Kaiser's Room, a New York-based theater arts education organization; St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and the New York Deaf Theatre are piloting a theater arts program for deaf students with multiple disabilities. The goal: to develop a school-community partnership that provides culturally responsive, linguistically…

Music is a way of representing the patterns of frequencies and vibrational relationships--and at St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf, it is used it to promote language learning and transform students' educational experiences. Traditionally defined through the medium of sound, music has been seen as an approach that excludes deaf and hard of…

Since March 2020, when the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic hit, education in the United States has undergone significant change. As both a deaf professional in deaf education and as the parent of an OHKODA (only hearing kid of deaf adults) teenage son, a deafdisabled tween son, and deaf elementaryage fraternal twin sons, I have been in the unique…

This brief, co-produced by the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), provides important information about students with dual sensory loss who also have significant cognitive disabilities, as well as recommendations for identification and implications for instruction. The…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law on December 10, 2015, requires that state education agencies (SEAs) establish standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for their English learners (ELs), including ELs with disabilities. For certain ELs with…

Thanks to the generous sharing of the author, in this article, we learn about the progress and difficulties her family experienced and learned to cope with in dealing with their son Cree (the second of four boys). The author explains how this hearing-impaired family has used American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary mode of communication at…

The transition to life after high school for students with disabilities and the vital role that school counselors have in assisting the students and their families to achieve success are discussed. As there may be unique requirements for these students in making this transition, it is important that school counselors are acquainted with particular…

This publication describes a comprehensive approach to assessment known as authentic assessment, which can be used with children who are deaf-blind or have multiple disabilities. Authentic assessment involves obtaining information about children in their everyday environments during normal activities. It provides a way to learn what children know…

In this article, the author discusses pet therapy, using therapy dogs, as a new way of reaching students with additional disabilities. Therapy dogs aid in instruction in a variety of ways. They are particularly suited to work with preschool-aged children and special needs populations where the curriculum most easily can incorporate a therapy dog…

Social support has shown itself to be an important factor in many areas in regard to mental health development and conservation. Numerous empirical findings also document its significance in various areas of research into deafness. Questionnaires are only one means of gathering information when we are trying to gain access to the social networks…

Making schools for the deaf inclusive settings for deaf students with disabilities is important for their all-around development. The consequences of disregarding this need may be severe. In this article, the author describes a boy's experience at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) which shows it is possible to make inclusion at a…

The youngest deaf and hard of hearing children with disabilities in Colorado can now participate more fully in the world around them thanks to funding from grants solicited through the Early Education Department at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind. The grants enable the children, from birth to age 3, to overcome their physical…

The severity of deafness can obscure the presence of other disabilities that may accompany genetic anomalies, such as occur in Alport and Usher syndromes. Recent advances in genetics have heightened attention to various disabilities and dysfunctions that may coexist with deafness. Failure to recognize these additional disabilities when they occur…

Every year, under the federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), millions of children with disabilities receive special services designed to meet their unique needs. Early intervention services are provided through the state to infants and toddlers with disabilities under three years of age and their families. For…

An orientation to autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as autism, is provided, and the specific syndrome of autism and deafness is addressed. The two conditions have in common a major problem: communication. Case histories are provided, the development of treatment for autism is discussed, and the separate disorders that make up ASD are…