(18) acquires devices and materials that are required
for each lesson;
(19) obtains, operates, and maintains assistive technology
related to vision and hearing; and
(20) adapts materials to accommodate for multi-sensory
needs.
(f) Learning Environment. The teacher of students who
are DeafBlind understands individual and group motivation and behavior
in order to create a positive learning environment that encourages
social interaction, active engagement, and joy of learning. The teacher
of students who are DeafBlind:
(1) understands the array of learning environments
within different service delivery models;
(2) understands the importance of competent communication
partners who can interact with the learner who is DeafBlind to match
his/her mode of communication;
(3) understands how to facilitate a multi-modal learning
environment by using the learner's functional hearing and/or vision,
while also promoting the bodily/tactile sense, as prime components
of information gathering and expression;
(4) understands the potential for elements in the environment
to be perceived as stressful by the learner who is DeafBlind and the
impact that may cause to his/her biology;
(5) assists others in the development of trusting relationships
and in becoming competent communication partners with the learner
who is DeafBlind;
(6) facilitates communication and interaction to provide
social and environmental access for the learner who is DeafBlind;
(7) makes appropriate adaptations to enhance the learner's
auditory, visual, and tactile functioning in a variety of environments;
(8) uses appropriate assistive technology to promote
the learner's access, participation, and independence;
(9) selects, adapts, recommends, or implements classroom
management strategies that reflect understanding of the individual
learner's needs;
(10) promotes an environment that allows learners to
orient themselves, move safely, and interact positively with peers;
(11) promotes an environment that feels predictable
and safe for the learner who is DeafBlind;
(12) reduces or eliminates unnecessary visual, auditory,
and tactile clutter in the learning environment; and
(13) adapts the learning environment by considering
the impact of the elements of the learning environment (e.g., glare,
lighting, auditory input, seating position) on the learner.
(g) Instructional Delivery. The teacher of students
who are DeafBlind emphasizes individual student potential and uses
a variety of instructional strategies to encourage the learner's feelings
of connectedness, success, and independence in order to promote development
of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills in both the academic
and expanded core curriculum to the greatest degree possible. The
teacher of students who are DeafBlind:
(1) understands how to create learning experiences
to make content meaningful for each learner who is DeafBlind;
(2) understands co-active teaching principles and practices
that support the competencies of the learner who is DeafBlind;
(3) understands attachment theories of human learning
that support the importance of reciprocal emotional involvement and
basic trust;
(4) understands the importance of learners who are
DeafBlind having control and influence over their own lives as an
essential aspect of well-being;
(5) understands the developmental phases of dyadic
interaction between the adult and the learner who is DeafBlind;
(6) understands the developmental phases of triadic
interaction in the shared partnership between the adult, the learner
who is DeafBlind, and the external world;
(7) understands how to support the development of positive
self-esteem in the learner who is DeafBlind;
(8) understands visual, auditory, and tactile adaptations
that enhance social/communicative interactions between the learner
who is DeafBlind and others;
(9) understands the use of augmentative communication
devices and other assistive technology that are appropriate for the
learner who is DeafBlind;
(10) understands various instructional strategies specific
to and/or adapted for learners who are DeafBlind;
(11) understands the development of language and literacy
in the communication mode(s) of learners who are DeafBlind;
(12) understands the basic principles of orientation
and mobility for learners who are DeafBlind;
(13) understands how to adapt and scaffold the general
education curriculum for learners who are DeafBlind;
(14) understands curricula specific to and/or adapted
for learners who are DeafBlind, including all areas of the expanded
core curriculum;
(15) applies co-active teaching strategies with the
learner who is DeafBlind in daily routines, as appropriate;
(16) applies tactile learning strategies in functional
and play activities, as appropriate;
(17) provides opportunities for the learner's increased
proprioceptive and kinesthetic awareness during daily routines and
planned activities;
(18) provides opportunities for the learner to develop
confidence by making choices;
(19) provides the learner with opportunities for self-advocacy;
(20) creates opportunities for learners to initiate
conversations in their preferred communication mode about their topics
of interest;
(21) determines and uses optimal proximity for access
between the learner and communication partner(s);
(22) determines optimal proximity of the learner in
relation to others that will enhance participation in group activities;
(23) identifies him- or herself and uses salutation
rituals in the mode appropriate to initiate and end interactions;
(24) acts as a bridge in order to provide access to
information about the environment, other interactions, and events
taking place around the learner who is DeafBlind;
(25) provides opportunities for the learner who is
DeafBlind to observe (auditorily, visually, or tactually) conversations
or interactions between others;
(26) provides opportunities for co-created topics of
instruction based on the learner's mode of communication and interests;
(27) provides multi-modal opportunities in order to
support the organization of events and the formation of mental images
and holistic concepts for the learner who is DeafBlind;
(28) uses scaffolding within the context of academic
and functional routines to provide consistent and predictable experiential
instruction for the learner who is DeafBlind;
(29) develops and implements communication systems
appropriate to the mode and developmental level of the learner who
is DeafBlind;
(30) uses formal language and literacy systems, as
appropriate, to provide visual, tactile, and/or auditory access;
(31) selects and prioritizes receptive and expressive
vocabulary that is meaningful and motivating to the learner;
(32) develops strategies to encourage the learner to
use multiple static and dynamic modes/forms of communication;
(33) provides multiple opportunities to use and expand
vocabulary through frequent and natural conversations;
(34) modifies existing literacy materials to adjust
for the learner's language level and reading media;
(35) designs and makes low-tech communication devices
that are appropriate to the learner's needs;
(36) selects and/or adapts assistive technology devices
as tools for communication or to meet other learner needs;
(37) provides opportunities for the learner to use
augmentative communication devices in a variety of environments and
with a variety of communication partners, as appropriate;
(38) uses naturally occurring events for the learner
to use and practice communication skills;
(39) recommends appropriate positioning to optimize
visual, auditory, and tactile functioning;
(40) implements strategies to accommodate for and to
improve the learner's visual, auditory, and tactile functioning based
upon evaluation results;
(41) supports spatial orientation strategies for the
learner who is DeafBlind;
(42) supports mobility techniques appropriate to the
learner who is DeafBlind;
(43) supports the learner who is DeafBlind to develop
his/her awareness of kinesthetic and proprioceptive sensory systems
as they relate to the body in the environment;
Cont'd... |