My son Liam, who is deafblind, will be starting first grade in a couple of weeks in a mainstream classroom. Last year, I bought all of Liam's supplies and labeled them myself. This year I wanted Liam to be part of the process. And of course I wanted...
Deafblind
Posted by Liamsmom
My son Liam attends a mainstream public school. He just finished Kindergarten last year, where he would get these little mini-books that his classmates were reading. I have taken some of them and modified them so that they would be accessible for Liam, as...
Posted by Liamsmom
There are many reasons I tell stories to my child, Liam, who is deafblind. Storytelling is fun and motivating; stories can open up a whole new world to children in general, but especially to children who are deafblind. Storytelling can encourage conversation...
Posted by Liamsmom
I wanted to create some "science" books for my son Liam (he just turned 6 years old and is deafblind) for him to use for the next school year. I looked up first grade standards and noticed a focus on animals and their habitats, life cycles,...
Posted by Liamsmom
Phew. My son Liam's IEP meeting and IEP are now complete and we have a fresh set of goals for the next school year! IEP season is a mixture of feelings: determination, expectations, excitement and exhaustion! I love the working with...
Posted by Liamsmom
Reading books is my son Liam’s favorite thing to do. I have to say, I sure love reading with him and I love watching him enjoy books. I need to share a quick back story on Liam for those of you who don’t know. Liam was born with...
Posted by Megan Mogan
Looking back on my own early reading and writing experiences, I have a very clear memory of my first-grade classroom’s beautiful alphabet chart hanging over the windows of our classroom. I even remember the long wooden pointer the teacher used to direct...
Posted by Liamsmom
We have made it a tradition that my son Liam (who is deafblind) and his little brother Finn, each get to decorate their own small Christmas tree. Every year, I introduce new items they get to add to their tree. We decorate our tree in this order:...
Posted by Liamsmom
Enlist the help of friends and family to make these tactile books!
The purpose of these books is to...
create appropriate books, at Liam’s level, that he can read and enjoy independently.
be used in...
Posted by Liamsmom
When I was first introduced to the idea of "scribbling" for my son Liam who is deafblind, I remember thinking, “Scribbling doesn’t really make sense for my son since he can’t see what he is scribbling”. Well, I came to...
Posted by Charlotte Cushman
A group of teachers in the Deafblind Program at Perkins School for the Blind presented an hour-long webinar on various aspects of literacy for children with deafblindness: Literacy Adaptations for Students Who Are Deafblind with Christa...
Posted by Charlotte Cushman
Adaptations for a child who has a combined vision and hearing loss will depend on many factors, such as the amount of vision and hearing the child has, age, cognitive abilities, motor skills, and personal interests. This post is the first of four parts...
Posted by Linda Mamer
This post is a collection of my favorite applications (apps) related to hearing, speech work, and sign language. This list may be helpful to anyone working with children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind, including Speech Language...
Posted by Liamsmom
Our Liam turned 5 last week and his little brother Finn turned 2 the week before. Liam and Finn celebrated their birthdays together with family and friends by having a birthday party at our house. For those of you who don't already know, my son...
Posted by Linda Mamer
Making decisions about which applications (apps) for iPads are the most suitable for specific students involves a number of different steps. This article looks at:
Considerations for iPad App Selection
How to Choose an...
Posted by Faye Gonzalez
In an earlier blog post, I discussed guidelines for Using a Picture Symbol System for Communication and Literacy. In addition to the factors discussed in that post, another crucial consideration in designing a communication system for students...
Posted by Liamsmom
My son Liam (a happy, social, deaf-blind preschooler) has an intervener/interpreter that is with him at school. Liam’s intervener and I wanted to create a conversation box that he could use at school. We came up with an experience Liam...
Posted by Liamsmom
My 4 ½-year-old, deaf-blind son Liam identifies both people he knows and people he meets by their identifiers. For most people an identifier may be a ring, watch, bracelet, etc. that they always wear. The more he knows a person, the more he...
Posted by Liamsmom
My 4-year-old, deafblind son Liam goes to gymnastics every Friday; a perfect opportunity for us to have a ‘go’ at making our first experience book together.
What is an experience...
Posted by Liamsmom
Create your own books and activities for the blind or deafblind child in your life!
Liam’s story
A brief summary (very brief) of our Liam’s story: When my son was 2 ½ years old, he became sick with meningitis, the end result...