This manual was designed primarily for use by people with disabilities. The hope is that it is also useful for families, as well as service coordinators and providers who directly assist families and individuals with disabilities. The focus of this manual is to provide easy-to-read information about available resources, and to provide immediate…

Vocational Education, Community Training, and Occupational Relations Program (VECTOR) serves a variety of students with disabilities, about one-third of whom are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf/blind. As part of what the federal government calls a "traditionally underserved population," these students come from the homes of immigrants and…

Children who are deafblind are one of the lowest-incidence yet most diverse groups receiving services mandated by the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Despite this population's diversity, the development of communication skills is critical for all children who are deafblind, and is the foundation on which good transition…

Finding a job, learning to live independently, and obtaining further education are important goals for all young adults as they leave high school. But achieving these goals is often extremely difficult for students who are deaf-blind. Limited or absent hearing and vision, difficulties with communication, and the frequent presence of additional…

It may seem that deaf-blindness refers to a total inability to see or hear. However, in reality deaf-blindness is a condition in which the combination of hearing and visual losses in children cause "such severe communication and other develop mental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for…

In 1992, a multiagency model of transition planning was developed and implemented to meet the identified needs of Michigan students who are deaf-blind. This article outlines the project's activities, accomplishments, challenges, and goals for the future. (Author/DB)

The Monitoring and Tracking Clients and Helpers (MATCH) system assesses the skills and needs of deaf-blind individuals completing educational programs and compares them with training opportunities of service agencies. The information is used to determine the most appropriate adult placement and to determine needed areas unmet by existing programs.…

The experiences of two students with deaf-blindness who were placed in a gifted and talented program at a public junior high school illustrate the importance of providing adequate transitional support for students with deaf-blindness. Their successful transition from a residential program to the gifted and talented program is described. (CR)

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness project, a 1-year federally supported project in Louisiana to improve identification and curriculum for these children by providing technical assistance and training to parents, school systems, and agency personnel. Project activities…

Transition planning to assist students with severe disabilities to move from school to a positive adult future is of great concern for the young people and their families and friends. For more than a decade, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) within the U.S. Department of Education has researched quality of life issues in transition…

This final report describes accomplishments and activities of a four-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to Colorado children and youth with deafblindness. Accomplishments are detailed for each of the following six project goals: (1) identification of children with deafblindness; (2) development and maintenance of…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year federally supported project to improve services to children (ages 0-21) with deaf-blindness in Alabama. The project utilized a service delivery model based on provision of state, regional, local, and individual technical assistance to service providers and families through three…

This final report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the "Services for Children with Deaf-Blindness Program" at the University of Southern Mississippi, a 3-year program authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The project was established to provide direct services and technical…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Pacific Basin Deaf-Blind Project, a 3-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations providing early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, early identification, and related services to…

The Personal Futures Planning Project created a person-centered planning model for developing and implementing individually designed transition services for 30 secondary-age youths with deaf-blindness in Kentucky. Project activities included: providing training and consultation in personal futures planning, providing consultation in planning and…