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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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An online Self-Assessment Guide allows state deafblind projects to analyze
state and national data, gather information about systems in their state serving
children birth through two years old, and reflect on specific issues that impact
identification and referral of infants and toddlers with combined vision and hearing
loss. An extensive literature review, combined with strategies from deaf-blind
projects with consistently high referral counts, has provided a set of effective
practices for use by the national deaf-blind technical assistance (TA) network.
In addition, network members utilize and contribute to an online repository of
resources that:
• differentiate between identification (recognition that both vision and hearing
loss exist and understanding the impact on early learning) and referral
(ensuring families are linked to their state deaf-blind projects and other
specialized services);
• link to both an identified issue and a recommended practice;
• target a particular system (Part C programs, Early Hearing Detection and
Intervention (EHDI) programs, the medical community and other programs
serving children birth through two and their families); and
• provides tips and examples from colleagues who have participated in the self-
assessment process and implemented recommended practices.
Currently, nearly 50% of 49 state/multi-state deafblind projects have utilized the
self-assessment guide and are beginning to implement one or more of the four key
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