Through the Ohio Center for Deafblind Education, family members of children with deafblindness, as well as those comprising their educational team, can access a variety of services at no cost. Services range from consultations with experts in the field to topical trainings and the sharing of resources. OCDBE is connected with a variety of partner agencies, commonly making referrals so that families and service providers can take advantage of their specialized offerings. Information dissemination takes place through the sharing of the project’s lending library materials, as well as through the distribution of a newsletter, products, milestone packets, and other special updates.

The first step in getting connected with our project is to register a child, birth to 21 years of age, on OCDBE’s statewide deafblind census. Those who are registered become eligible for services, and can begin building relationships with our project staff, consultants, education personnel, and other families of children with deafblindness. If you know of a child who you believe to be deafblind, we encourage you to contact our project today so that we can be a part of your journey.

What is Deafblindness?

Deafblindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational* needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness and children with blindness. *Children under 3, intervention

AND

Degree of Hearing Loss

• Mild (26-40 dB loss)
• Moderate (41-55 dB loss)
• Moderately Severe (56-70 dB loss)
• Severe (71-90 dB loss)
• Profound (91+ dB loss)
• Diagnosed Progressive Loss
• Documented Functional Hearing Loss

• Low Vision (Visual Acuity of 20/70 to 20/200)
• Legally Blind (20/200 or less or field restriction of 20 degrees or less)
• Light Perception Only
• Totally Blind
• Cortical Visual Impairment
• Diagnosed Progressive Loss
• Documented Functional Vision Loss

OR

Have documented hearing and vision losses that, if considered individually, may not meet the requirements for auditory impairment or visual impairment, but the combination of which adversely affects the student's educational performance.

OR

Have a documented medical diagnosis of a progressive medical condition(s) that will result in concomitant hearing and visual loss that, without special education intervention, will adversely affect the student's performance.

Note: Deafblind DOES NOT mean totally deaf and/or totally blind. Most individuals who are deafblind have some usable hearing and vision. If you suspect that a child has a combination vision and hearing loss please contact our office for additional assistance.