1. The Development of a Deafblind Team:
A collaborative partnership to meet complex student needs
Deafblind Network of the Americas
April 16, 2018
Kendra Anderson, Annie Lehbauer, Rachel Kavanagh, Michele Kohut-Jones, Tanya Margison, & Michelle Schmidt

2. Surrey School District Context
Formed in 1906
70,000 students (largest in the province)
Geographical area: 328 square kilometres (126.6 square miles)
Larger than the city of Boston by approximately 100 square kilometres
172 languages spoken
101 elementary (K to Grade 7) schools
20 secondary (Grades 8 to 12) schools
5 learning & 2 adult education centres, a distributed (online) learning program, & a variety of satellite and inter-agency programs

3. Core District Values
Inclusive Education
Neighbourhood Schools

4. Student Context 13 “Designated” Deafblind Students in 11 schools
All but two medically fragile students, attended their neighbourhood school
Kindergarten through grade 12
Variable abilities and needs

5. Surrey School District Map with Boundaries
Elementary
Secondary

6. BC Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness
BC Ministry of Education Outreach Program
Mandate
Referrals
Educate and build capacity
In-service training
Educational programming
Strategies and best practices
Current research
Classroom peer workshops
Intervenor certificate program

7. Educational Planning Prior to Team
District partner changed yearly and did not know all the students
District leadership changed frequently
Categorical IEPs
IEP for Deaf/hard of hearing-related needs
IEP for Blind/visually impaired-related needs
IEP for Autism Spectrum Disorder
IEP for Chronic Health Condition/Physical Impairment
No IEP for Deafblindness
IEP meetings separate from domain (i.e., one for each, or one and not another—with no rhyme nor reason for why)
Adhoc approach to educational planning, intervention, monitoring, and evaluation
Students were often categorized as physically dependent, not deafblind. Their IEP program and supports didn’t have a deafblind lens

8. Staffing Context Prior to Team
9 Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TDHH)
4 Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI)
6 Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists (OT/PT)
BC Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness (POPDB)
5 Augmentative Communication Speech and Language Pathologists (AAC SLP)
No District Deafblind Intervenor
No focus Integration Support Teacher (IST)
Mismatch between teacher skill and student needs
Local collective agreement has no language

9. KEY Classroom Teacher Educational Assist. Case Manager (IST) Principal
TDHH
TVI OT PT
Nursing
AAC SLP
POPDB

10. Challenges Prior to the Team
Complex needs
Itinerant staff—consultation, not direct service
POPDB—only individual in the district who knew all students, yet was not a district employee
Amount and rate of staffing changes led to perpetual state of transitioning
Need for a cohesive continuous educational program, yet differing disciplines have different language, perspectives, experience, philosophies, as well as limited understanding of each other’s role and responsibilities
Discussion pertaining to some domains (e.g., Communication) often played out in front of parents and educational teams
Key people missing (e.g., OT/PT, Teacher of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing)
Absence of existing documentation systems
Insufficient knowledge, resources, skills, and time to create meaningful materials (e.g., calendar systems, object cues, weekly calendar, communication systems, communication dictionaries)

11. Timeline
April Attending & Presenting at Deafblind Network of the America’s Conference
May Romania Deafblind International Conference
September 2015
DB Team created
District Deafblind IST .5
TDHH
TVI
AAC
Fall 2016
District DB IST 1.0 District DB Intervenor TDHH
TVI
AAC
OT/PT
2014/2015
2015/2016
2016/2017
2017/2018

12.
May 25 – 30, 2015
DbI Conference, Romania
Connections with researchers Dr. Susan Bruce, Boston College; Dr. Nadja Högner, Humboldt University Berlin; and Cassie Cooper, SENSE Scotland
September:
Creation of Deafblind Team
Budget creation
Integration Support Teacher with a focus on Deafblindness (0.5 FTE)
Integration Support Teacher with a focus on Deafblindness – 1.0 FTE
Create Itinerant Deafblind Intervenor Position
October: 2nd pilot of TPBVDA assessment
December: POPDB Conference
February: Intervenor Networking Day with five school districts
December: POPDB Conference, Paul Hart (SENSE Scotland)
October: DB IST takes courses: Introduction to Deafblindness & Intervention for Individuals with Deafblindness and Additional Disabilities
December: POPDB Conference, David Brown
March: Develop brochure for parents of students with deafblindness “The Deafblind Team”
Ongoing:
Deafblind Intervenor Training for any interested EAs
Resource gathering
November:
-PRCVI/EA meeting to offer Braille Training for EAs
-Deafblind Simulation for staff
-Literacy Skills Checklist and focus on literacy with local University
March: Develop brochure for Teachers, Principals, and Vice Principals: “What is Deafblindness?”
April: Network of the Americas Deafblind Conference
June: Intervenor Symposium in Toronto; Canadian Deaf-Blind Camp, Winnipeg
December:
POPDB Conference, Vicki Rothstein
IST, Classroom Teacher, and EA Training: Intensive Literacy Training for students who are Deafblind
May: First pilot of Transdisciplinary Play-Based Van Dijk Assessment (TPBVDA) . Partnered with the Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired (PRCVI)
Improved recognition & support for capacity building (e.g., releasing EAs for in-service)
June: Summer Institute 2016: How We All Learn Maryland DC Deafblind Project
Position Identification Forms are more detailed and student specific

13. District Deafblind Specialists
©Beta News

14. District Integration Support Teacher: Deafblindness
District Partner
Team Leader/Case Manager: access and coordinate district supports (e.g., Teacher of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Augmentative Communication, District Intervenor etc.)
Co-ordinate/chair Individual Education Plan (IEP), Integrated Case Management (ICM), and Safety Plan meetings
Collaborate with team members to ascertain and create meaningful materials (e.g., anticipation calendars, object cue calendars, CVI books) and programming
Plan community outings (e.g., swimming, horseback, Snoezelen Room, etc.) as this relates to the IEP
Regular scheduled and flexible on-call visits
Model support and interventions.
Conduct specific Assessments (e.g., Literacy) to guide programming
Assist the Classroom teacher with general assessment and report writing
Play Based assessment—in collaboration with Provincial Resource Program for Children with Visual Impairments (PRCVI)
Transitions to Kindergarten and Adulthood

15. District Deafblind Intervenor
Peer support
Model deafblind philosophy and specific skills
Brainstorm and collaborate with EA for specific activities or general interactions
Develop, buy, and gather materials
Communication and calendar systems (anticipation and weekly)
Meaningful activities
Experience books and CVI books
Texture and sensory exploration
Share resources (articles, documents, books etc.) to Deafblind Team and school teams
Flexible schedule
Documentation
Photos and Video recording
Sort videos on individual USB drives for each student to track progress
Use photos to make books for the student
Communication systems and tangible symbols
Activity plans
Communication dictionaries
Individualized dictionaries with expressive and receptive communication
Visit notes and observations
Intervenor for assessments
(TPBA and literacy assessments)

16. Extended Team Pediatrician Parent/guardian Foster Parent
Behaviour Consultant (ABA or other)
Settlement (SWIS) Worker
Interpreter/Multicultural Worker (MCW)
STADD Worker/Navigator (secondary)
Aboriginal Support Worker
Other
Parent/guardian
Foster Parent
Classroom Teacher
Integration Support Teacher
Education Assistant (EA)
Principal/Vice Principal
Sign Language Interpreter
Nursing Support Staff (NSS)
Children & Youth with Special Needs/Guardianship Social Worker

17. Director of Instruction
Nursing PT OT
AAC SLP
TVI
TDHH
District Intervenor
Case Manager (IST)
POPDB
Director of Instruction
Educational Assistant
Principal
Classroom Teacher

18. Principles of the Deafblind Team
Student centred service
Building on strengths
Holistic approach
Advocacy (self)
Inclusive
Recognizing diversity
Integrated Case Management
Collaboration
Mutual respect
Participation
Accountability
Continuity
Transition planning

19. Catalysts Having several strong ‘champions’
Honest, trusting relationships with the other participants
Rationalization of the documentation required
Having the ICM case conference chair possess strong group facilitation/conflict resolution skills

20. Benefits to Students Common goal: the well-being of the child
Students receive needed services and information
Students feel respected
Students feel supported and that people care
Promotes understanding of students’ cultural context and way of doing things
Children and youth are viewed as individuals and capable learners, and as a result have betters social and academic outcomes and learn new skills
Shared understanding
Comprehensive goals (i.e., they are not written in isolation by domain)
Increased school capacity
Leads to parents’ involvement in decision making

21. Benefits to Practitioners
Shared responsibility, accountability and decision making
Sense of community – of people working together
Reduces sense of isolation
Provides opportunities for reflective practice
Provides opportunities for mentoring and a collective increase in professionals’ knowledge and skills
Enhances practitioners’ appreciation of students’ strengths and capacities
Decreases practitioners’ workload

22. Challenges Several individuals learning to work as a cohesive team
Overlapping roles
When schools have questions, we are sometimes unable to respond at the moment because of the need to connect with the other members of the team
Timely and efficient communication among team members
Triaging (e.g., programming/direct student support versus meeting with school staff or parents)
Pseudo administrator

23. Discussion Questions
In considering the school district context in which you work, how would the development of a Deafblind team benefit your students?
In considering the school district context in which you work, do you anticipate any challenges in the development of a Deafblind team, and if so, how might these be addressed?
If a Deafblind team does not seem like a viable option for your district at this time, what are some strategies that you might use/ideas that you might implement to ensure that regardless of changes in staff and circumstances, the student’s educational team continues to move forward in a cohesive manner.