Helen Keller was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. She overcame her disabilities with the help of her teacher Annie Sullivan and became an author, activist, and lecturer. Deaf-blindness is a condition with simultaneous hearing and visual impairments that causes developmental needs beyond special education programs for deafness or blindness alone. It affects communication, navigation, independence, and social engagement. Education and resources focus on early intervention, specialized schools, assistive technology, and learning strategies adapted to individual needs and abilities.

1. Deaf-Blindness
By Chelsea Ellis and
Janelle Baguley

2. Helen Keller
(June 27, 1880 June 1, 1968)
American author, political activist, and
lecturer
First deaf-blind person to earn a
Bachelor of Arts degree.
The story of how Keller's teacher,
Annie Sullivan, broke through the
isolation imposed by a near complete
lack of language, allowing the girl to
blossom as she learned to
communicate
Keller was well traveled and was
outspoken in her opposition to war.
She campaigned for women's
suffrage, workers' rights, and
socialism, as well as many other
progressive causes.

3. Legal Definition
 Simultaneous 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 or children with blindness.

4. Stats and Facts
 Affects about 45,000 to 50,000 people in the U.S.
 Common for people to have some residual hearing
and/or vision
 Causes:
 Illness
 Accident
 Genetic syndrome like Usher Syndrome
 Premature birth
 Meningitis
 Post-natal complications

5. Characteristics
 Auditory impairment and visual impairment with vision
loss being the primary disability
 Auditory impairment and vision impairment with
auditory impairment as the primary disability
 Auditory impairment and blindness; deafness, visual
impairment, and deaf-blindness

6. Characteristics Cont’d
 Congenitally Deaf-Adventitiously Blind
 Congenitally Deaf-Blind
 Adventitiously Deaf-Blind
 Adventitiously Deaf-Congenitally Blind
Degrees
 Hard of Hearing-Blind
 Hard of Hearing-Visually Impaired
 Deaf-Visually Impaired
 Deaf-Blind

7. Challenges
 Dependent on others
 Communication
 Navigating surroundings
 Finding social, living, and employment situations
 Reaction from others because of differences

8. Communication
Tactile sign language
Close-vision sign language
Writing notes in large print/ Braille
Gestures
Pictures
Lip reading
Touch cues
Ear/assistive listening device
Text file on computer disk
Audio recordings

9. Education
 Early Intervention Services
 Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program of IDEA
(Part C)
 Ages birth to 3
 Services address developmental and learning needs
 Ex: Baby Watch Early Intervention Program
 Special Education
 Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB)

10. Learning Strategies
 Talk with student (where possible) to see what
resources they require.
 Assisted Listening Devices- Small device worn by
instructor that increases volume and clarity of lecture.
 Interpreter
 Note takers
 Tutors
 Readers

11. Learning Strategies Cont’d
 Handouts that are converted into students
preferred reading style (i.e. braille)
 Large Print/Braille Materials or Taped Textbooks
 Reading Machines
 Audiovisual Materials
 Oral tests, extended test time, reading machine,
better lighting and possibly test converted to braille

12. Resources
 http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/deafblindness
 http://www.nationaldb.org/ISSelectedTopics.php?topicI
D=941&topicCatID=24
 http://www.hknc.org/
 http://www.aadb.org/
 http://wwwcms.hutchcc.edu/uploadedFiles/Student_Re
sources/Disability_Services/tpshtdb.pdf
 http://www.nationaldb.org/NCDBProducts.php?prodID=
48

13. Additional Resources
 http://www.usdb.org/deafblind/default.aspx
 http://www.deafblindinfo.org/
 http://www.utahbabywatch.org/index.htm
 http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-
9361967/