Photo courtesy of www.perkins.org
Kristen Layton-Campagna, MA
New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative
Learner objectives:
 SP.05.h: Facilitate s child’s/youth’s participation in the
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entire activity to the fullest extent possible.
SP.05.i: Understands the impact of the child’s/youth’s
developmental level on designing and implementing
intervention and instruction
SP.05.j: Develops systematic instructional activities and
materials that are meaningful, relevant, and age
appropriate
SP.05.za: Uses routine or activity based instruction to
enhance learning
SP.05.zh: Task analyzes specific activities
SP.05.zj: Uses graduated prompting procedures (e.g.,
verbal prompts to full physical assists accompanied with
positive reinforcement)

The purpose of this module is to introduce various
instructional strategies that are typically associated
with teaching learners who are deaf-blind.
 This is not a complete list of strategies that are effective for
use with this population of students.
 The content should be considered an overview of the topic
and the basis for further learning.

It is most valuable to understand the theory behind
the strategy. It is then possible to develop your own
interpretation of the strategy and make modifications
to fit the needs of individual learners. In order to do
this, the learner must access additional resources on
each strategy.
New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative
SECTION A
Establishing a Foundation

Children who are deaf-blind have unique
educational needs. The process of setting up a
quality program for a child who is deaf-blind takes
time, energy and knowledge of resources.

A strong educational team, including the family, is
the key to a positive educational experience for the
child.

The following are elements that are considered
critical to the success of a child’s educational
program:
Transdisciplinary
team approach
Ongoing evaluation
and modifications
of program
Systematic
Instruction and
natural teaching
approaches (in LRE)
Family
Involvement
Instructional
Strategies
Access to the
general education
curriculum
Authentic
Assessment
Established
Learning Goals
(IEP, IFSP)

A positive learning
environment sets the stage for
effective teaching and
successful learning.

In addition to learning goals
and effective instructional
strategies, the educational
team must be aware of and
address additional factors
that can influence
educational outcomes.
ELEMENTS THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN
DEVELOPING A PROGRAM FOR A CHILD WHO IS DEAF-BLIND:
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Structure and
Consistency
Environmental
factors
Use of residual
vision and hearing
Health and well
being of the
student.
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Access to
communication
Physical positioning
Alertness states
Teacher/Student
relationship
Motivation level of
student
Accessibility of learning
material
Motivation: In this
image a teacher
works with a student
on walking. The
student is motivated
to work on the goal
because she likes to
push her friend’s
wheel chair.
CONTENT
What to teach?
 The IEP/IFSP serves as
the road map
Individualized Education Program/Individualized Family Service Plan

Curriculum
 Align with state learning standards and frameworks.
 Designed to address the child’s unique needs in the
least-restrictive environment.
 May include a blend of the following curriculum areas:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
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Early Childhood
Academic
Functional Academics
Functional Skills
Independent Living Skills
Pre-vocational Skills
CONTEXT
Where to teach?
In what situation/activity will the student be
learning the skill/concept?

Activities should be:
▪ Motivating for the student (use of a
Student Preference Assessment)
▪ Allow for several opportunities to practice
the skill during the day/week.
▪ Functional and age appropriate
▪ Able to be generalized or transferred to
other environments.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.com/
26441432
This video
demonstrates an
activity that is
motivating for the
student as well as
functional. In addition
to dropping off the
attendance, the student
is also greeting office
personnel; a skill that
can be generalized to
other settings.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.com
/26425568
This video
demonstrates an
activity that is a
functional part of the
student’s daily
routine. The student
participates in this
activity multiple times
a day which promotes
ample opportunities
for practice and
generalization.
HOW to teach?
Identify the instructional environment
▪ Individual
▪ Small
▪ Large group
Identify components of the nature of the activity
▪ Sensory needs of the child
▪ Opportunities for socialization
▪ Partial participation
▪ Difficulty of the activity and the need for
concentration
Present New Materials/Environments
▪ Use of available senses
▪ Time for exploration of new materials/environments
▪ Student preferences
Use an Integrated Therapy Model
▪ Related services are provided in natural settings, across
disciplines.
▪ Skills are addressed within activities that serve
functions in a student's real life.
▪ The IEP is collaboratively written and priority skills are
determined for student participation, functional
independence, and overall benefit from the educational
program.
Environment: Large Group
(Circle Time)
Components of the nature
of the activity: Due to visual
impairment, all objects
presented when giving a
choice must be accessible
with tactile exploration
Present new
materials/environments:
Student needs adequate
time to explore two choices
Integrated Therapy Model:
Skill of choice making is
provided in the natural
setting of circle time with
service providers working in
the classroom (push-in
model)
TEACHING SKILLS
Teaching Skills and Concepts
 It is important to make sure we are teaching both
skills and concepts.
 Teaching skills without concepts is the “how”
without “why” and does not foster generalization of
skills.
 Teaching concepts without skills is the “why”
without the “how” leaving the child able to
understand but not complete a task.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.c
om/26426789
In this video clip,
the student is
learning the
concepts of “plant,”
“wet,” and “dry”
with repeated
signing and tactile
exploration to
attach language
and meaning to the
concepts.
TEACHING CONCEPTS
 Due to the nature of deaf-blindness, many basic
skills and concepts need to be taught because
opportunities for incidental learning are limited.
Example: The concept of milk being kept in
the refrigerator would not be casually observed
by a small child who is deaf-blind. The skill of
opening the refrigerator and placing the milk
inside is a skill that can be taught to reinforce
the concept of keeping perishable items cold.
Most children will learn
best being exposed to a
variety of strategies
throughout their day.
SECTION B
Instructional Planning Tools
Ecological Inventories
What is it?
An ecological inventory is an assessment of the skills
that a student needs to function in a specific
environment.
Why is it important?
Completing an ecological inventory provides
information used to develop goals and objectives
that are functional for the student.
How is it used?

Identify the environments and sub environments
that the student most frequently encounters
(classroom, library, home, etc).

Identify what skills are needed to be successful in
the environments (a task and discrepancy analysis
can be used for this step).

The results of the discrepancy analysis can be used
to formulate learning goals for the student.
Task and Discrepancy Analysis
What is it?
 A task analysis are the detailed steps required to complete a task by
a non-disabled peer of a similar age.
 A discrepancy analysis is the identification of the performance gaps
by the student who is deaf-blind.
 The use of a task/discrepancy analysis is an efficient method to
assess a student's ability to perform the steps leading to completion
of an activity or skill.
Why is it important?
Once the individual steps of a task are identified the team can
decide which steps of the activity the student can complete
independently and which steps will require assistance.
How is it applied?
Task/discrepancy analysis can be completed for almost
every task during the student’s day. The team
formulates a plan to teach the skill providing support
where necessary. Support required from related service
providers will be more obvious when using this tool. The
student may be able to perform some steps either
independently, with partial physical assistance, with
prompting, etc.
SECTION C
Instructional Strategies

There is not one teaching strategy that fits
the needs of all children. Instruction must
accommodate the child’s unique learning
needs and work toward implementing the
goals outlined in the IEP.

There are hundreds of teaching strategies
available to teachers. These are but a few of
those associated with learners who are deafblind.
SPECIFIC TEACHING STRATEGIES ADDRESSED IN THIS
TRAINING MODULE:

Systematic Instruction

Prompting

Naturalistic Teaching

Tactile learning

Routine based
instruction

Sensory Integration

Anticipation and
calendar systems

Community Based
Instruction

Van Dyke Approach

Active Learning

Considerations when choosing
appropriate teaching strategies:
 Child’s level of functioning
 Skill/concept being taught
 Sensory needs of the child
 Age of the child
 Child/family preferences
What is it?
Systematic Instruction is the basis for clearly identified
goals for the lesson while the instructor follows a structured
sequence to teach the skill.
• Once students learn the teaching pattern or sequence
new information can be integrated.
• The sequence usually refers to the strategies students
learn that help them integrate new information with
what is already known in a way that makes sense
• This allows the information or skill to be more easily
recalled even in a different situation or place.
Why is it important?

The use of systematic instruction creates a safe and
predictable learning environment By using a defined
and predictable instructional sequence, learners can
integrate new information into a process that they are
already comfortable and familiar with.
How is it applied?

The team/teacher identifies the goal and context
(activity) for learning. Choosing skills/activities that have
multiple opportunities for practice throughout the
day/week are optimal as the child gains more exposure.
1.Task
Analysis
2.Identify
Goal
3.Identify
Strategies
4.Lesson
Setting
5.Assess
Successes
1.
A TASK/DISCREPANCY ANALYSIS (see Environmental Inventory/Task &
Discrepancy analysis section) may be completed to identify which steps of
the skill/activity the student will be able to complete independently or with
partial/full assistance.
2.
The teacher IDENTIFIES THE GOAL and begins to teach. Interactions between
student and teacher are carefully constructed and repeated step by step
each time the learner is engaged in the activity.
3.
IDENTIFY STRATEGIES such as modeling, guided practice, creating problem
solving situations and prompting can be used as part of the instructional
process.
4.
The LESSON SETTING may be individual or group. Some examples include:
morning circle lesson, a review of the calendar system to begin the day,
playing a structured tactile math game.
5.
SUCCESS OF THE STRATEGY relies on the teacher providing 1) enough wait
time for the child to process information, 2) encouragement for the child to
respond to information 3) modifications during the lesson to allow for
better student understanding.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.c
om/26441706
This video
demonstrates an
individual lesson
with clearly defined
goals and
strategies. As the
student gains skills,
higher level goals
can be integrated.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.c
om/26441291
This video
demonstrates a
morning circle
lesson with clearly
defined goals and
strategies.
What is it?
Naturalistic teaching is a child-guided approach to teaching and
learning.
The child initiates an interaction by choosing a preferred toy or
activity and the interaction continues as the teacher and
learner maintain joint attention on the object/event. Additional
strategies associated with naturalistic teaching are time delay,
incidental teaching and the mand-model.
Why is it important?
By using a more natural approach to teaching, the child learns to
explore the environment, initiate interactions and develop
language in natural situations.
How is it applied?

The teacher sets up the environment by placing toys close by
or setting up various activities within sight, but not within
reach of the child.

When the child shows an interest in the materials by
gesturing or requesting an item or activity, the teacher
prompts an elaboration on the initiation.

The child subsequently obtains the desired item.

The student and teacher interact with the activity/object
together. Communication and skill development are infused
into the interactions.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.com
/26444129
In this video clip, two
students are joined by
their teacher to learn
and communicate
about an activity that
is mutually enjoyable.
With the support of
their teacher, the
students are able to
explore and build
language around a
natural situation: the
weather.
SECTION D
Routine-Based Instruction
What is it?
Routines are activities that follow a clear and
predictable sequence of events. Many routines are
performed on a daily basis or multiple times during
a day giving a learner generous exposure to the
skills involved in the routine.
Examples of ritualized
games (pat a cake, board
games, etc.) are another form
of routine.
*A clear beginning, middle
and end
*Consistent steps
*Predictable sequence
*Built in supports
*Opportunities to develop
procedural memory
Video Clips:
http://www.vimeo.com/
26446262
http://www.vimeo.com/
26445310
These video clips show
the beginning and
ending of a circle time
routine with consistent
steps and a predictable
routine that all the
students can
understand and follow.
Video Clip:
http://www.vimeo.com/2
6443082
This example shows
another circle time
routine, yet
demonstrates the steps
to develop procedural
memory. This clip also
shows built in supports
such as adaptations for
vision that are essential
for the student’s
success.
Why is it important?
Daily routines and ritualized games provide opportunities
to introduce new concepts and skills into natural events
that happen throughout the day.
Benefits of Teaching within the Context of Daily Routines
 Predictable for teachers
 Promotes the collaborative teaming model
 Provides opportunities to integrate therapy
 Encourages family involvement and peer interaction.
How is it applied?
Start by identifying routines that:
 occur frequently
 happen at predictable times
 occur in a predictable manner
 create anticipation and are motivating
 are age appropriate
Some examples of daily routines are:
•Arrival at school
•Preparing for the transition to a new activity
•Daily living skills (brush teeth, comb hair, etc)
•Eating
•Preparing for a math lesson

Develop a task/discrepancy analysis of the
routine (see Environmental Inventory/Task &
Discrepancy analysis section). Decide which
tasks in the routine the student can complete
independently or with partial participation.

Embed targeted skills/
concepts into the routine
Beginning
End
Middle
 Beginning of a routine:
 Announcement of movement (ex: touch cue
on the students shoulders to communicate
“up”)
 Announcement of activity (use of
communication symbol or referent to
represent activity)
 Getting ready for the routine (hearing aids in,
correct positioning, glasses on)
 Middle of a routine:
 Targeted skills embedded within the
sequenced steps of the routine.
 Partial participation using adaptations
when necessary
 Expressive communication opportunities
(choice making, request more, etc.)
 Games within the routine
 Interactions with siblings/peers
 End of a routine:
 Putting away of items used
 Indication that the routine is finished (using
communication symbol/referent to represent
activity placed in a finished box or spoken/signed
language)
 Present child with information about the next
activity using a communication symbol, referent,
or spoken/signed language
 Announcement of movement using a touch cue
or spoken/signed language
ROUTINE-BASED INSTRUCTION
Expansion on Routines
 Sabotage the routine to teach and encourage
problem solving skills (ex. remove the toothpaste
from it’s usual spot)
 Expand conversations within and about the routine
(ask the student why he is putting on a coat to
prepare for the bus)
 Make steps in the routine more complex to teach
new skills (have student clean and put away dishes
after making the snack)
 Teach the routine in a new environment (washing
hands in the bathroom and in the kitchen)
Thank you for participating.
For more information please
contact us at the number
or email below.
Queens College
65-30 Kissena Boulevard
PH 200 - NYDBC
Flushing, NY 11367
NYDBC@qc.cuny.edu
www.qc.cuny.edu/nydbc
718-997-4856
NYDBC Staff
Dr. Samuel Morgan, Director
Susanne Morrow, Coordinator
Clara Berg, Family Specialist
Eneida Lamberty, Assistant
Dr. Patricia Rachal, Principal Investigator
New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative