VIDBE-Q 2025 Volume 70 Issue 2
or provide specific EBPs for students who have sensory disabilities. Despite the
growing number of students who have a vision loss, hearing loss and additional
disability, this population is often overlooked in educational research. While the
population's small size and heterogeneity make it difficult to confirm the efficacy
of any particular strategy, there is a vital need to support these students and provide
more support to teachers to address their diverse needs.
Researchers tend to rely on frameworks from other fields, such as ASD or
learning disabilities (Guardino & Cannon, 2015), and Bruce and Borders (2015)
recommend adapting established EBPs from other fields to meet the needs of
students with a hearing loss, vision loss, and an additional disability. Still, research
investigating how these strategies impact language, communication, and behaviors
would greatly benefit students who sensory disabilities and their educators. With
more insight into how these students learn best, and a larger array of EBPs
available to them, teachers can create or adapt strategies such as physical structure,
visual and visual structures to help their students succeed.
