University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities Happy New Year! We are excited to share a monthly newsletter with you that will highlight upcoming trainings, tips and strategies, as well as family & school news for those working with students who are Deaf-Blind. Rose & Brandy

Dakota Cohort Deaf-Blind Modules REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED!!!

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Understanding Deaf-Blindness This video is borrowed from the Ohio Deaf-Blind Project. It wonderfully captures deaf-blindness from a parent's perspective!

Educators... Are you looking for new strategies to use with children with complex needs? Are you needing readily accessible continuing education hours for re-certification?  If so, you may want to consider joining us in the Dakota Cohort Training in Deaf-Blindness (many of the strategies you will learn can be applied toward children with complex needs).  “Throughout the coursework, I have gained valuable information for planning appropriate assessments, interventions and accommodations for students with complex and multiple impairments… I feel more prepared to tackle the challenges of applying the information that I have learned with my students as well as serving as a resource to classroom teachers, support staff and parents.” -Amanda Walker, M.S. CCC-SLP

Families... Did you know that parents helped develop the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) Open Hands Open Access Deaf-Blind Modules ? We've had several parents participate in our Dakota Cohort Trainings to learn important principles and strategies that have been proven successful when working on skills such as communication, concept development, calendar systems and much more!

1) Register for Deaf-Blind Modules South Dakota Registrants Out-of-State Registrants 2) Register for USD credit Register for USD credit here! Closes Thursday, January 28th @ 9:00 pm

Learning Outcomes from Module 1 • Understand the importance of gathering information about a student's etiology to guide the development of an effective educational plan.  • Recognize that deaf-blindness is a disability of access to information that results in significant challenges in interactions and learning.  • Describe key instructional principles and strategies that are effective in educating and interacting with these learners. • Provide examples of the array of supports and resources on deaf-blindness that are available for families and school districts.

Strategy of the Month: Touch

Hand-UNDER-Hand Benefits for the child: have more control play a more active part in tasks and in learning focus on objects being touched rather than exclusively on the facilitator’s hands retain access to the world the hand-over-hand approach, in contrast, is equivalent to blindfolding a sighted child—the child who has no sight needs his/her hands to access the world. Directions: Position yourself behind or beside the student depending on their body size, so that your arms and hands are positioned to operate as though they were the student’s hands and arms. You may have to sit on a chair behind or beside them or squat to get your shoulder level down closest to their level. Young children can sit in your lap.  Position their hands on top of your fingers and hands. This can be accomplished by: telling them to do it, placing your hand under theirs to bring them to your tasks, or you may have to gently "clamp" the child's hand to yours with your thumb in the initial stages of training them to observe with their hands. Click here to read more about Hand-Under-Hand

Check out this fantastic video above featuring Barbara Miles , a leader in the field of Deaf-Blindness!

Rose Moehring, Deaf-Blind Program Director rose.moehring@usd.edu (605) 357-1437

Brandy Sebera, Deaf-Blind Program Instructor brandy.sebera@usd.edu (605) 357-1437

South Dakota Deaf-Blind Project| Visit our website!