Anticipated Fall 2024 (Currently Going Through Governance)
Within the University of Massachusetts Boston Vision Studies program, we recognize the unique challenges that students who are DeafBlind face in K-12 settings. We recognize that students with combined vision and hearing loss are a unique disability group and training as a teacher of the visually impaired or a teacher of the Deaf/hard of hearing alone does not provide all the information needed to meet this unique set of needs. This graduate certificate program is a collaborative effort between the UMass Boston Vision Studies Program, the New England Consortium on DeafBlindness (NEC) and the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI). All partners share the same goal to increase the number of educational personnel with knowledge and skills in the profession of DeafBlindness.
The graduate certificate is 5 courses and designed with working professionals in mind. There will be one course per semester beginning each fall and will operate as a cohort model. The course content will cover a deep exploration of the unique presentation of DeafBlindness (including psychosocial implications and multicultural perspectives), communication strategies for DeafBlind children, literacy access, assessment and how to apply findings, high-quality, research-based practices in DeafBlindness and a special look at assistive technology.
This graduate certificate is designed for professionals trained as teachers of the visually impaired, teachers of the Deaf/heard of hearing, intensive special needs educators, speech language pathologists, orientation and mobility specialists and other closely related professionals who anticipate working with the DeafBlind student population and have a background in vision and/or hearing.
Each of the five courses will be three graduate credits and will each cost $1400. They will be completely online with some field experiences incorporated as part of the assignments.
Timeline
- Year 1 Fall- Overview of DeafBlindness, Including Psychosocial and Multicultural Perspectives
- Year 1 Spring- Communication for DeafBlind Learners, Including Personalized Literacy
- Year 1 Summer- Meaningful Assessment and Application of Findings
- Year 2 Fall- High-Quality Practices Learners who are DeafBlind
- Year 3 Spring- Assistive Technology for People who are DeafBlind: Barriers and Solutions
Courses
Course 1: VISN 670 Overview of Deafblindness, Including Psychosocial and Multicultural Perspectives
Course Description: This course will provide an overview of deafblindness as a unique disability, encompassing learners with a wide range of visual and hearing impairments. Topics will include the range of sensory and learning differences among deafblind learners, the importance of building trusting relationships, touch as a critical component of learning, and the need for collaborative educational teams, and consideration of the array of psychosocial, cultural, and family perspectives
Course 2: VISN 671 Communication for Deafblind Learners, Including Personalized Literacy
Course Description: This course focuses on receptive and expressive communication with an emphasis on the forms and functions of each. Information about the various ways Deafblind Learners communicate, along with how to teach communication skills, will be highlighted. Content will address personalized literacy and cultural-sustaining practices including the following
- Consistent approach using turn-exchanges for starting, maintaining, and ending interactions.
- Affirmation of a student’s initiative or response.
- Indicators of a student’s processing time.
- Matching observations of a student with strategies to share emotions with him or her.
- The range of equipment used to provide communication access and the factors that influence the choice to use or not use specific equipment.
Course 3: VISN 672 Instructional Design and Assessment for Learners with Deafblindness
Course Description: The course centers on information and opportunities to practice skills associated with gathering assessment information, identifying biases, determining learning targets, and designing instruction for learners with Deafblindness. Emphasis will be given to assessing sensory abilities, concept development, literacy, communication, mobility, social-emotional, academic, and life skills.
Course 4: VISN 673 High-Quality Instructional Practices for Learners with Deafblindness
Course Description: This course will examine the current research around High-Quality Instructional Practices for deafblind learners, including how those practices are implemented within and across settings. Topics will include strategies for establishing joint attention, the use of touch cues as well as the role of collaboration in planning, evaluation, and monitoring of student success and challenges.
Course 5: VISN 674 Assistive Technology for People who are Deafblind: Barriers and Solutions
Course Description: This course will explore the role Assistive Technology (AT) plays in the lives of children with combined sensory disabilities with or without additional disabilities. The primary objective of this course will be to learn what constitutes best practices in assistive technology assessment and implementation, including collaboration with other professionals. Rather than learning how to use individual technologies, we will survey various technologies that may benefit students who are Deafblind. We will also discuss what the law has to say about assistive technology. The content of this course will include readings, instructor and guest presentations, group discussions, quizzes and exams, field experiences, and assignments.