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Functional Definition for INDB Services Project Eligibility

If an individual (birth through age 21) has hearing and visual impairments occurring together in any combination (either documented by vision and hearing tests or the individual functions as if they have both vision and hearing losses) and the losses are significant enough to require considerations (such as adaptations, modifications, and strategies) when presenting information to or interacting with the child, then that child, along with his or her family members and service providers, is eligible to receive services from the Indiana Deaf-Blind Services Project.

Definition of Deaf-blindness

A person is considered to be deaf-blind if he/she has both vision and hearing impairments, the combination of which creates such severe communication and other developmental and educational problems that the student cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for students with hearing or visual impairments. (34 CFR, Part 300, Subpart A, Sec. 300.7(c)(2); 2008 Indiana Administrative Code 511 IAC 7-17 through 7-31).

The individuals specified by this definition represent a heterogeneous group and include:

Individuals who are both deaf and blind as demonstrated by accurate vision and hearing tests;
Individuals who have hearing and visual impairments of a mild to severe degree and additional learning and/or language disabilities that adversely affect educational performance;
Individuals who may have been diagnosed as having a degenerative pathology or disease which will affect vision and/or hearing acuity, resulting in both visual and hearing impairments that adversely affect educational performance; and,
Individuals with multiple disabilities due to central nervous system dysfunction who exhibit auditory and visual impairments or deficits in auditory-visual functioning, and who may demonstrate inconclusive responses during evaluations or in the natural environment.

This is a functional definition of deaf-blindness. What this means is that, in Indiana, a person is considered deaf-blind for purposes of receiving services from the deaf-blind project if: they have both a documented vision and a documented hearing impairment ranging from mild to severe; OR, they function as if they have both a hearing and vision loss, based upon inconsistent responses to auditory and visual stimuli in the environment or inconclusive responses during hearing and vision evaluations. A conclusion that a child is functionally deaf-blind may be reached based upon an educational evaluation for purposes of initially reporting that child to the Deaf-blind Project.

services

Our services include family and educational support through dissemination of information, onsite visits, and workshops. In order for a child and his or her family to qualify for our services the child must have both a vision and hearing impairment and be included on our Indiana Deaf-blind Registry. Our services are available at no cost for families, school districts, and others who work with children who are deaf-blind from birth through 21 years of age. These services are available year-round and may include:

technical assistance and information dissemination on topics relevant to each individual's needs
child-focused consultations
in-service training
assistance in the development of IEPs, person-centered plans, and transition-focused educational planning
family leadership training
intervener training
a statewide newsletter
a network for information and support
a Statewide Registry of students, ages birth through 21, who are deaf-blind.

The term "technical assistance" is used to mean "consultation" or, simply “providing assistance or help”. INDB Services Technical Assistance (TA) basically means consultation with staff to address specific challenges you may be experiencing with a child or young adult who is deaf-blind. Technical assistance can be about any topic related to deaf-blindness (e.g., communication and language, instructional activities, recreation, visual and auditory adaptations, transition to adulthood, etc.).

Read more: Technical Assistance

Individuals from birth through age 21 who are deaf-blind.
Family members and care providers of individuals who are deaf-blind
Personnel from public and private schools, as well as public and private agencies, who serve persons who are deaf-blind and their families.
Any family member, care provider, and/or educator of individuals ages birth through 21 years with combined vision and hearing loss, may request services from the Project.

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