Students with multiple disabilities (MD) and concomitant impairments in domains such as vision and communication may experience restrictions in social interactions throughout their school days. These restrictions may be due in part to the intrinsic characteristics and skills of the students with MD, as well as potential barriers from communication…

This report describes a project that uses existing data sets to describe the population of students with significant cognitive disabilities and known or suspected dual sensory loss. It includes students with suspected dual sensory loss because students with significant cognitive disabilities are reported to have unidentified sensory loss (Erickson…

Nine children with complex communication needs and concurrent vision and hearing losses participated in an intervention program aimed at increasing intentional prelinguistic communication. The intervention constituted a pilot, descriptive study of an adapted version of prelinguistic milieu teaching, hence referred to as A-PMT. In A-PMT, natural…

At least 60% of children with disabilities have multiple disabilities including visual impairments (VI). Because the visual system is neurologically based, any problems of the neurological system will also likely affect vision. The estimated number of students with VI and additional disabilities has increased significantly over the years. Since…

Many children with severe or multiple disabilities, including those with visual impairment, are limited in their ability to communicate. "Communication" is defined as how a person exchanges information about his or her desires, needs, knowledge, and perceptions with another person. Communication can be verbal, written, or nonverbal, such…

This study, with 3 sensory-impaired children (ages 24-27 months), 1 normal child, and their 4 mothers, found that mother-child communication interaction was influenced by the type of sensory impairment of the subject, whether hearing impairment, visual impairment, or both. (JDD)

This article reviews normal visual development and the role of visual gaze behaviors in attention and social interaction, discusses how the information applies to many multiply handicapped visually impaired children, and describes ways of incorporating this information into assessment and programing. (DB)

This study found that, of 18 children with severe visual and multiple impairments assessed using the Acuity Card Procedure (originally developed for assessing the visual acuity of infants), 42 percent responded. A similar group received a simple instructional intervention prior to testing and that group's response rate was 85 percent. (Author/DB)

A 9-year-old with multiple disabilities and visual impairments was the focus of a 10-week developmental therapeutic riding program incorporating hippotherapy. The program has led to increased mobility, an increase in visual attention span and fixation time, signs of greater verbal communication, and the acquisition of new functional signs.…

Social routines, which combined nursery rhymes with carefully planned action sequences, were used to help two young developmentally delayed, visually handicapped children acquire communicative responses. Midway through the 3-year project, one child responded to words for objects, people, and actions. (Author/SEW)

A young adult with multiple disabilities (profound mental retardation, spastic quadriplegia, and visual impairment) was provided with a voice output communication aid (VOCA) which allowed communication through synthesized speech. Both educational and residential staff members interacted with the individual more frequently when she had access to…

The education of children with visual impairments or blindness combined with other disabilities is increasingly recognized as one of the most compelling and challenging aspects of Special Education. We have come to recognize the multiple effects of combined sensory, neurological and/or psychological problems Visual and movement impairments impose…

This handbook provides basic information on the needs of young children (ages 3-8) whose multiple disabilities include visual impairments. Chapters address: (1) common disabilities associated with visual impairment, the primary educational needs of these children, and the complexity involved in teaching them; (2) the need for clearly defined…