipleoccasions, and (d) to use several typesof assessment scales. In addition,

children who have low vision shouldreceive a functional vision assessmentconducted by a teacher certified in thearea of visual impairment to determinethe child's ability to use vision ineveryday activities and modificationsthat are needed to support the child'sparticipation (Chen & Dote-Kwan,1998).

When assessing young children withvisual impairment, service providers

15

Visual Impairment I TR7


should evaluate whether selectedinstruments and procedures are valid forthese children. The majority of develop-mental tools, such as the Bayley Scales

of Infant

atWhen assessing youngchildren with visual impairment,service providers shouldevaluate whether selectedinstruments and procedures arevalid for these children.

Development(1993) relyheavily onitems relatedto visualdevelopment.Other instru-ments providespecific

adaptations for children with visualimpairment, for example, the BatelleDevelopmental Inventory (Newborg,Stock, Wnek, Guidubaldi, & Svinicki,1984). However, adaptations for someitems are not possible, such as, "identi-fies self in mirror;" while the validity ofother adaptations is questionable, suchas, "feeling the examiner's facialexpressions and matching them to raisedline drawings" (Friedman & Calvello,1990). It is difficult to adapt or developtest items that are free from a visual

perspective.

11When a child is visuallyimpaired and has a hearingloss, assessment materials andprocedures should includeappropriate accommodationsfor both sensory impairments.

Even tasks thatrequire ma-nipulation ofobjects aremore difficultfor childrenwho are blindwhen theyrequire knowl-

edge of spatial concepts, such as point-ing in the direction of a sound, orarranging objects in a certain order.Research with young children who areblind suggests that tasks that involveplacing an object in the child's hand and

requiring the child to manipulate it insome way seem to be free from a visualperspective (Brambring & Troster,1994a). Thus assessment of childrenwho are severely visually impairedrequires alternative procedures toassessing sighted children.

A few tools have been designed specifi-cally for assessing the development ofyoung children with visual impairments,for example, The Reynell-Zinkin Scales(Reynell, 1983) and the Oregon Projectfor Visually Impaired and Blind Pre-school Children (Anderson, Boigon, &Davis, 1991). To identify objectives andplan interventions, The Parents andVisually Impaired Infants (PAVII) ma-terials were developed for infants (birthto 36 months) with visual impairmentsand their families (Chen, Friedman &Calvello, 1990). These materials gatherinformation about an infant throughparent interview and observations.

Given the multiple learning needs ofyoung children who are visually im-paired, particularly when there areadditional disabilities, an interdiscipli-nary approach to assessment is essential.When a child is visually impaired andhas a hearing loss, assessment materialsand procedures should include appropri-ate accommodations for both sensoryimpairments (Mar, 1995). The literatureon assessing children who are deaf-blindhas focused mainly on the developmentof communication as indicated by anumber of tools, including The Commu-nication Matrix (Rowland, 1990), TheCalker Azusa Scale(H) for AssessingCommunicative Abilities (Stillman,1985), Communication Placement

16


Assessment Manual (Stremel-Campbell& Clark Guida, 1984), and the Nonver-bal Pre linguistic Communication: AGuide to Communication Levels inPre linguistic Handicapped Children(Otos, 1983).

In addition, two criterion-referenceddevelopmental checklists have beendeveloped specifically for planninginstruction with young children who aredeaf-blind. First, The Callier Azusa (G)was developed by Stillman (1978) toassess communication, cognition,hearing, vision, gross motor, fine motor,self help, and social development inyoung children who are deaf-blind (birthto 10 years).

Several years later, the Assessment ofDevelopmental Skills for YoungMultihandicapped Sensory ImpairedChildren (Morgan et al., 1989) wasdeveloped composed of milestonescross-referenced to existing curriculamaterials, such as, the Oregon Project(Anderson et al., 1986), Help ActivityGuide (Furuno et. al, 1985) andDeaf-Blind Infants and Children(McGinnes & Treffrey, 1986). It assessesgross motor, fine motor, self-help, cogni-tion, social-emotional, communication,vision, hearing, and tactile development inyoung children (birth to 6 years).

After children who are visually impairedare assessed using appropriate proce-dures, resulting reports should provideinformation on the influence of thechild's disability on developmental areasand recommendations for promoting thechild's development. For example, howhas a lack of vision or limited vision


influenced the child's development?How does the combination of visualimpairment and other disabilities affectthe child's learning and development?What alternative strategies has the childdeveloped to interact with others and toparticipate in activities? What activityadaptations, environmental modifica-tions, or personal supports are needed topromote the child's learning and partici-pation in activities at home, school, andin the community?

Family Participation

The literature reports that families ofyoung children who are visually im-paired appreciate parent-to-parentsupport opportunities and collaborativerelationships with service providers(Chen, Friedman, & Calvello, 1990;Chen & Haney,1999; Fraiberg,1977; Klein etal, 1988). Chenand Haney(1999) foundthat less edu-cated familiesand those whodid not speakEnglish required more support from earlyintervention personnel to access themedical and educational services thattheir infants needed. Spanish-speakingfamilies also appreciated having earlyinterventionists who spoke their lan-guage and materials that were in Span-ish. They identified having opportunitiesto meet other Spanish-speaking parentsof infants with multiple disabilities asvery helpful.

Resulting reports shouldprovide information on theinfluence of the child's disabilityon developmental areas andrecommendations for promotingthe child's development.

17



A few authors have identified specificconsiderations for service providerswhose values, priorities, language, andculture may differ from families in theirprogram. For example, in traditionalNavajo families, children are expectedto learn by observing others. When achild is visually impaired and cannot

learn through

1iIn traditional Navajofamilies, children are expectedto learn by observing others.When a child is visuallyimpaired and cannot learnthrough observation, the familywill need assistance in usingalternative strategies to teachtheir child.

observation,the family willneed assistancein usingalternativestrategies toteach theirchild (Dufort& Reed,1995). Asanotherexample,Correa (1987)

suggests that service providers workingwith traditional Hispanic families toincrease the independence of a childwho is visually impaired and to decreasethe mother's "overprotectiveness," mayconflict with the family's values regard-ing the mother's caretaking role. Fur-thermore, in traditional Hispanic fami-lies, the extended family and familysystem is a major support and thesefamilies may maintain a formal commu-nication style with service providers.

Families of children with visual impair-ments and additional disabilities havereported frustration in dealing withfragmented services from too manyprofessionals, each focusing on one partof the child based on disability labels(Giangreco, et al, 1991). Family con-cerns include obtaining family support

such as help in the home and financialassistance for adaptive equipment;educational resources for family mem-bers and children; recreational opportu-nities; and dealing with systems thatfocus on deficits rather than strengths ofchildren and their families (Fredericks,1993). It is likely that families who donot have a language in common withtheir service providers will be evenmore frustrated by the service deliverysystem.

Curriculum andIntervention Strategies

NMI

The extreme heterogeneity of these lowincidence populations contributes to thepaucity of studies on specific curriculumor intervention strategies with infantsand young children who are visuallyimpaired or who are deaf-blind. Forexample, there are very few studies onthe effectiveness of interventions topromote a child's functional use ofvision (Lueck, Dornbusch, & Hart,1999), although vision training is acommon intervention with children whohave low vision. Furthermore, there isgreat variation in the qualifications ofthe primary service provider for thesechildren and this influences the types ofinstructional techniques that are used(Chen, 1993a; Chen, 1999; Chen &Dote-Kwan, 1998; Fredricks &Baldwin, 1987; Michael & Paul, 1991).Depending on state certification require-ments, community resources, and eachchild's learning needs, children who arevisually impaired will most likelyreceive services from a teacher in thearea of visual impairment. Although thisis the ideal, this may not occur because

18


of the severe shortage of teacherstrained in visual impairments and earlychildhood special education (Dote-Kwan, Chen, & Hughes, in press).However, if the child has additionaldisabilities, the primary service provideris likely to be a teacher in the area ofearly intervention/early childhoodspecial education or severe disabilities.If the child is visually impaired and hasa hearing loss, then he or she may alsoreceive services from a teacher certifiedin the deaf and hard of hearing area, orin the few states with such certification,from a teacher certified in the area ofdeafblindness.

Instructional strategies with very youngchildren who are visually impaired orwho have additional disabilities have notbeen examined in relationship to work-ing with families of diverse linguisticand cultural backgrounds, with one ex-ception. As mentioned previously, ProjectPLAI: Promoting learning through ac-tive interactions (Chen & Haney, 1999)developed, implemented, and evaluatedan early communication curriculum withSpanish-speaking and English-speakingfamilies of diverse socio-economic andeducational backgrounds (Klein, Chen,& Haney, 2000). The curriculum waseffective with both Spanish-speakingand English-speaking families because(a) early interventionists could commu-nicate with families through a commonlanguage, (b) intervention strategieswere based on family routines, and (c)materials for families were availableboth in English and Spanish.

Some educational practices with youngchildren who are deaf-blind in this

[CURRENT INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

country (Huebner, Prickett, Welch &Joffee, 1995; MacFarland, 1995, Miles& Riggio, 1999) originate from pro-grams in Canada (McInnes & Treffry,1982); England (Freeman, 1985;Wyman, 1986); and the Netherlands(Jurgens, 1977). Some young childrenwho are visually impaired includingthose who are deaf-blind are served ininclusive settings (Erwin, 1993; Erwin,1996; Luiselli, Luiselli, DeCaluwe &Jacobs, 1995; Ford & Fredericks, 1995).These children require appropriatesupports including peer-mediatedtraining for using verbal descriptions,human guide techniques, tangiblesymbols, sign language, tactile signing,and support from interpreter/tutors. Ingeneral, these recommended instruc-tional practices in serving young chil-dren with visual impairments (includingthose who are deaf-blind) have not beenexamined fortheir appropri-ateness with di-verse ethnic,cultural or lin-guistic groups.

The philoso-phies, interven-tion practices,and researchderived from both the areas of earlychildhood special education and severedisabilities have influenced instructionalpractices with young children who arevisually impaired and have additionaldisabilities. Many authors stress theimportance of partnerships with fami-lies, ecologically-based interventions,and the context of learning activities.Integrated objectives incorporated

Integrated objectivesincorporated within everydayroutines are particularly importantfor young children who arevisually impaired and those whohave additional disabilities.

19

t/

*i3



within everyday routines are particularlyimportant for young children who arevisually impaired and those who have

additionaldisabilities(Appell,1987; Chen,Friedman, &Calvello, 1990;Chen &Dote-Kwan,1995; Chen &Dote-Kwan,

1998; Chen & Dote-Kwan, 1999; Chen& Haney, 1999; Downing, 1996; Ferrell,1985; Walker & Kershman, 1981).

Skills that are consideredappropriate for sighted childrenare not necessarily develop-mentally or functionallyappropriate for children withsignificant visual impairment.

Developmentally-AppropriatePracticeThe literature indicates that true imple-mentation of developmentally-appro-priate practice considers what is appro-priate for the child's age, individualneed, and family culture (Bredekamp &Copple, 1997; Ludlow & Berkeley,1994; Phillips, 1994) and provides thelearning experiences that each child

needs(Kostelnik,1992). Whenchildren arevisually im-paired, instruc-tional practicesshould provide

information through nonvisual means.Furthermore, skills that are consideredappropriate for sighted children are notnecessarily developmentally or function-ally appropriate for children with sig-nificant visual impairment. For example,teachers have observed that childrenwith significant visual impairment tend

With little or no vision, itis difficult for preschoolers todevelop many early conceptswithout direct instruction.

to use a whole rather than a pincer graspto obtain a small objectbecause it ismore functional. In a retrospective studywith English-speaking families in theNew York area, Ferrell and her col-leagues (1990) found that the develop-mental sequence for infants who werevisually impaired seemed to differ fromthat of sighted infants. Infants who werevisually impaired were reported to haveacquired certain milestones (walks upand down stairs with alternating feet,follows two-step directions, removesT-shirt independently, sings a song frommemory, and toilet trained without dia-pers) earlier than the median age forsighted infants. Further, these infantswho were visually impaired acquiredgross motor skills (walking) at an earlierage than Fraiberg's sample (1977); per-haps because these areas were addressedby their early intervention programs.Most developmental milestones wereachieved later by the group of childrenwith multiple disabilities and visualimpairments. Similarly, differences inthe acquisition of developmental mile-stones by young children with visualimpairment have been reported by arecent prospective studyProject PRISM(Ferrell, 1998).

Interventions to PromoteCognitive Skills

All young children learn best throughactive participation and real life experi-ences. However, these learning opportu-nities are even more critical whenchildren are visually impaired. Withlittle or no vision, it is difficult forpreschoolers to develop many early

20


concepts without direct instruction(Chen & Dote-Kwan, 1999). Blindnessor visual impairment limits a child'snatural understanding of people, objects,activities, and the environment.

In Denmark, Nielsen (1991) designedthe "Little Room" as a responsivephysical environment to assist infantswith visual impairments including thosewith additional disabilities to developspatial relations, object permanence, andcause-effect relationships. The "LittleRoom" is a plexiglass structure withobjects attached to the sides and topwithin the child's reach. A total of 20infants (5-19 months) with visualimpairments (9 had significant develop-mental delays) were observed under aframe on which objects were attachedand in the "Little Room." The infantsdemonstrated different behaviors in the"Little Room" than under the frame withobjects. In the "Little Room" theyseemed to focus on their own vocaliza-tions and actions on objects rather thanbeing distracted by environmentalsounds. They were more interested inhandling objects that had variations insurfaces and textures (e.g. plastic handleand brush), and objects that weremoderately different in tactile character-istics (e.g., keys and spoons) thanobjects with smooth surfaces.

The structure of the "Little Room"enabled infants to repeat action onobjects because the objects were in afixed position. Many teachers in theUnited States have introduced the "LittleRoom" to young children with visualimpairments and other disabilities.However, the use of the "Little Room"


is controversial because (a) it creates anartificial environment for skills that maynot be easily generalized to real situa-tions, (b) its use may be stigmatizing ina setting with nondisabled peers, (c) achild may be left in it without supervi-sion, and (d) if used excessively, maysupplant opportunities of social interac-tions (Dote-Kwan & Chen, 1995). Onthe other hand, observations ofchildren's actions in the "Little Room"highlight the importance of contingentexperiences for an infant with visualimpairment to develop an understandingof cause-effect relationships.

When they have limited or no vision,children need opportunities to touch andmanipulate objects, to have "hands on"experiences, and whenever possible, tolearn from real objects rather thanmodels (Chen & Dote-Kwan, 1999;Ferrell, 1985; Morgan, 1992). Forexample, models such as plastic fruit orwooden cars in the play area of apreschool are only meaningful for achild who is visually impaired if he orshe has previously developed theconcept of "banana" and "car" by eatingthe real fruit or exploring the family'scar. So although such toys may be"developmentally-appropriate" materialsin a preschool, they would not be"individually-appropriate" for someyoung children with visual impairment(Chen, 1993b).

An understanding of spatial relationsand the meanings of words, such as "up/down," "in/out," "on/off," "in front of/behind," are usually understood throughvisual reference to one's own body.Children with visual impairment require

21



specific learning opportunities to de-velop these concepts related to position,location, and distance from themselvesand as related to objects in the environ-ment (Morgan, 1992). Concepts alsoinclude the physical characteristics of

objectssize,

Without direct instruction,children with severe visualimpairment may not develop anaccurate understanding ofenvironmental concepts relatedto indoor settings (such as walls,ceilings, stairs, windows, anddoors), outdoor areas (such asstreets, sidewalks, driveways,corners, curbs, dirt, grass, andasphalt), and types of transport(such as cars, busses, airplanes,boats, trikes, and skis).

color, shape,and tactilequalities. Chil-dren with vi-sual impair-ment needmany opportu-nities to handleand play witheveryday ob-jects (such asspoons, cups,food, andclothing) thatprovide experi-ences withthese charac-teristics. Simi-

larly, older preschoolers need structuredopportunities to develop concepts re-lated to time, distance, amount, andweight (Anthony, 1993). Without directinstruction, children with severe visualimpairment may not develop an accurateunderstanding of environmental conceptsrelated to indoor settings (such as walls,ceilings, stairs, windows, and doors),outdoor areas (such as streets, side-walks, driveways, corners, curbs, dirt,grass, and asphalt), and types of trans-port (such as cars, busses, airplanes,boats, trikes, and skis). Promoting op-portunities for concept development istypically a focus of teachers certified inthe area of visual impairments and oforientation and mobility specialists.

Interventions to PromoteCommunication Skills

Children who are blind or visuallyimpaired develop language in a similarmanner as sighted children. However,vision loss influences the manner inwhich they use language and communi-cate with others (Anderson, Dunlea, &Kekelis, 1984). Understanding pronounsis difficult for these children if theycannot see the person who is talking,what is being talked about, or the personwho is being addressed. Children whoare blind may be five years old beforethey accomplish the correct use ofpronouns (Segal, 1993). Echolalia isalso common in many young childrenwho are visually impaired (Dunlea,1989). When children are visuallyimpaired and have additional disabili-ties, they need direct instruction todevelop language skills (Evans &Johnson, 1988).

Communication has long been recog-nized as the primary intervention needfor young children who are deaf-blind(Chen, 1995; Huebner, Kirchner &Prickett, 1995; Stillman, 1993; van Dijk,1966;1967; Writer, 1987). For themajority of these young children withother severe disabilities, an emphasismust be placed on presymbolic commu-nicative behaviors and the pragmatics ofcommunication (Downing &Siegel-Causey, 1988; Rowland &Schweigert, 1989; Seigel-Causey &Downing, 1987; Tedder, Warden, &Sikka, 1993). Interpreting and respond-ing to nonverbal behaviors as if theyhave communicative intent has beenidentified as an effective intervention

22


strategy with young children who aredeaf-blind (Chen & Haney, 1995; Chen& Haney, 1999; Downing &Siegel-Causey, 1988; Rowland &Schweigert, 1989; Seigel-Causey &Downing, 1987; Tedder, Warden, &Sikka, 1993; van Dijk, 1966; 1967).Movement-based communicationinvolving gestures, actions on objects,and other body movements has beenused widely with these children as well(Stillman, 1993; Writer, 1987). Gestures,objects, and picture systems (Huebner,Prickett, Welch, Joffee, 1995; van Dijk,1986; Rowland & Schweigert, 1989)have been used with children who needa tangible symbol system. Symboliccommunication through sign languagebased on visual-spatial properties has tobe modified for children who aredeaf-blind. Depending on their func-tional vision, these children may requireone-to-one tactile interpreting orclose-proximity signing. Moreover,educational interpreters may be neededfor children who are deaf-blind who arebeing educated with young children whoare not disabled (Prickett, 1995).

Interventions to PromoteSocial Skills andEmotional Development

Studies of caregiver interaction withinfants who are visually impaired ordeaf-blind highlight the need for earlyintervention to support this early rela-tionship, and to assist caregivers in iden-tifying and interpreting the infant's be-


haviors as communicative (Chen, 1996,Fraiberg, 1977). Other studies haveidentified the role of adults in promotingthe interactions with peers ofpreschoolers with visual impairments.Workman (1986) reported that adultdescriptions of the social environmentand verbal prompts encouraged interac-tions between preschoolers with visualimpairments and sighted peers.Skellenger and Hill (1994) found thatwith 5- to 7-year-olds, identifying thechild's interests in play, adult modeling,and participation in play, supportedyoung children who were blind in devel-oping play skills. Strategies includedchoosing similar activities and materialsand making comments, i.e., " I wonderif I can put this baby to bed?", offeringspecific sug-gestions, i.e.,"Will you helpme put thesepeople in thehouse?", andusing hand-over-hand orhand-under-hand modeling,for example,"Let's bathe thebaby together."Other strategies

Studies of caregiverinteraction with infants who arevisually impaired or deaf-blindhighlight the need for earlyintervention to support this earlyrelationship, and to assistcaregivers in identifying andinterpreting the infant's behaviorsas communicative.

114

to promote play skills include selectingtoys for children with visual impairmentbased on tactile rather than visual char-acteristics, using real objects, and facili-tating interaction with one peer and thengradually increasing the number of chil-dren in a play situation (Rettig, 1994).

233



Interventions to PromoteAdaptive Behavior Skills

Because visual impairment severelylimits a child's ability to learn by imita-tion, many early childhood programsemphasize the development of indepen-dence in self-care skills for preschoolerswho are visually impaired (Brody &Webber, 1994; Ferrell, 1985; Morgan,1992). Children who are blind or se-verely visually impaired need to usespecific compensatory strategies to en-gage in many daily living activities,such as being organized, using tactilediscrimination, and relying on spatial

memory toidentify ob-jects, makechoices, andperform tasksindependently.For example,consider how afive-year-oldboy who is

blind learns how to dress himself, brushhis teeth, and feed himself. These chil-dren do not acquire these strategieswithout direct instruction and opportuni-ties to participate in self-care activities.However, a service provider's emphasison the child's development of independentself-care skills may conflict with thefamily's value of caring for their children.

Research suggests thatearly intervention services havepromoted an earlier age ofacquisition for locomotion skillsin infants with visual impairmentsthan reported previously.

Interventions to PromoteMotor Skills

Young children with visual impairmentstend to have low tone and delays inmotor development, given the absence

of visual stimuli to motivate movementand exploration (Brown & Bour, 1987).Infants who are blind tend to take longerto develop crawling skills that infantswho are sighted (Maida & McClune,1996). However, research (Ferrell et al.,1990) suggests that early interventionservices have promoted an earlier age ofacquisition for locomotion skills ininfants with visual impairments thanreported previously (Fraiberg, 1977).Orientation and mobility, that is, learn-ing where one is in space and how tomove safely and independently, is aprimary area of instruction for youngchildren who are visually impaired ordeaf-blind (Anthony, 1992; 1993;Huebner, Kirchner, & Prickett, 1995).Orientation and mobility has also beenidentified by parents of young childrenwho are deaf-blind as a primary inter-vention need for their children(Andrews, 1989). As with the acquisi-tion of adaptive behavior skills, childrenwho have severe visual impairmentsneed specific interventions to promotethe development of independent motorskills. However, a focus on independentmovement in early childhood may notbe a family's priority for their child.

Personnel Training

Nationally, there is a severe shortage ofteachers certified in the area of visualimpairments, and only 23 states havepersonnel preparation programs invisual impairments (American Founda-tion for the Blind, 1995; Council forExceptional Children, 2000; Corn &Ferrell, 2000; Corn, Hatlen, Huebner,Ryan & Stiller, 1996; Head, 1989;

24


Huebner & Paige Strumwasser, 1987;Jones, 1991; Parsons, 1990; Stolarski &Erwin, 1991). Furthermore, most ofthese teacher training programs providelittle if any cousework in the areas ofearly intervention/early childhoodspecial education, or severe and multipledisabilities (Dote-Kwan, Chen, &Hughes, in press; Erin, 1986; Erin,Daugherty, Dignan, & Parson, 1990;Huebner & Paige Strumwasser, 1987;Seitz, 1994).

There is an even more critical shortageof personnel trained to meet the specificlearning needs of young children whoare deaf-blind (McLetchie &MacFarland, 1995; McCletchie &Riggio, 1997; Zambone & Huebner,1992). The majority of teachers ofchildren who have both vision andhearing losses have not received trainingin specific strategies to address thecommunication and sensory needs ofthese children (Chen & Haney, 1995;Huebner, Prickett, Welch, & Joffee,

CONSIDERATIONS FOR WORKINGWITH DIVERSE FAMILIES

1995; Michael & Paul, 1991; Stillman,1993; Tedder, Warder & Sikka, 1993).Furthermore, the heterogeneity of thepopulation contributes to the complexityof educational needs and a variety ofservice providers working with childrenwho are deaf-blind (Bullis &Otos, 1988;Zambone &Huebner, 1992).However, spe-cific competen-cies in the areasof developingconcepts, communication, orientationand mobility, and use of sensory infor-mation are needed by teachers whowork with these children (McLetchie &Riggio, 1997). Training is also neededfor the interpreter-tutor or intervener, aparaprofessional support person tofacilitate's the child's access to thesocial and learning environment (Ford &Fredericks, 1995; McGinnes & Treffry,1982; SKI-HI Institute, 1993).

There is an even morecritical shortage of personneltrained to meet the specificlearning needs of young childrenwho are deaf-blind.

Considerations for Working with Culturallyand Linguistically Diverse Families

This review of the literature onresearch and instruction of young

children with visual impairment(including those with other disabilities)suggests the following considerationsfor working with families of diversecultural and linguistic backgrounds:

1. Service providers (such as ophthal-mologists, optometrists, audiologists,nurses, early interventionists, andspecial education teachers) should beaware of the need for infants to receivevision and audiological evaluations andshould become knowledgeable about

25

Visual impairment I TR7


Assessments should bevalid for the child beingassessed and should include afamily interview and obser-vations of children in familiarsituations.

procedures thatare appropriatefor infants andfor infantswith otherdisabilities.Early andaccurateidentificationof young

children with visual impairment, par-ticularly if they have other disabilities,depends on their families' access toservices for early screening, referral, anddiagnosis. Even when a vision and/orhearing impairment is identified, aninfant may not receive appropriate earlyintervention services related to thesensory impairments in a timely fashion.

How quicklyan infant

ZAGathering informationfrom families from diversecultural and linguisticbackgrounds may requireadditional time, carefullyworded questions, recognitionthat the families' home routinesmay differ from those ofmainstream families, and theuse of trained interpreters.

receives theseservices oftendepends on theresources ofthe localmedical andeducationalsystems andthe ability ofthe family toadvocate forservices withinthese systems(Chen, 1998).

Many families may not understand howto access current medical and earlyintervention systems and may beconfused by diagnostic labels andrelated terminology (Chen, Brekken &Chan, 1997; Chen, Chan, Brekken, &Valverde, 2000). Service providersshould explain diagnoses and terminol-

ogy related to the child's diagnosis inways that are understandable to families,for example, discussing the differencebetween "legally blind" and "totallyblind." Additional explanation may beneeded for non-English-speakingfamilies. Translation of the terms"blind" or "deaf-blind" from English toother languages may be difficult, giventhe common perception that "blind"means cannot see anything and "deaf"means cannot hear any sound. Similarly,service providers may need to explainthe medical and educational systems ofthis country. Families who are notfamiliar with our medical or educationalsystem may not understand the purposeof appointments and meetings. Further,there are many other issues related to afamily's socioeconomic status that willinfluence their ability to access services.

2. Assessments should be valid for thechild being assessed and should includea family interview and observations ofchildren in familiar situations. Gatheringinformation from families from diversecultural and linguistic backgrounds mayrequire additional time, carefullyworded questions, recognition that thefamilies' home routines may differ fromthose of mainstream families, and theuse of trained interpreters. Familypriorities and goals for the child mayvary from those of the early interventionor early childhood special educationprofessionals. For example, familiesmay question the advisability of orienta-tion and mobility goals and be con-cerned about their child's safety.

3. Young children with visual impair-ment need active interaction with

26


objects, people, and activities to supporttheir interest in activities, to develop anunderstanding of the environment, andto develop concepts. Whenever possible,experiences with real objects shouldsupport learning; for example, a realorange has many defining characteristicscompared to a plastic orange. It isessential that young children learnwhere things belong and help set up andclean up activities so that things do notjust appear and disappear (Lueck, Chen& Kekelis, 1997). A sighted child cansee the adult getting the cookies out ofthe cupboard and putting them on thetable. However, without verbal explana-tion and opportunity to participate, thechild who is visually impaired will haveno idea how the cookies got on the table.Allowing the child to participate ac-tively in everyday activities and provid-ing verbal descriptions of ongoingevents may not fit naturally into typicalfamily practices. Further, serviceproviders should use objects and toys inhome visits that respect the family'sculture and lifestyle. For example, it isdisrespectful to introduce expensive toysthat the family cannot afford or Anglo-European dolls in an African-Americanhome.

4. Most early childhood programs ex-pect children to develop independencein daily routines such as feeding,toileting, and sleeping (Gonzalez-Mena,1993); and the development of au-tonomy and independence is typically aprimary focus of preschool programs foryoung children with visual impairments.However, this emphasis on self helpskills, self feeding, dressing, andtoileting in early childhood special edu-


cation programs may conflict with thefamily's priorities (Chen & Dote-Kwan,1999; Klein & Chen, in press). Simi-larly, an emphasis on orientation andmobility skills may not fit the family'svalues of interdependence and caring forthe child. For example, in traditionalLatino and Middle Eastern families,preschoolers may retain baby bottles, bedressed, and fed by older family mem-bers (Sharifzadeh, 1998; Zuniga, 1998).In contrast, self reliance and autonomyis valued in traditional Native Americanfamilies and young children may havemore household responsibilities thanEuro-American children (Dufort& Reed, 1995;Joe & Malach,1998). Theseexamples ofdifferences be-tween the val-ues of familiesand those ofearly childhoodspecial education programs underscorethe need for service providers to gatherinformation regarding the family's pri-orities in order to understand thefamily's perspectives, to evaluate anddiscuss the rationale for their profes-sional recommendations regarding thechild's learning needs, and to collabo-rate with families in promoting theirchildren's development. Most impor-tantly, service providers should benonjudgmental, willing to learn aboutthe family's concerns, and acknowledgethe family's love for their child.

Instruction to meet thechild's communication needsshould also be developed withconsideration of the family'slanguage and culture.

5. Instruction to meet the child's com-munication needs should also be devel-oped with consideration of the family's

27

Visual Impairment I TR7CONSIDERATIONS FOR WORKING

WITH DIVERSE FAMILIES

language and culture. For example,should a child who is deaf-blind in anoral program at school learn Englishalthough he or she will be exposed to adifferent language spoken at home? Ifthe child is learning American Sign

Language,teachers

etThere is not only a criticalneed to train personnel to meetthe educational needs of theseyoung children with visualimpairment, but also to trainall personnel to serve all familiesin a culturally responsivemanner (Lynch & Hanson, 1998;Rivers, 2000) and to recruit andtrain personnel who representthe diverse cultural and linguisticbackgrounds of children beingserved.

should beaware thatsome handshapes areoffensivegestures insome cultures.What supportswill be pro-vided to assistfamilies ofdiverselinguisticbackgrounds indevelopingsign languageskills?

6. While it is important for teachers tohave developmentally-appropriateexpectations for all children, they shouldalso understand the need for necessarymodifications when a child has a visualimpairment. For example, activitiesinvolving identifying pictures, coloringwith crayons, and other visual activitieswill need to be adapted through usingobjects which provide tactile informa-tion. Similarly, if a child has low vision,the use of high contrast backgroundswill enable the child to use his or hervision more effectively. Typically,preschool programs value messy activi-ties and creative play or "dress up"opportunities as being particularly

important for young children with visualimpairment to develop concepts andsocial skills. However, service providersshould share the purpose of arts andcrafts and imaginative play activities,discuss concerns that the family ex-presses, and identify agreements. Forexample, some families may not wanttheir children to engage in messy play.Others may observe very traditionalroles for men and women and woulddisapprove of their sons playing withdolls, dressing up in "female" attire orengaging in other activities that areconsidered feminine. Similarly, familiesmay have different expectations of theirchildren based on gender which are verydifferent from mainstream expectations,for example, girls are not permitted towear pants. Other families may havedifferent expectations of their childrenwith visual impairments than of theirchildren who are sighted (Chen &Dote-Kwan, 1999).

Early childhood special educationservices for young children who arevisually impaired should identify waysfor serving families in a culturallyresponsive manner. For example, serviceproviders need to explain diagnoses,interventions, procedures for maintain-ing corrective lenses, hearing aids, andother equipment in ways that are under-standable for the family. For their part,service providers need to understandfamily perspectives and goals for theirchildren who are visually impaired.Differences in language and communi-cation styles require sensitive discussionwith these families. Thus, there is notonly a critical need to train personnel tomeet the educational needs of these

28


young children with visual impairment,but also to train all personnel to serve allfamilies in a culturally responsivemanner (Lynch & Hanson, 1998; Rivers,2000) and to recruit and train personnelwho represent the diverse cultural andlinguistic backgrounds of children beingserved.

Guiding Questions forCreating CulturallyResponsive Programs

MB MIN MN

1. Have strategies have been used orrecommended to facilitate child findactivities in diverse linguistic communi-ties?

2. Have strategies have been used orrecommended to explain diagnosis,assessment and intervention terminologyto families who do not speak English?

3. Have strategies been used or recom-mended to gather information about thefamily's priorities for the child who isvisually impaired or deaf-blind?


4. What strategies have been used orrecommended to balance the family'spriorities for the child with the goals ofservice providers?

5. Does the program or material recom-mend use of interpreters or bilingual/bicultural staff in working with familieswho do not speak English?

6. Have strategies been used or recom-mended to recruit, train, and retainservice providers from diverse culturaland linguistic backgrounds?

7. What strategies have been used toassist families in promoting the develop-ment of their young child with visualimpairment?

Specific strategies for training personnelto work with families of diverse cul-tures, for working with interpreters, andother issues raised in this technicalreport may be located in the resourcesidentified by CLAS and reviewed on theproject website.

4.n9 2.3

e erences lograp esourcess

References.Mk

EST COPY AVAITLABLE

30


References

Als, H., Tronick, E., & Braze 1ton, T. (1980). Affective reciprocity and the develop-ment of autonomy: The study of a blind infant. Journal of the American Academy ofChild Psychiatry, 19, 22-40.

American Academy of Ophthalmology (1992). Prefenecl practice pattern: Compre-hensive pediatric eye evaluation. San Francisco: Author.

American Foundation for the Blind (1995). Factors about teaching children whoare blind or visually impaired. New York: AFB Press.

American Optometric Association Consensus Panel on Pediatric Eye and VisionExaminations (1994). Pediatric eye and vision examination: Reference guide forclinicians. St. Louis, MO: American Optometric Association.

Andersen, E. S., Dunlea, A., & Kekelis, L. S. (1984). Blind children's language:Resolving some differences. Journal of Child Language, 11, 645-664.

Andersen, E. S., Dunlea, A., & Kekelis, L. (1993). The impact of input: Languageacquisition in the visually impaired. First Language, 13, 23-49.

Anderson, S., Boigon, S., & Davis, K. (1991). The Oregon project for visuallyimpaired and blind preschool children (5th ed.). Medford, OR: Jackson EducationalService District.

Andrews, A. (1989). Meeting the needs of young deaf-blind children and theirparents. Child: Care., Health and Development, 15, 195-206, 251-264.

Anthony, T. L. (1992). Movement focus: Orientation and mobility for young blindand visually impaired children. In R. Pogrund, D. Fazzi, & J. Lampert (Eds.), Earlyfocus: Working with young blind and visually impaired children and their families(pp. 80-88). New York: AFB Press.

Anthony, T. L. (1993). Orientation and mobility skill development. In BlindChildren's Center, First steps: A handbook for teaching young children who arevisually impaired (pp.115-137). Los Angeles: Blind Children's Center.

Appell, M. (1987). Mother-child interaction and the development of preverbalcommunication. In M. Bullis (Ed.), Communication development in young childrenwith deaf-blindness: Literature review III (pp. 103-128). Monmouth OR: TeachingResearch Publications.

31


REFERENCES

MI

28

Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired(March, 2000). College and university programs. Alexandria, VA.

Bailey, I. L., & Hall, A. (1990). Visual impairment: An overview. New York: AFBPress.

Baird, S. M., Mayfield, P., & Baker, P. (1997). Mothers' interpretations of thebehavior of their infants with visual and other impairments during interactions.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 91(5), 467-483.

Baldwin, V. (1993). Population/demographics. Presentation. In J. W. Reiman & P. A.Johnson (Eds.), Proceedings from the National Symposium of Children and Youthwho are Deaf-Blind (pp. 37-66). Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Baldwin, V. (1994). Report to the Office of Special Education Programs. Monmouth,OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Bayley, N. (1993). Bayley scales of infant development (2nd ed.) San Antonio, TX:Psychological Corporation.

Bigelow, A. (1986). The development of reaching in blind children. British Journal ofDevelopmental Psychology, 4, 355-366.

Bigelow, A. (1990). Relationship between the development of language and thoughtin young blind children. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 84, 414-418.

Bigelow, A. E. (1992). Locomotion and search behavior in blind infants. InfantBehavior and Development, 15, 179-189.

Bishop, V. E. (1991). Preschool visually impaired children: A demographic study.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 85(2), 69-74.

Brambring, M., & Troster, H. (1992). On the stability of stereotyped behaviors onblind infants and preschoolers. Journal of Visual Impairments and Blindness. 86,105-110.

Brambring, M., & Troster, H. (1994). The assessment of cognitive development inblind infants and preschoolers. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 88, 9-18.

Brambring, M, & Troster, H. (1994). The play behavior and play materials of blindand sighted infants and preschoolers. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness,88 421-432.

32


REFERENCES

Bredekamp, S., & Copp le, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice in earlychildhood programs (Rev ed.). Washington, DC: National Association for the Educa-tion of Young Children.

Brown, C., & Bour, B. (1987). Volume V-K: Movement analysis and curriculum forvisually impaired preschoolers. Tallahassee: State of Florida Department of Educa-tion Bureau of Education for Exceptional Students.

Bullis, M., & Otos, M. (1988). Characteristics of programs for children withdeaf-blindness: Results of a national survey. Journal of the Association for Personswith Severe Handicaps. 13, 110-115.

Bureau of Education for Exceptional Students (1987). Volume V-K: Movementanalysis and curriculum for visually impaired preschoolers. Tallahassee: State ofFlorida, Department of Education.

Burnic, J. R. (1987). The blind child. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 34, 1402-1414.

Capute, A. J., & Accardo, P. J. (Eds.) (1996). Developmental disabilities in infancyand childhood. Vol II: The spectrum of developmental disabilities (2nd ed.). Balti-more, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Chen, D. (1993). Early childhood development. In First steps: A handbook forteaching young children who are visually impaired (pp.4-16). Los Angeles: BlindChildren's Center.

Chen, D. (1993). Early intervention. Presentation. In J. W. Reiman & P. A. Johnson(Eds.), Proceedings from the National Symposium of Children and Youth who areDeaf-Blind (pp. 37-44). Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Chen, D. (1995). The beginnings of communication: Early childhood. In K. M.Huebner, J. G. Prickett, T. R. Welch, & E. Joffee (Eds.), Hand in hand: Essentials ofcommunication and orientation and mobility for your students who are deaf-blind(Vol.1, pp. 185-218). New York: AFB Press.

Chen, D. (1996). Parent-infant communication: Early intervention for very youngchildren with visual impairment or hearing loss. Infants and Young Children, 9,1-13.

Chen, D. (1999). Essential elements in early intervention: Visual impairments andmultiple disabilities. New York: AFB Press.

EST COIPY AVAILABLE33 2.


REFERENCES

Chen, D., Alsop, L., & Minor, L. (2000). Lessons from Project PLAI: Implicationsfor early intervention in California and Utah. Deaf-Blind Perspectives, 7, 1-8.

Chen, D., Brekken, L., & Chan, S. (1997). Project CRAFT: Culturally responsiveand family focused training. [video & booklet]. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Chen, D., Chan, S., Brekken, L., & Valverde, A. (2000). Conversations for three:Communicating through interpreters. [video & booklet]. Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes.

Chen, D., & Dote-Kwan, J. (1998). Early intervention services foryoung childrenwith visual impairments and other disabilities and their families. In S. Sacks & R.Silberman (Eds.), Educating students who have visual impairments with otherdisabilities (pp. 303-338). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Chen, D., & Dote-Kwan, J. (1999). The preschool years. In K. E. Wolfe (Ed.),Skills for success: A career education handbook for children and adolescents withvisual impairments (pp. 44-158). New York: AFB Press.

Chen, D., Friedman, C. T., & Calve llo, G. (1990). Parents and visually impairedinfants. Louisville, KY: American Printing House for the Blind.

Chen, D., & Haney, M. (1995). An early intervention model for infants who aredeaf-blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89, 213-221.

Chen, D., & Haney, M. (1999). Promoting learning through active interactions.,Project PLAI. Final report CFDA 84.025: Services to Children with Deaf-Blindness:Research to Practice H025540001. Northridge, CA: California State University,Northridge.

Chen, D., & Orel-Bixler, D. (1997). Vision tests for infants [video & booklet]. NewYork: AFB Press.

Corn, A. L., & Ferrell, K. A. (2000). External funding for training and research inuniversity programs in visual impairments: 1997-1998. Journal of Visual Impair-ments and Blindness, 94, 374-384.

Corn, A. L., Hat len, P., Huebner, K. M., Ryan, F., & Siller, M. (1995). The na-tional agenda for the education of children and youths with visual impairments,including those with multiple disabilities. NY: AFB Press.

34


REFERENCES

Corn, A. L., & Silberman, R. R. (1999). Personnel preparation programs in visualimpairments: A status report and national challenges. Journal of Visual Impairmentsand Blindness. 93, 755-769.

Council for Exceptional Children (2000). National plan for training personnel toserve children with blindness and low vision. Reston, VA: Council for ExceptionalChildren.

Correa, V. I. (1987). Working with Hispanic parents of visually impaired children:Cultural implications. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness. 81(6), 260-264.

Davidson, R. (1993). Personnel preparation: Reaction. In J. W. Reiman & P. A.Johnson (Eds.), Proceedings from the National Symposium of Children and Youthwho are Deaf-Blind (pp.159-164). Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Deitz, S., & Ferrell, K.A. (1993). Early services for young children with visualimpairment: From diagnosis to comprehensive services. Infants and Young Children,6(1) 68-76.

Dote-Kwan, J. (1995). Impact of mothers' interactions on the development of theiryoung visually impaired children. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89,47-58.

Dote-Kwan, J., & Chen, D. (1995). Learners with visual impairment and blindness.In M. C. Wang, M. C. Reynolds & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Handbook of special educa-tion: Research and practice (2nd ed.) (pp. 205-228). London, England: ElsevierScience Press.

Dote-Kwan, J., Chen, D., & Hughes, M. (in press). A national survey of serviceproviders working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with visual impairments.The Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness.

Dote-Kwan, J., & Hughes, M. (1994). The home environments of young blindchildren. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 88, 31-43.

Dote-Kwan, J., Hughes, M., & Taylor, S. L. (1997). Impact of early experiences onthe development of young children with visual impairments: Revisited. Journal ofVisual Inwairment and Blindness. 91, 131-144.

Downing, J. E. (1996). Including students with severe and multiple disabilities intypical classrooms: Practical strategies for teachers. Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes.

35


REFERENCES

Downing, J. E., & Seigel-Causey, L. (1988). Enhancing the nonsymbolic communi-cative behavior of children with multiple impairments. Language. Speech, andHearing Services in Schools, 19, 338-348.

Dufort, M., & Reed, L. (1995). Learning the way: A guide for the home visitorworking with families on the Navajo reservation. Watertown. MA: Perkins School forthe Blind.

Dun lea, A. (1989). Vision and the emergence of meaning: Blind and sightedchildren's early language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Edwards, L. E., Goehl, K. S., Gordon, L. A. (1994) Profiles: Individuals withdeaf-blindness. Terra Haute, IN: Indiana State University, Blumberg Center forInterdisciplinary Studies in Special Education, Indiana Deaf-Blind Services Project.

Erin, J. N. (1986). Teachers of the visually handicapped: How can they best servechildren with profound handicaps? Education of the Visually Handicapped, 18,15-25.

Erin, J. N. (1993). Language samples from visually impaired four- and five-year-olds. Journal of Childhood Communication Disorders, 13, 181-191.

Erin, J. N., Daugherty, W., Dignan, K., & Pearson, N. (1990). Teachers of visuallyhandicapped students with multiple disabilities: Perceptions of adequacy. Journal ofVisual Impairment and Blindess, 84 16-20.

Erwin, E. J. (1993). Social participation of young children with visual impairmentsin specialized and integrated environments. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blind-ness. 87 138-142.

Erwin, E. J. (1996). Meaningful participation in early childhood general educationusing natural supports. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 90 400-411.

Evans, C. J., & Johnson, C. J. (1988). Training pragmatic language skills throughalternate strategies with a blind multiply-handicapped child. Journal of Visual Impair-ment and Blindness 82 109-112.

Evans Luiselli, T., Luiselli, J. K., DeCaluwe, S. M., Jacobs, L. A. (1995). Inclusiveeducation of young children with deaf-blindness: A technical assistance model.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89, 249-256.

36


REFERENCES

Fraiberg, S. (1974). Blind infants and their mothers: An examination of the signsystem. In M. Lewis & L.A. Rosenblum (Eds.), The effect of the infant on itscaregiver (pp. 215-232). New York: Basic.

Ferrell, K. A. (1985). Reach out and teach: Materials for parents of visually handi-capped and multihandicapped young children. New York: AFB Press.

Ferrell, K. A. (1998). Project PRISM: A longitudinal study of the developmentalpatterns of children who are visually impaired: Executive summary: CFDA84.0203C: Field-initiated Research H023C10188. Greeley, CO: University of NorthColorado.

Ferrell, K. A., Trief, E., Dietz, S. J., Bonner, M. A., Cruz, D., Ford, E., &Stratton, J. M. (1990). Visually impaired infants research consortium (VIIRC): Firstyear results. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 84(8), 404-410.

Ford, J., & Fredericks, B. (1995). Using interpreter-tutors in school programs forstudents who are deaf-blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89(3),229-234.

Foster, A. (1988). Childhood blindness. Eye. 2 (Suppl), S27-S36.

Fraiberg, S. (1977). Insights from the blind. New York: New American Library.

Fredricks, H. D.B. (1993). Family services: Review of the literature. In J.W. Reiman& P.A. Johnson (Eds.), Proceedings from the National Symposium of Children andYouth who are Deaf-Blind (pp. 85-92). Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publica-tions.

Fredericks, H. D. B., & Baldwin, V. L. (1987). Individuals with sensory impair-ments: Who are they? How are they educated? In L. Goetz, D. Guess, & K.Stremel-Campbell (Eds.), Innovative program design for individuals with dualsensory impairments (pp. 3-12). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Freeman, P. (1985). The deaf-blind babv.A programme of care. London, England:William Heinemann Medical Books.

Gerhardt, J. B. (1982). The development of object play and classificatory skills in ablind child. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness,76 219-223.

Giangreco, M. F., Cloninger, C. J., Mueller, P. H., Yuan, S., & Ashworth, S.(1991). Perspectives of parents whose children have dual sensory impairments. TheJournal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 16(1), 14-24.

37


REFERENCES

Glass, P. (1993). Development of visual function in preterm infants: Implications forearly intervention. Infants and Young Children. 6(1),11 -20.

Goldson, E. (1996). The micropremie: Infants with birth weight less than 800 grams.Infants and Young Children. 8(3) 1-10.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (1993). Multicultural issues in child care. Mountain View, CA:Mayfield Publishing.

Good, W. V., Jan, J. E., DeSa, L., Barkovich, A.J., Groenveld, M., & Hoyt, C. S.(1994). Cortical visual impairment in children. Survey of Ophthalmology. 38,351-364.

Hatton, D. D., Bailey, D. B., Burchinal, M. R., & Ferrell, K.A. (1997). Develop-mental growth curves of preschool children with visual impairments. Child Develop-ment 68(5), 788-806.

Head, D. N. (1989). The future of low incidence training programs: A nationalproblem. RE:view. 21, 145-152.

Head, D. N., Bradley, R.H., & Rock, S. L. (1990). Considerations for use ofhome-environment measures with visually impaired children. Journal of VisualImpairment and Blindness. 84 377-380.

Hoon, Jr., A.H. (1996). Visual impairments in children. In A. J. Capute & P. J.Accardo (Eds.), Developmental disabilities in infancy and childhood. Volume II: Thespectrum of developmental disabilities (2nd ed,) (pp.461-478). Baltimore, MD: PaulH. Brookes.

Huebner, K. M., Kirchner, C., Prickett, J. G. (1995). Meeting personnel trainingneeds: The Deaf-Blind self-study curriculum project. Journal of Visual Impairmentand Blindness. 89(3), 235-243.

Huebner, K. M., & Paige Strumwasser, K. (1987). State certification of teachers ofblind and visually impaired students: A report on a national study. Journal of VisualImpairment and Blindness. 81, 244-250.

Huebner, K. M., Prickett, J. G., Welch, T. R., & Joffee, E. (Eds.) (1995). Hand inhand: Essentials of communication and orientation and mobility for your studentswho are deaf-blind (Volumel). New York: AFB Press.

38


REFERENCES

Joe, J. R., & Malach, R. S. (1998). Families with Native American roots. In E. W.Lynch and M. J. Hanson (Eds.), Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide forworking with children and their families (2nd ed.) (pp.127-164). Baltimore, MD:Paul H. Brookes.

Joint Committee on Infant Hearing. 1990 position statement. ASHA. 33, 3-6.

Jones, G. (1991). Recruitment efforts to save a teacher-preparation program. Journalof Visual Impairment and Blindness. 85, 29-30.

Jurgens, M. R. (1977). Confrontation between the young deaf-blind child and theouter world: How to make the world surveyable by organized structure. Lisse,Netherlands: Swets Publishing.

Kekelis, L. S. (1992). A field study of a blind preschooler. In S.Z. Sacks, L.S.Kekelis, & R.J. Gaylord-Ross (Eds.), The development of social skills by blind andvisually impaired students (pp.39-58). New York: American Foundation for theBlind.

Kekelis, L. S., & Anderson, E. S. (1984). Family communication styles and lan-guage development. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 78, 54-65.

Kekelis, L. S., & Prinz, P. M. (1996). Blind and sighted children with their mothers:The development of discourse skills. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness,212, 423-436.

Kirchner, C. (1989). National estimates of prevalence and demographics of childrenwith visual impairments. In M.C. Wang, M.C. Reynolds, & H.L. Walberg, (Eds.),Handbook of special education: Research and practice. Volume 3. Low incidenceconditions (pp. 135-153). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Klein, D. M., & Chen, D. (in press). Working with young children and familiesfrom culturally diverse backgrounds. Albany, NY: Delmar.

Klein, D. M., Chen, D., & Haney, M. (2000). Promoting learning through activeinteraction: A guide to early communication with young children who have multipledisabilities. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Klein, B., Van Hasse lt, V. B., Trefelner, M., Sandstrom, D. J., Brandt-Snyder, P.(1988). The parent and toddler training project for visually impaired and blindmultihandicapped children. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 82 59-64.

t;) EST CO1?Y AVAJILABLE39

35


REFERENCES

36

Kostelnik, M. J. (1992). Myths associated with developmentally appropriate class-rooms. Young Children. 47(4), 17-23.

Kramer, S. J., & Williams, D. R. (1993). The hearing-impaired infant and toddler:Identification, assessment, and intervention. Infants and Young Children. 6(1), 35-49.

Ludlow, B. L., & Berkeley, T. R. (1994). Expanding the perceptions of developmen-tally appropriate practice: Changing theoretical perspectives. In B. L. Mallory & R.S. New (Eds.), Diversity and developmentally appropriate practices: Challenges ofearly childhood education (pp.107-118). New York: Teachers College Press.

Lueck, A. H., Chen, D., & Kekelis, L. (1997). Developmental guidelines for infantswith visual impairments: A manual for early intervention. Louisville, KY: AmericanPrinting House for the Blind.

Lueck, A. H., Dornbusch, H., & Hart, J. (1999). The effects of training on a youngchild with cortical visual impairment: An exploratory study. Journal of Visual Impair-ment and Blindness, 12, 778-793.

Luise lli, T. E., Luise lli, J. K., DeCaluwe, S. M., Jacobs, L. A. (1995). Inclusiveeducation of young children with deaf-blindness: A technical assistance model.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89(3), 249-256.

MacFarland, S. Z. C. (1995). Teaching strategies of the van Dijk curricular ap-proach. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 89(3), 222-228.

Maida, S. 0., & McClune, L. (1996). A dynamic systems approach to the develop-ment of crawling by blind and sighted infants. RE:view, 28, 119-134.

Maino, D. M., Maino, J. H., & Maino, S. A. (1990). Mental retardation syndromeswith associated ocular defects. Journal of the American Optometrists Association, 61,707-716.

Mar, H. H. (1995). Assessment of communication skills. In K. M. Huebner, J. G.Prickett, T. R. Welch, & E. Joffee, (Eds.), Hand in hand: Essentials of communicationand orientation and mobility for your students who are deaf-blind (Vol.!, pp.313-365). New York: AFB Press.

Mauk, G. W., Barringer, D. G., & Mauk, P. 0. (1994). Seizing the moment, settingthe stage and serving the future: Towards collaborative models of early identificationand early intervention services for children born with hearing loss and their families.Part 1: Early identification of hearing loss. Infant-Toddler Intervention, 5, 367-394.

40


REFERENCES

McGinnes, J., & Treffrey, J. (1982). Deaf-blind infants and children: A develop-mental guide. Buffalo, NY: University of Toronto Press.

McLetchie, B. A. B., & MacFarland, S. Z. C. (1995). The need for qualifiedteachers of students who are deaf-blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness,89(3), 244-248.

McLetchie, B. A. B., & Riggio, M. (1997). Competencies for teachers of learnerswho are deaf-blind. Watertown,MA: Perkins School for the Blind.

Menacker, S. J., & Batshaw, M. L. (1997). Vision: Our window to the world. InM.L. Batshaw, (Ed.), Children with disabilities: A medical primer (4th ed, pp.211-239). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Michael, M., & Paul, P. (1991). Early interventions for infants with deaf-blindness.Exceptional Children, 57 200-210.

Miles, B., & Riggio, M. A. (1999). Remarkable conversations. Watertown, MA:Perkins School for the Blind.

Miller, K. B., & Peck, F. R. (1995). Outreach low vision services to children withdeaf-blindness. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 89, 267-271.

Morgan, E.C. (1992). Resources for family centered intervention for infants, tod-dlers, and preschoolers who are visually impaired. Logan, UT: HOPE, Inc.

Morgan, E.C., Watkins, S., Terry, B. G., Snow, P. S., Boyle, P., Watts, J.,Morrison, A., & Jensen, D. L. (1989). The INSITE Developmental Checklist.Logan, UT: SKI-HI Institute.

Murdoch, H. (1994). The development of infants who are deaf-blind: A case study.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 88, 357-367.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1993). NIH consensus statement: Earlyidentification of hearing impairment in infants and young children. 11(1), 1-25.

Nielsen, L. (1991). Spatial relations in congenitally blind infants: A study. Journal ofVisual Impairments and Blindness, 85 11-16.

Northern, J. L., & Downs, M. P. (1991). Hearing in children. Baltimore, MD:Williams & Wilkins.

41


REFERENCES

O'Donnell, L. M., & Livingston, R. L. (1991). Active exploration of the environ-ment of young children with low vision: A review of the literature. Journal of VisualImpairment and Blindness. 85, 287-291.

Office of Federal Regulations (1995). Title 34 (revised) 34 CFR, Part 307. SubpartA. 307.4(c) 2 (ii) . Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Olson, M. R. (1983). A study of the exploratory behavior of legally blind and sightedpreschoolers. Exceptional Children. 50 130-138.

Otos, M. (1983). Nonverbal prelinguistic communication: A guide to communicationlevels in prelinguistic handicapped children. Salem, OR: Oregon State Department ofEducation, Oregon Program for the Deaf-Blind.

Outlette, S. (1984). Deaf blind population estimates. In D. Watson, S. Barrett, & R.Brown (Eds.), A model service delivery system for deaf-blind persons (pp. 7-10).Little Rock: University of Arkansas.

Oxford Radcliffe Hospital (1995). Oxford register of early childhood visual impair-ments. Annual report 1995. Oxford, England: Level 3, Women's Centre: author.

Parsons, S. A.(1986a). Function of play in low vision children (Part 1): A review ofthe research and literature. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 80, 627-630.

Parsons, S. A. (1986b). Function of play in low vision children (Part 2): Emergingpatterns of behavior. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 80, 777-784.

Parsons, S. A. (1990). A model of distance delivery in personnel preparation. Journalof Visual Impairment and Blindness. 84, 445-450.

Priesler, G., & Palmer, C. (1989). Thoughts from Sweden: The blind child goes tonursery school with sighted children. Child: Care Health and Development, 5, 45-52.

Prickett, J. G. (1995). Manual and spoken communication. In K. M. Huebner, J. G.Prickett, T. R. Welch, & E. Joffee (Eds.), Hand in hand: Essentials of communicationand orientation and mobility for your students who are deaf-blind (Vol.!, pp.261-287). New York: AFB Press.

Recchia, S. L. (1997). Play and concept development in infants and young childrenwith severe visual impairments: A constructivist view. Journal of Visual Impairmentand Blindness. 91, 401-406.

42


REFERENCES

Regenbogen, L. S., & Coscas, G. J. (1985). Oculo-auditory syndromes. New York:Masson Publishing.

Rettig, M. (1994). The play of young children with visual impairments: Characteris-tics and interventions. Journal of Visual Impairments and Blindness, 88 410-420.

Reynell, J. (1983). The Reynell-Zinkin Scales: Developmental scales for youngvisually impaired children (Part 1): Mental development. Windsor, England:NFER-NELSON.

Rivers, K.O. (2000). Working with caregivers of infants and toddlers with specialneeds from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Infant-Toddler Inter-vention: The Transdisciplinary Journal, 1, 61-72.

Rock, S. L, Head, D. N., Bradley, R. H., Whiteside, L., & Brisby, J. (1994). Use ofthe HOME Inventory with families of young visually impaired children. Journal ofVisual Impairment and Blindness, 88, 140-151.

Rogers, S., & Puchalski, C. B. (1984). Social characteristics of visually impairedinfants' play. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 3, 57-63.

Rogers, S. J., & Pulchalski, C. B. (1988). Development of object permanence invisually impaired infants. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 82, 137-142.

Rogers, P. T., Roisen, N. J., & Capute, G.T. (1996). Down syndrome. In A.J.Capute and P.J. Accardo (Eds.), Developmental disabilities in infancy and childhood.Vol II: The spectrum of developmental disabilities (2nd. ed, pp. 221-244). Baltimore,MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Rogow, S. M. (1982). Rhythms and rhymes: Developing communication in veryyoung blind and multihandicapped children. Child: Care, Health and Development, 8,249-260.

Ross, S., & Tobin, M. J. (1997). Object permanence, reaching, and locomotion ininfants who are blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 91, 25-32.

Rogow, S. M. (1988). Hand function among blind, visually impaired, and visuallyimpaired/multihandicapped children. Canadian Journal for Exceptional Children, 351-55.

Roth, F., & Spekman, N. (1984). Assessing the pragmatic abilities of children (Part1): Organizational framework and assessment parameters. Journal of Speech andHearing Disorders, 49, 2-11.


REFERENCES

Rowland, C. (1983). Patterns of interaction between three blind infants and theirmothers. In A. Mills (Ed.), Language acquisition in the blind child (pp.114-132). SanDiego: College-Hill Press.

Rowland, C. (1984). Preverbal communication of blind infants and their mothers.Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 78, 297-302.

Rowland, C. (1990). Communication matrix. Portland, OR: Center onSelf-Determination, Oregon Health Sciences University.

Rowland, C., & Sweigert, P. (1989). Tangible symbols: Symbol communication forindividuals with multisensory impairments. Augmentative and Alternative Communi-cation. 5.226 -234.

Rowland, C., & Stremel-Campbell, K. (1987). Share and share alike: Conventionalgestures through emergent language. In D. Guess, L. Goetz, & K. Stremel-Campbell(Eds.), Innovative program design for individuals with dual sensory impairments(pp.49-75). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Schnekloth, L. H. (1989). Play environments for visually impaired children. Journalof Visual Impairment and Blindness. 83 196-201.

Segal, J. (1993). Speech and language development. In Blind Childrens Center, Firststeps: A handbook for teaching young children who are visually impaired (pp.70-82).Los Angeles: Blind Childrens Center.

Sharifzadeh, V. S. (1998). Families with Middle Eastern roots. In E. W. Lynch andM. J. Hanson (Eds.), Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide for workingwith children and their families (2nd ed.) (pp.441-482). Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes.

Siegel-Causey, E., & Downing, J. (1987). Nonsymbolic communication develop-ment: Theoretical concepts and educational strategies. In D. Guess, L. Goetz, & K.Stremel-Campbell (Eds.), Innovative program design for individuals with dualsensory impairments (pp. 15-48). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Silberman, R. K., Corn, A. L., Sowell, V. M. (1996). Teacher educators and thefuture of personnel preparation programs for serving students with visual impair-ments. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 90, 115-124.

Skellenger, A. C., & Hill, E. W. (1994). Effects of a shared teacher-child playintervention on the play skills of three young children who are blind. Journal ofVisual Impairment and Blindness. 88, 433-445.

44


REFERENCES

Skellenger, A. C., Rosenblum, L. P., & Jager, B. K. (1997). Behaviors ofpreschoolers with visual impairments in indoor play settings. Journal of VisualImpairment and Blindness, 91, 519-530.

SKI-HI Institute (1993). Validation of the intervenor method of providing directservices to deaf-blind children in the home setting. Final report to the Office ofSpecial Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. Logan, UT: Author.

Sonksen, P. M., Levitt, S., & Kitsinger, M. (1984). Identification of constraintsacting on motor development in young visually disabled children and principles ofremediation. Child: Care, Health, and Development,10, 273-286.

Stillman, R. (1978). The Callier-Asuza Scale (G. ed.). Dallas: Callier Center forCommunication Disorders, University of Texas.

Stillman, R. (1985). The Callier-Asuza Scale (H. ed.). Dallas: Callier Center forCommunication Disorders, University of Texas.

Stillman, R. (1993). Communication. Presentation. In J.W. Reiman & P.A. Johnson(Eds.), Proceedings from the National Symposium of Children and Youth who areDeaf-Blind (pp. 129-139). Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Stolarski,V. S., & Erwin, E. J. (1991). Course content and assignment of teacherpreparation programs in vision. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 85,125-128.

Stremel-Campbell, K., & Clark Guida, J. (1984). Communication placementassessment manual. Monmouth, OR: Teaching Research Publications.

Tedder, N. E., Warder, K., & Sikka, A. (1993). Prelanguage communication ofstudents who are deaf-blind and have other severe impairments. Journal of VisualImpairments and Blindness 87(8), 302-306.

Teplin, S. W. (1995). Visual impairment in infants and young children. Infants andYoung Children, 8(1), 18-51.

Trief, E., Duckman, R., Morse, A. R., & Silberman, R. K. (1989). Retinopathy ofprematurity. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 83(10), 500-504.

Troster, H., & Brambring, M. (1994). The play behavior and play materials of blindand sighted infants and preschoolers. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness,g, 421-432.

EST COPY AVAILLE 4 5E.

1


REFERENCES

Urwin, C. (1978). The development of communication between blind infants andtheir parents. In A. Lock (Ed.), Action, gesture and symbol: The emergence oflanguage (pp. 79-108). London: Academic Press.

Urwin, C. (1983). Dialogue and cognitive functioning in early language developmentof three blind children. In A.E. Mills (Ed.), Language acquisition in the blind child:Normal and deficient (pp. 142-161). London: Croom Helm.

van Dijk, J. (1966). The first steps of the deaf-blind child towards language. Interna-tional Journal for the Education of the Blind 15, 112-114.

van Dijk, J. (1967). The non-verbal deaf-blind child and his world: His outgrowthtoward the world of symbols. Proceedings of the Jaarverslag Instituut voor Doven,1964-1967 (pp. 73-110). Sint Michielsgestel, the Netherlands: Jaarverslag Instituutvoor Doven.

van Dijk, J. (1986). An educational curriculum for deaf-blind multi-handicappedpersons. In D. Ellis (Ed.), Sensory impairments in mentally handicapped people (pp.375-382). London: Croom-Helm.

Walker, J. A., & Kershman, S. M. (1981, April). Deaf-blind babies in socialinteraction: Questions of maternal adaptation. Paper presented at the bi-annualmeeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston.

Ward, M. J., & Zambone, A. M. (1992). The U.S. federal data-collection processfor children and youth who are deaf-blind. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blind-ness. 8(, 429-435.

Warren, D. H. (1994). Blindness and children: An individual differences approach.New York: Cambridge University Press.

Wesson, M. D., & Maino, D. M. (1995). Oculovisual findings in children withDown syndrome, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation without specific etiology. InD.M. Maino (Ed.), Diagnosis and management of special populations (pp.17-54). St.Louis, MO: Mosby Year Book.

Writer, J. (1987). A movement-based approach to the education of students who aresensory impaired/multihandicapped. In D. Guess, L. Goetz, & K. Stremel-Campbell(Eds.), Innovative program design for individuals with dual sensory impairments (pp.191-223). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Wyman, R. (1986). Multiply handicapped children. London, England: SouvinirPress.

46


REFERENCES

Zambone, A. M., & Huebner, K. M. (1992). Services for children and youths who are deaf-blind: Anoverview. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 86(7), 287-290.

Zuniga, M. E. (1998). Families with Latino roots. In E. W. Lynch and M. J. Hanson (Eds.), Developingcross-cultural competence: A guide for working with children and their families (2nd ed.) (pp.209-250).Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

47

t ire ereribei Bibliographies4 ,

esbiii-ce§

AnnotatedBibliographies

MET COIPY MARLAI48


ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Correa, V. I. (1987). Working with Hispanic parents of visuallyimpaired children: Cultural implications. Journal of VisualImpairment & Blindness, 81(6), 260-264.

MEM INN NNW

Summary

Correa (1987) discusses critical issues regarding disability and cultural differences, and suggests effectivestrategies when teachers work with Hispanic families who have children with visual impairments. Toincrease the effectiveness of intervention, teachers must understand different customs and values ofHispanic families, such as persisting in using Spanish as their native language, having strong religiouspreference for Roman Catholicism, and maintaining male-dominated family traditions. In addition,teachers can learn some commonly used words and phrases to decrease the language barrier. Onceteachers of children with visual impairments are sensitive to the cultural differences, appropriate adapta-tions and strategies can be employed in planning the intervention.

This article provides the specifics of Hispanic culture to increase teachers' sensitivity when they workwith Hispanic families having children with visual impairments. Particularly, teachers who are notfamiliar with Hispanic culture can understand the cultural differences and further apply practical strate-gies to meet these families' needs.

49



Deitz, S. J., & Ferrel, K. A. (1993). Early services for young chil-dren with visual impairment: From diagnosis to comprehensiveservices. Infants and Young Children, 6(1), 68-76.

Summary

Deitz and Ferrel (1993) provide information on visual impairments of young children, including theprevalence and incidence of infants and young children with visual impairments; and common etiology,diagnosis, interpretation of acuity scores, and functional vision. In order to optimize a child's functionalvision, Deitz and Ferrel state that every child has different use of his/her vision for mobility in familiarand unfamiliar settings and in different illumination, positioning, contrast or enlargement conditions, aswell as different visual skills. Thus visual stimulation should be conducted in a child's various environ-ments.

From the review of research on the influence of visual impairment on child development, Deitz and Ferrel(1993) report that children with visual impairment have been identified to have delays in motor andlocomotor development (e.g., walking, raising self to sitting, pulling to stand, crawling); language devel-opment (e.g., speaking two-word utterances, two-word sentences); and cognitive development (e.g.,object concept, object permanence). In order to foster the development of children with visual impair-ment based on the impact of visual impairment on child development, Deitz and Ferrel suggest that earlyintervention for young children with visual impairment include increasing skills in other senses; skills inbody concepts and awareness; movement and locomotion; and planned, active exploration of the environ-ment. In addition, they note that because most children with visual impairment have self-stimulatingbehaviors, intervention in these behaviors may help children develop social interactions. They alsoprovide useful resources for professionals working with young children with visual impairment.

50



Michael, M. G. & Paul, P. V. (1991). Early Intervention for Infantswith Deaf-Blindness. Exceptional Children, 57(3), 200-210.

Summary

Michael and Paul (1991) describe the effects that definitions of deaf-blindness bring to programs forinfants with dual sensory impairments and to preservice professional training. According to the func-tional interpretation, many of the individuals labeled deaf-blind have residual sight and hearing, but theymay not use these senses effectively due to lack of early training. The authors examine theories employedin current intervention practices and suggest a combination of environmental-learning theories andcognitive-developmental theories, using age-appropriate materials in natural settings.

Early intervention establishes educational and support services for children under age three by identifyingthem in terms of case finding, registries, and screening, and at the same time, prevents problems incognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development. Assessment in vision and audition identifies aninfant's residual ability in learning, and subsequent intervention improves its function. An integratedsensory approach should be employed to increase the abilities of infants and children with dual sensoryimpairments in both mobility and communication. Because many of these young children are placed in avariety of program settings, preservice and inservice professionals should become competent in providinghigh-quality programming services to help them become more independent.

This article highlights the importance of early training for infants with deaf-blindness, and also clarifiessome misconceptions. Preservice and inservice teachers can benefit from reading the theoretical frame-work of intervention theories. At the same time, using an integrated sensory approach not only increasesthe mobility and communication of infants with dual sensory impairments, but also enhances develop-ment of sensory modalities in other areas.

51

e erenaes' lower' les eout'cis

Resources

MT COPY AVAILA 52si


RESOURCES PUBLICATIONS

Learning, Play, and Toys1.

The Hadley School for the Blind

SummaryThis home study course is designed to teach parents how to facilitate educational andtherapeutic play for their children with visual impairments or multiple disabilities.The course consists of the following six lessons: "Why Play?" "The Value of Play,""The Development of Play," "Special Considerations," "The Logistics of Play," and"Toys." Each lesson includes a number of self-quizzes and an exam on the materialcovered; a final exam culminates the course. Appendices provide developmentalsequences of play activities for children from newborns to preschoolers.

Bibliographic InformationThe Hadley School for the Blind. Learning, Play, and Toys (1992). The HadleySchool for the Blind: Winnetka, IL. (190 pages) Language: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Hadley School for the Blind 700 Elm Street Winnetka, IL 60093(800) 323-4238 phone

Contact Hadley School for availability information.

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: The intended user audience of these manuals includesparents and family members of children who are blind or who have significant visualimpairments. The level of previous experience with the topic is intended to beintroductory/beginning. Parents complete the course in their homes. The manuals arenot intended for any specific geographical area (see product dissemination).

Product Development: Staff members who are teachers of children with visualimpairments and early childhood service delivery personnel at the Hadley Schooldeveloped the material. The developers have European American backgrounds, butseveral families with Hispanic backgrounds reviewed the material during its develop-ment (for the English version). Avellino Yaguno, who is a full time translator based atNorthwestern University in Evanston, IL, completed the Spanish language transla-tion. If needed, more information about the translator may be obtained from DavidBuddle at the Hadley School.

533


RESOURCES I PUBLICATIONS

Producer Information (cont.)Product Evaluation: One family (with a South American background) field tested thematerial and provided comments prior to finalizing the English version of thismaterial. There has been no formal evaluation or field testing.

Product Dissemination: Approximately 1,500 copies of the English version entitledLearning, Play, and Toys have been disseminated since it was originally published.Although the material has mostly been disseminated in the U.S. (Texas, Illinois, NewYork, Idaho, and Pennsylvania are examples of recent order addresses), there hasbeen some international distribution, including India and England. Approximately 25copies of the Spanish language version have been disseminated to Spanish-speakingfamilies and others who have made requests.

54 53



Learning the Way: A Guide for the Home VisitorWorking with Families on the Navajo Reservation

Molly DufortLinda Reed

SummaryThis handbook provides guidance to early intervention personnel and home visitorsworking with young children with disabilities and their extended families who live onthe Navajo Reservation. The text is particularly focused on child and adult interactionand includes information about cultural perspectives on disabilities, including Navajoparenting styles, family participation, communication styles, and planning the homeintervention. A glossary is included as well as a listing of resources, references, andconferences.

Bibliographic InformationMolly Dufort, Linda Reed. Learning the Way: A Guide for the Home Visitor Workingwith Families on the Navajo Reservation (1995). Perkins School for the Blind:Watertown, MA. (27 pages). Language: English

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:Perkins School for the Blind 175 North Beacon Street Watertown, MA, 02172(617) 924-3434 phone

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: This booklet was written primarily for early interventionservice delivery personnel and administrators of early intervention programs. Thebooklet is primarily designed to be used by early intervention personnel who areworking with Navajo families in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah (theFour Corners States).

Product Development: The handbook was developed with the support of fundingfrom the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. It was developed by early interventionservice delivery team members from the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf andBlind (who had European American backgrounds) with assistance from Navajofamilies and support from Hilton/Perkins staff and a medical anthropologist with abackground in working with Navajo families.

Product Evaluation: No formal handbook evaluation has occurred to date, althoughthe Hilton/Perkins Project may have plans to do so in the future.

55



Producer Information (cont.)Product Dissemination: The handbook has been distributed to federally funded deaf-blind projects in the United States (one per state). Approximately 1,000 handbooksare in circulation to various early intervention programs, particularly to early inter-vention programs serving the Navajo Nation as well as other Native American tribes.

56


RESOURCES I PUBLICATIO S

Learning to Play: Common Concerns for the VisuallyImpaired Preschool Child

Susan L. Recchia

SummaryDesigned for parents and professionals working with preschool children with visualimpairments, this handbook discusses certain play situations that are difficult forchildren who do not see and provides suggestions for encouraging play. The firstsection discusses exploring toys and materials. It addresses why children with visualimpairments often lack interest in different toys and suggests helping infants withvisual impairments stay in touch with their toys by fastening them to cribs or hangingthem overhead within reach. This section emphasizes the need for parents to providefeedback about play activities, to describe toys as the infant feels them, and tointroduce new textures as early as possible.

The next section focuses on the difficulties children with visual impairments have inmaking transitions from one activity to another. Suggestions for easing transitions areprovided and include preparing children before the transition takes place and provid-ing a transitional object of some kind. The final section addresses the problemschildren with visual impairments may have when playing with other children. Parentsare urged to keep the first play experience short, set up situations with just one otherchild, and be available to interpret for both children until they become more comfort-able on their own.

Bibliographic InformationSusan L. Recchia. Learning to Play: Common Concerns for the Visually ImpairedPreschool Child (1987). Blind Children's Center: Los Angeles, CA. (11 pages).Language: English

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street P.O. Box 29159Los Angeles, CA 90029 (323) 664-2153 phone (323) 665-3828 faxhttp://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: The intended audience includes parents, family members,faculty trainers, and service delivery personnel in early intervention and early child-hood special education.

57



Producer Information (cont.)Product Development: An infant specialist at the Blind Children's Center developedthis material.

Product Evaluation: At the present time, no formal evaluation has been completed onthis material. Currently, there are no plans for evaluation.

Product Dissemination: At the present time 12,017 copies of this material have beendisseminated across the United States as well as internationally.

58

Visual Impairment I TU

RESOURCES P LICATIO JS

Let's Eat: Feeding a Child with a Visual Impairment

Jill BrodyLynn Webber

SummaryThis guide is intended to help parents and caregivers of young children with visualimpairments teach competent feeding skills. After an introduction, a section on stagesin learning to eat discusses eating behaviors of infants and young children with visualimpairments at various ages. Examples of some specific problems and solutions areincluded. The next section discusses issues that may contribute to delayed develop-ment of mature feeding skills. These include diminished visual acuity, misinterpreta-tion of a child's cues, tactile defensiveness, lack of anticipation, repetitive move-ments, behavioral issues, related impairments, neuromuscular problems, arching,tongue thrust, and immature reflexes. Information on four organizational resources isprovided.

Bibliographic InformationJill Brody, Lynn Webber. Let's Eat: Feeding a Child with a Visual Impairment (1994).Blind Children's Center: Los Angeles, CA. (28 pages). Language: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA, 90029(800) 222-3566 phone (323) 665-3828 fax

Also available in video format.

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: The intended audience for the material includes parents andfamily members, as well as service delivery personnel in early intervention and earlychildhood special education.

Product Development: Faculty, trainers, and service delivery personnel were involvedin developing this material. This group represented the disciplines of early interven-tion and early childhood special education. English and Spanish-speaking profession-als, along with families from both cultures, worked on this material.



RESOURCES I P BLICATIONS

Producer Information (cont.)Product Dissemination: At the present time, 7377 copies of the English version ofthis material, 1002 copies of the Spanish version, and 803 copies of the video havebeen disseminated throughout the United States as well as worldwide.

60 S9



Move With Me: A Parents' Guide to Movement Devel-opment for Visually Impaired Babies

Doris HugNancy Chemus-Mansfield

Dori Hayashi

SummaryThis booklet presents suggestions for parents of children with visual impairments topromote their infant's motor development. It is pointed out that babies with seriousvisual loss often prefer their world to be constant and familiar and may resist change(including change in position). Therefore, it is important that a wide range of move-ment activities be introduced to infants with visual impairment to make them morecomfortable with trying new positions. The first chapter presents suggestions forencouraging the infant to lie on its stomach (most babies with visual impairment aremore comfortable on their backs). Information is also presented on the specialpsychomotor development of premature babies. Activities in the second chapter aregeared toward strengthening the muscles in the front part of the body, making thebaby more comfortable about moving from one position to another, and practicingmotor skills already learned. The third chapter presents suggestions for encouragingthe baby's ability to shift weight from side to side and to extend its arms. The bookletis illustrated with photographs of parents and children performing some of thesuggested exercises.

Bibliographic InformationDoris Hug, Nancy Chernus-Mansfield, Dori Hayashi. Move With Me: A Parents'Guide to Movement Development for Visually Impaired Babies (1986). BlindChildren's Center: Los Angeles, CA. (17 pages). Language: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA 90029(800) 222-3566 phone (323) 665-3828 fax http://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: The intended user audience is parents/family members andservice delivery personnel in early intervention/early childhood special education andorientation/mobility.

61



Producer Information (cont.)Product Development: Administrators and other professionals in the field of earlyintervention/early childhood special education developed this material. No additionalinformation is provided about the Spanish translation of this material.


Product Dissemination: At the present time, 12,294 copies of the English version and1,835 copies of the Spanish version of this material have been disseminated acrossthe United States as well as internationally.

62



Reaching, Crawling, Walking...Let's Get Moving:Orientation and Mobility for Preschool Children

Susan S. SimmonsSharon O'Mara Maida

SummaryThis booklet examines Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and how it can influence theindependence of a child with visual impairment or blindness. The booklet is dividedinto four sectionsReaching, Crawling, Walking, and Cane Use. In each section,terminology used by O&M specialists is explained, including "senses," "environ-ment," "travel," and "space." The section on reaching notes the importance ofstimulating the baby's interest in the toys and people in his or her environment. Thesection on crawling emphasizes the baby's use of all senses as he or she travelsthrough the house exploring new environments and stresses the importance ofencouraging the baby to do some things independently. The section on walkingdescribes the developmental stages of the baby pulling himself up on furniture andcruising along walls and comments on the importance of arranging home furnishingsfor child safety. The section on cane use discusses pre-cane mobility devices such aspush-toys and procedures for learning to use a white cane. Numerous black and whitephotographs illustrate the text.

Bibliographic InformationSusan S. Simmons, Sharon O'Mara Maida. Reaching, Crawling, Walking...Let's GetMoving: Orientation and Mobility for Preschool Children (1992). Blind Children'sCenter: Los Angeles, CA. (24 pages). Language: English

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA 90029(800) 222-3566 phone (323) 665-3828 far http://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: The intended user audience is parents, family members, andservice delivery personnel in early intervention/early childhood special education.

Product Development: Administrators, faculty/trainers, and service delivery person-nel developed this material. The authors represented the discipline of early interven-tion/early childhood special education and both are certified Orientation and Mobilityspecialists. Both authors are European American.

63



Producer Information (cont.)Product Evaluation: No formal evaluation has been completed on this material.Currently, there are no plans for evaluation.

Product Dissemination: At the present time, 13,171 copies of this material have beendisseminated across the United States as well as internationally.

64



Selecting a Program: A Guide for Parents of Infantsand Preschoolers with Visual Impairments

Deborah ChenMary Ellen McCann

SummaryDesigned for parents of infants and preschoolers with visual impairments, thisbooklet encourages parent involvement in all aspects of educational programming forthese children and provides guidelines for selecting a suitable program. The firstsection examines the stresses involved in transitioning from one program to another.Parents are urged to be active members of the child's educational team by makingobservations, providing the team with an accurate picture of the child, identifyingwhat the family thinks is important, keeping records, planning for meetings, anddealing effectively with professionals.

General and specific guidelines for selecting a program are presented and includereviewing program characteristics relating to social environment, physical environ-ment, learning environment, and specific characteristics of infant programs, pre-school programs, and kindergarten programs. Questions are also provided to helpparents evaluate a program from their child's point of view, including questionsregarding the learning environment, teacher competency, and transition issues. Thebooklet closes with tips for helping the child during the first few weeks of a newprogram.

Bibliographic InformationDeborah Chen, Mary Ellen McCann. Selecting a Program: A Guide for Parents ofInfants and Preschoolers with Visual Impairments (1993). Blind Children's Center:Los Angeles, CA. (28 pages). Language: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA 90029(800) 222-3566 phone (323) 665-3828 far [email protected]://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: This guide is intended for parents and family members ofyoung children with visual impairments. This material is also intended for pre-servicestudents, service delivery personnel, and administrators in the areas of early interven-tion/early childhood special education, social work, and visual impairments.

65



Producer Information (cant.)Product Development: This material was developed by a group including faculty/trainers, parents/family members, service delivery personnel, and administrators inthe areas of early intervention/early childhood special education, family therapy,psychology, and visual impairments. The individuals were English and Spanish-speaking. Information about the Spanish translation is available from Midge Horton,Executive Director of the Blind Children's Center.

Product Evaluation: At the present time, there are no plans for evaluation or fieldtesting of this material.

Product Dissemination: At the present time, approximately 4000 copies have beendisseminated (3200 of the English version, 700 of the Spanish version) within theUnited States and overseas.

COTFY 014.10LABLE

6566

RESOURCES I C TONS


Starting Points: Instructional Practices for YoungChildren Whose Multiple Disabilities Include VisualImpairment

Deborah ChenJamie Dote-Kwan

SummaryThis handbook provides basic information on the needs of young children (ages 3-8)whose multiple disabilities include visual impairments. Chapters address the follow-ing topics: (1) common disabilities associated with visual impairment, the primaryeducational needs of these children, and the complexity involved in teaching them;(2) the need for clearly defined program philosophies, goals and practices to promotemeaningful learning opportunities, including meeting exceptional learning needs,involving the child as an active learner, and integrating objectives from variousdisciplines; (3) procedures to develop and to plan instruction that are meaningful tothe child and important to the family; (4) selected instructional strategies such as taskanalysis, chaining and shaping, use of natural cues and instructional prompts, fading,and creating an environment that encourages active participation; (5) strategies forpromoting communication with nonverbal children and those who have severelanguage difficulties; (6) specific adaptations and strategies for working on dailyliving skills; (7) roles and responsibilities of a behavior support team, orientation andmobility specialists, and an occupational therapist; (8) the development of an instruc-tional program for a 4-year-old child with multiple disabilities, including visualimpairment; and (9) strategies for facilitating communication between the specialeducation and regular education teacher. A final chapter details a family's experiencein parenting a little boy who is blind and has multiple medical needs. Each chaptercontains references.

Bibliographic InformationDeborah Chen, Jamie Dote-Kwan. Starting Points: Instructional Practices for YoungChildren Whose Multiple Disabilities Include Visual Impairment (1995). BlindChildren's Center: Los Angeles, CA. (157 pages). Language: English

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA, 90029(800) 222-3566 phone (213) 665-3828 fax [email protected] e-mailhttp://www.blindchildrenscenter.org web

67



Producer InformationIntended User Audience: This handbook is intended for service delivery personnel aswell as administrators, college faculty and preservice educators who work in earlychildhood/early intervention settings with children from 3-5 years (primarily) whohave visual impairments and other disabilities. The level of experience is intended tobe introductory and beginning. The intent is that the material will be used withpreschoolers who have visual impairments and other disabilities in general. Nospecific cultural or linguistic group is otherwise targeted.

Product Development: The material was developed by personnel in the early child-hood special education, occupational therapy, orientation and mobility and specialeducation/visual impairment fields. The cultural backgrounds of the developers areAsian American, Euro-American, and Hispanic American. The material has not beentranslated into other languages.

Product Evaluation: The material has not been formally evaluated or field tested.

Product Dissemination: Approximately 1,610 copies of Starting Points have beendistributed. Dissemination has been national as well as some international dissemina-tion to English-speaking countries such as England, Australia, Canada, India, NewZealand and Switzerland.

68

Visual Impairment


68

Talk to Me: A Language Guide for Parents of BlindChildren

Linda KekelisNancy Chemus-Mansfield

SummaryThis brochure, published in 1984 for parents of infants and young children withblindness, offers suggestions for building the child's language and social skillsthrough talking to the child and interacting in a variety of ways. The importance isstressed of talking to the young infant, even though she doesn't respond with eyecontact, and of learning to recognize the infant's efforts at communication. Othersuggestions include avoiding the over-stimulation of constant television or radio,describing family activities to the child, helping the child to explore his environment,including the child in family activities, sharing in the child's experience of the world,helping the child become aware of her feelings, and asking the child many questions.

Bibliographic InformationLinda Kekelis, Nancy Chernus- Mansfield. Talk to Me: A Language Guide for Parentsof Blind Children (1984). The Blind Children's Center: Los Angeles, CA. (12 pages).Language: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA 90029(323) 664-2153 phone (323) 665-3828 fax [email protected] e-mailhttp://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: This book is intended primarily for parents. The authorsworked in Los Angeles at a center with a very multicultural student population.

Product Development: The authors were employed at the Blind Children's Center atthe time this material was developed. They had extensive experience in working withchildren who are blind or visually impaired. Information was primarily obtained fromparents, although it was also supplemented by information from teachers and fromobserving the students themselves.

69



Producer Information (cont.)Product Evaluation: This booklet did not undergo any formal evaluation process afterit was published. Prior to publication, the Blind Children's Center distributed thebooklets among parents and professionals in the community for scrutiny and feed-back.

Product Dissemination: More than 800,000 copies of this booklet have been dissemi-nated almost worldwidethroughout the United States, South America, Asia, Africa,and Australia. The publisher has a list of 13,000 organizations throughout the worldto which it distributes materials.

T COPY AVAILABLE

70


RESOURCES UB CATIO S

Talk to Me II: Common Concerns

Nancy Chemus-MansfieldDori HayashiLinda Kekelis

SummaryThis booklet, for parents of children with blindness, discusses the importance oflanguage for children who cannot see. It addresses three common concerns about thelanguage of children with blindness, including repetitions, questions, and pronouns.Recommendations for parents include: (1) encourage early repetitions; (2) respond tothe ideas and feelings in your child's repetitions; (3) reinforce language with hands-on experiences; (4) provide your child with a variety of experiences that enrich herunderstanding of the world around her; (5) talk often enough to let your child knowyou are nearby and are available to him; (5) describe new experiences before intro-ducing them to children with blindness; (6) be direct and tell your child that he hasasked enough questions; and (7) use games to teach pronouns.

Bibliographic InformationNancy Chernus-Mansfield, Dori Hayashi, Linda Kekelis. Talk to Me II: CommonConcerns (1986). The Blind Children's Center: Los Angeles, Ca. (15 pages). Lan-guage: English, Spanish

AvailabilityMay be ordered from:The Blind Children's Center 4120 Marathon Street Los Angeles, CA 90029(323) 664-2153 phone (323) 665-3828 fax [email protected] e-mailhttp://www.blindchildrenscenter.org/ web

Producer InformationIntended User Audience: This book is intended primarily for parents. The authorsworked in Los Angeles at a center with a very multicultural student population.

Product Development: The authors were employed at the Blind Children's Center atthe time this material was developed. They had extensive experience in working withchildren who were blind or visually impaired. Information was primarily obtainedfrom parents, although it was also supplemented by information from teachers andfrom observing the students themselves.

70 7 1


RESOURCES I U L CATIONS

Producer Information (cont.)Product Evaluation: This booklet did not undergo any formal evaluation process afterit was published. Prior to it being published, the Blind Children's Center distributedthe booklets among parents and professionals in the community for scrutiny andfeedback.

Product Dissemination: More than 200,000 copies of this booklet have been dissemi-nated almost worldwidethroughout the United States, South America, Asia, Africa,and Australia. The publisher has a list of 13,000 organizations throughout the worldto which it distributes materials.

7 2


AboutCLAS

73


About the CLAS Early ChildhoodResearch Institute

Early Childhood Research Institute onCulturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services

University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe Council for Exceptional ChildrenUniversity of Wisconsin-MilwaukeeERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood EducationERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education

OverviewThe Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturallyand Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) is a t

federally-funded collaborative effort of the Universityof Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The Council forExceptional Children, the University of Wisconsin- turanyMilwaukee, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary andEarly Childhood Education, and the ERICClearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education. The CLAS Institute is funded bythe Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education.

The CLAS Institute identifies, evaluates, and promotes effective and appropriateearly intervention practices and preschool practices that are sensitive and respectfulto children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.CLAS has several basic assumptions which define and guide its work. CLAS' goalsare outlined below, as well as some of the issues and concerns important to our work.Finally, a brief overview is included about the outcomes we anticipate accomplishingby the end of this project.

ervices

ly Childii add Res, 4,9" stitute

AssumptionsWe adhere to the following fundamental beliefs in our research, training and dissemi-nation activities:

Assumptions About Culture and Language:1. Individuals and families are members of multiple cultures.2. Cultures are multi-faceted and dynamic.3. Multilingualism is an asset.4. A solid foundation in one's primary language contributes to acquisition of a

second language.5. Cultural competence is a process entailing lifelong learning.

MIT COPY MAMA LE74


ABOUT THE CLAS INSTITUTE

6. Many people have not had an equal voice, equal representation or equalaccess to health and education services. We recognize that institutional racismcontinues and will address issues of access and equity in the search, review,and dissemination of materials.

7. Beliefs and attitudes about culture and language shape outcomes; positivebeliefs contribute to inclusiveness; negative beliefs undermine it.

Assumptions About the Work of the Institute:

1. Culturally and linguistically diverse practitioners and families will be in-volved in the work of the Institute as advisors, reviewers, and evaluators.

2. Materials will reflect the intersection of culture and language, disabilities andchild development.

3. A range of strategies or approaches will be identified from which practitioners,families, and researchers can make an informed selection of practices or mat-erials. In our dissemination of reviewed materials, we will not advise or pre-scribe solutions but will facilitate better questions regarding material selection.

4. Products will be "user amorous" and our evaluation will in part focus on theusability and impact of these products.

The work of the Institute is complex, challenging, and developmental in nature.

GoalsThe CLAS Institute identifies, collects, reviews, catalogs, abstracts, and describesmaterials and practices developed for children and families from culturally and linguisti-cally diverse backgrounds, and professionals who work with them. In the latter yearsof this five-year Institute, CLAS will identify gaps in existing materials and practices,prepare translations of a limited number of materials, and pilot-test a limited numberof promising materials to ensure that effective early intervention practices are avail-able to families and service providers who work with them. CLAS will:1. Create a resource bank and catalog of validated culturally and linguistically

appropriate materials, and of documented effective strategies, for early interven-tion and preschool services.

2. Conduct a review of materials by experts in the fields of early childhood educa-tion, early intervention/early childhood special education, and in multiculturaleducation, considering issues not only of effectiveness but also of social, cultural,and linguistic acceptability to children and families from culturally and linguisti-cally diverse backgrounds.

3. Evaluate and validate selected materials through field testing of the materialswith culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

4. Disseminate reviewed materials and practices that meet the dual criteria of (1)effectiveness and (2) cultural and linguistic appropriateness for all relevantstakeholders.

75


About the Author

Deborah Chen, Ph.D.California State University-Northridge 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-8265

Deborah is a professor in the Department of Special Education at California State University, Northridge.She is a faculty Collaborator of the CLAS Early Childhood Research Institute. Her research and personnelpreparation interests include early intervention with infants who have multiple disabilities, visual impair-ments and hearing loss; caregiver interactions with infants who have multiple disabilities; andeffective strategies for working with families of diverse cultural-and linguistic backgrounds. Her publica-tions are focused on these areas. She has co-authored several training videos and manuals, includingCulturally Responsive And Family Focused Training and Conversations For Three: CommunicatingThrough Interpreters. Deborah has been invited to conduct short courses in Australia, Canada, the Nether-lands, Thailand and Taiwan.

76

For more information on the CLAS EarlyChildhood Research Institute

Contact Amy Santos or Rob Corso (ProjectCoordinators) or Ron Banks (Information Specialist):

Early Childhood Research Institute onCulturally and Linguistically Appropriate ServicesUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign61 Children's Research Center51 Gerty DriveChampaign, Illinois 61820-7498

1.800/583.4135 voice/byhttp://clas.uiuc.edu/ web [email protected] e-mail

CLAS Technical Report Topics:

Child Assessment

Child FindCross-Cultural Considerations

CLAS MissionCross-Cultural CommunicationCross-Cultural Conceptions of Child-RearingCultural Definitions and IssuesView of Disability

Deaf Parents and Their Hearing Children

Family Information Gathering

Family Support ServicesHelping Relationships and Service Utilization

Motor Skills Interventions

Parent-Infant Interaction

Personnel Preparation

Second-Language Acquisition

Transition

Visual Impairment

Working with Interpreters

11 11111M1

76`v

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

National Library of Education (NLE)Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

Reproduction Basis

ERICEducational Resources Intorniahon Center

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release (Blanket)"form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all or classes ofdocuments from its source organization and, therefore, does not require a"Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may bereproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form (either"Specific Document" or "Blanket").

EFF-089 (1/2003)

Documents

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made · University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 61 Children's Research Center. 51 Gerry Drive. Champaign, IL 61820. EST