Melissa Ottenbacher
Mr. Phillip Block
English 201
11 April 2008
Paper on Deaf-Blindness
There are roughly 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States alone. One such person was Helen Keller, a successful deaf-blind college graduate despite her set back. In this paper, one will learn how deaf-blind children are taught to communicate to live up to their potential using different devices and strategies both inside and outside of the classroom. Also, this paper will discuss some of the services provided to deaf-blind children and some struggles they face developmentally, emotionally, behaviorally and physically.
According to Barbara Miles with the National Information Clearinghouse on Children Who Are Deaf-Blind, “deaf-blindness is a condition in which the combination of hearing and visual losses in children cause ‘such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness’ or multiple disabilities” (1). There are multiple causes for going deaf-blind and some of the causes include: syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, congenital prenatal dysfunction, and post-natal causes (Miles 1).
Throughout history, there have been programs to help educate the deaf-blind. Victorine Morriseaus was the first deaf-blind person to receive a formal education in Paris, France (Collins 1). Laura Bridgman was admitted to the Perkins School for the Blind here in the United States in 1837 (1). In 1887, Anne Sullivan was sent to teach Helen Keller which “created a worldwide interest in the education of deaf-blind children” (1). Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan played a huge role in the education of deaf-blind children and people. Between 1962 and 1964, a “worldwide epidemic of rubella resulted in the birth of thousands of deaf-blind children” (1). This epidemic “highlighted the lack of facilities, manpower, and expertise to meet the needs of these children” (2). Consequently, many deaf-blind schools were started in all parts of the world, including the United States. For the next few years, Congress focused on passing laws to help set up programs directed to serve and meet the needs of deaf-blind children and adults (2) In 1988, “the National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness was formed, to advocate for continuation of special services for deaf-blind children and adults nationally” (3). The Education of Handicapped Act (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) was reauthorized in 1990 to continue federal programs for deaf-blind children (3). It is apparent that the education of deaf-blind children and services available has changed remarkably throughout history.
There is a large number of deaf-blind people in the United States. Over 10,000 children are deaf-blind and range in age from birth to twenty-two (Miles 1). “It has been estimated that the adult deaf-blind population numbers 35-40,000 (2).
With so many deaf-blind children and adults, there needs to be multiple communication devices available for the deaf-blind. These communication devices are always changing and becoming more technologically advanced. Some devices that have been used by deaf-blind people include doorbell accessories and electroalarm clocks, alarm alert systems, nuvox sentinels, code-com sets with a touch-tone telephone, univakts, vibravakts, special smoke detectors, sound horn type smoke detectors, vibrating alarms, electroalarm clocks, autodigital vibrating alarm clocks, bed vibrators, portable auditory trainers, mono-fonator systems, travelear FM auditory training systems, personal FM system receivers, auditory training units, voice-lites, optacons, canon communicators, and mowat sensors. All of these devices help deaf-blind people each day. While some of these devices are used to communicate, some are also used for emergencies to warn a deaf-blind person of a fire or simply to wake them up in the morning. For example, the doorbell accessory for an electro alarm clock “allows a hearing-impaired person to sense the doorbell is ringing through the vibration of the bed pillow. It also functions as a signaling and wake-up device” (Carmen and Hurvitz 29). Another device that acts as an alarm is called the alarm alert. The alarm alert “can be used as a wake-up alarm clock, baby alarm/alert, smoke or fire alert, telephone or doorbell signal alert, or general emergency alarm” (51). A nuvox sentinel is a device which “alerts an individual to the ringing of a telephone or doorbell, a crying baby, or other such sounds” (53). A nuvox sentinel “is activated by sound and can turn on a lamp or a chair or bed vibrator” (53). The next device helps a “deaf-blind person to receive and send telephone messages” (81). This device is called a code-com set with a touch-tone telephone and Braille typewriter. The sender communicates using a form of Morse code or another type of code that is known by the receiver. “The message comes through a vibrating pad at the front of the Code-Com and is interpreted through the fingertips” (81). A univakt is a device “designed to alert a hearing-impaired parent to sounds and movements of an infant” (127). A univakt works by having a microphone placed close to where the infant sleeps. “When any audible disturbance, such as crying, is detected, a continuous signal is emitted. This signal can be connected to different optical and tactile awakening devices, such as a blowing fan, flashing lights, or a vibrating bed” (127). Another device used by deaf-blind people is called the vibravakt. These are priced around $60. This device vibrates “when activated by an acoustic signal such as an alarm clock ring, telephone ring, or fire alarm” (129). Also, there are special smoke detectors for deaf-blind people. These smoke detectors work through a wiring system which vibrates to warn of a fire. One of these smoke detectors can be as much as $95. There is another type of smoke detector which is called the sound horn type. There is a detector to detect a fire, but the transmitter “will sound and send a signal to the horn receiver in the neighbor’s home” (135). Therefore, a deaf-blind person would have to rely on a next door neighbor in the instance of a fire. There are a number of alarm type devices which use some sort of vibrations to wake a deaf-blind person. Some of these devices include: vibrating alarms, electroalarms, autodigital vibrating alarm clocks, and actual bed vibrators. One device, called a mono-fonator system, is used to help “stimulate, control, and structure a person’s speech” (211). This device also “provides the necessary cues for controlling pitch, loudness, duration, inflection, and rhythmical patters, and for learning production and coarticulation of vowel and consonant sounds” (211). These systems are quite expensive and cost around $1,000. The voice-lite is another device which relies on tactile stimulation. There is “a sensitivity dial on the unit [that] can be set to respond to an individual’s volume control problem” (255). Basically, the voice-lite helps deaf-blind people control their voice and help with breath control. The optacon is a very expensive device which “is a reading system that gives deaf-blind persons immediate and independent access to the world of print” (283). This machine “converts the image of a printed letter or symbol into a tactile form that can be felt with one finger” (283). The neat thing about this machine is the letters that are converted are printed in a larger, vibrating form. Next there are Canon communicators which allow deaf-blind people to communicate or acquire information from people who can see. “Letters or symbols are selected on the unit’s keyboard, and the message is printed out on a paper-tape display” (285). The only downfall of this device is that the deaf-blind person using it must be fairly accurate at spelling and good at fine-motor skills to use the keyboard (285). Lastly, there is a device called a mowat sensor. “This unit is a handheld, electronic travel aid for deaf-blind persons” (287). This device is similar to using a long cane or a guide dog to direct a deaf-blind person (287). With all of these technological devices to help deaf-blind children and people wake-up in the morning, communicate, or even for safety measures, deaf-blind children and adults also communicate through different communication strategies.
Along with communication devices, there are also a number of basic communication strategies that are taught to deaf-blind children and adults.
“Principal communication systems for persons who are deaf-blind are these: touch cues, gestures, object symbols, picture symbols, sign language, fingerspelling, signed English, Pidgin signed English, Braille writing and reading, Tadoma method of speech reading, American Sign Language, large print writing and reading, and lip-reading speech” (Miles 4-5).
Along with various communication strategies, there are also a number of different communication systems. These systems include receptive communication systems and expressive communication systems (Alberto and Wolff 2).
“The most common types of receptive communication systems are speech, written communication, graphic and nontactile symbols, tactile symbols and object cues, gestures, movement cues, manual sign language, tactile sign language, Braille, and touch cues” (2).
One of the most important things to keep in mind when communicating with deaf-blind people is the type of communication system and how partner friendly the means of communication is when interacting (2). According to Alberto and Wolff, “the most commonly used expressive communication systems are the same as receptive communication systems except for idiosyncratic systems” (2). Idiosyncratic systems are specific ways of communicating between partners that is understood by the people using them. “Idiosyncratic systems vary in their level of familiarity, may be difficult to interpret, and limit the student’s ability to express himself or herself” (2).
Let’s take a look at some of the different types of gestures and how often they are used by deaf-blind children. First, “gestures are actions that are produced with the intent to communicate. They may be expressed by the hands, head, or entire body” (Bruce et al. 637). Gestures can be categorized as “either primitive and conventional or as contact and distal” (638). “Primitive gestures usually include the physical manipulation of oneself and others, such as pushing or pulling another” whereas “conventional gestures are less idiosyncratic to a child’s experiences which makes them more interpretable” (638). Conventional gestures can be used a variety of settings and situations which make them easier to interpret. According to Bruce et al. “children and adults with disabilities who expressed themselves through conventional gestures communicated more often and produced more frequent communicative repairs” (638). On the other hand, “contact gestures involve physical contact with objects and people” (638). With these types of gestures, less communication occurs (638). A study done by McLean et al. in 1991, “found that three of the four distal gesturers they studied had higher rates of expressive communication and initiated communication more often” (Bruce et al. 638). “Distal gesturers are able to gesture about objects, people, and events that are at a distance from their bodies” (638). However, “children who are deaf-blind often struggle to make the transition from primitive to conventional gestures and been described as having a limited repertoire of conventional gestures” (640). In a study done in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, seven deaf-blind children between the ages of four and eight were observed to monitor the types of gestures they expressed (641). “All of the participants communicated between Levels III and VIII of the Communication Matrix” (641). The levels of the Communication Matrix are:
Level III: intentional communication (presymbolic and nonconventional), Level IV: conventional communication (intentional and presymbolic), Level V: concrete tangible symbols (an optional level experienced by only some children), Level VI: single abstract symbols and Level VII: combinations of two to three abstract symbols (Bruce et al. 642).
Overall, the study found that the participants used forty-four different gestures (643). Also, “the participants expressed primitive or contact gestures more frequently than conventional or distal gestures” (643). Moreover, the students used a wide range of frequencies when it came to gesturing. One student gestured 326 times in a six hour period while another student only gestured 38 times in a six hour period (646). In addition, the function of the actions varied, but “four children used gestures most often to express the function of requesting an action” (646). Other functions of the gestures included requesting an object, protesting, or commenting on an action (647). In summation, this study shows how just how much young children need to communicate through gestures of all types and how much they depend on gestures to learn and meet their needs.
As mentioned before there are other means of communication strategies besides gesturing which are effective for deaf-blind children to communicate. In order for communication to be purposeful,
Alvares and Sternburn (1994) defined [guidelines for] functional communication as interactive, mediating subsequent events, used effectively in everyday settings with adults and children, achieving material and social outcomes, and progressing to higher levels of efficient and effective communication (Engleman et al. 2).
