Verification Guidelines for Children with Disabilities

1. Verification Guidelines for Children with Disabilities Technical Assistance document Nebraska Department of education Special education office September 2008

2. Deaf-Blindness • Introduction • Three Part Eligibility Requirement • Meet verification criteria (92 NAC 51.006) • Documentation: Adverse Effect on Educational Performance • Determination: Need for Special Education Services

3. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • State Definition • Deaf-blindness or dual sensory impairments means a combined hearing and visual impairment, the combination of which causes severe communication and other developmental and educational needs. • Deaf-blindness or dual sensory impairments cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or blindness, unless supplementary assistance is provided to address the educational needs resulting from the combined disabilities.

4. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team Composition • Verification Guidelines • Hearing Impairments • Report from Audiologist verifying unilateral or bilateral hearing loss

5. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • Adverse effect on at least one of these: • Effective Communication • Expressive or receptive language development • Speech reception or production • Academic and vocational performance • Cognitive ability • Social or emotional competence • Adaptive behavior skills; or • Result in a social/behavioral disability

6. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • Visual Impairments A child with a visual impairment, including blindness, should be verified in one of the three categories: • Blind • Legally Blind • Partially Sighted

7. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) Visual Impairment: Blind • No more than light perception as stated in a signed report by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist • Need for adapted curriculum and materials • Educational significance of the visual impairment: • documentation of behaviors which impede the child’s overall functioning; • deficiencies in one or more of the following areas: daily living, social interaction, academic achievement, performance in the educational setting, or orientation and mobility

8. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) Visual Impairment: Legally Blind • Visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye after correction, or a field restricted to 20 degrees or less stated in a report by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist; • Need for adapted curriculum and materials • Educational significance of the visual impairment: • documentation of behaviors which impede the child’s overall functioning; • deficiencies in one or more of the following areas: daily living, social interaction, academic achievement, performance in the educational setting, or orientation and mobility

9. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) Visual Impairment: Partially Sighted • Signed report by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist to certify a structural defect, condition, or disease of the eye, which may affect the child’s ability to learn visually • Educational significance of the visual impairment: • documentation of behaviors which impede the child’s overall functioning; • deficiencies in one or more of the following areas: daily living, social interaction, academic achievement, performance in the educational setting, or orientation and mobility

10. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) In addition to these two criteria, the child must meet the requirements of either of these: • An assessment of the child’s functional vision. Significant delays in 3 or more of the visual behaviors should include but are not limited to: peripheral orientation, fixation, ability to shift gaze, ability to track, and ability to converge.

11. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) OR • A visual assessment as stated in a signed report by a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist to certify at least one of the following: • distant visual acuity of 20/70 or less, in the better eye after correction; • near visual acuity equivalent to or less than 8 point type at 40 centimeters, in the better eye after correction; • central vision field loss of any degree in both eyes; or • peripheral visual field of 60 degrees or less in better eye

12. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • Procedures to Determine Adverse Effect on Educational Performance: • Factors to Consider • Type and degree of hearing and visual impairments • Etiology of hearing and visual impairments • Age of onset of hearing and vision impairments • Age of identification and current age • Nature/status (permanent, stable, progressive, fluctuating) • Current medications and current medical information • History and use of interventions • Relevant family/medical history • Educational Performance (communication, orientation and mobility, language, academic, social-emotional)

13. Deaf-Blindness (cont’d) • Related Definitions • Frequently Asked Questions • References and Resources

14. For Additional Information Special Education Office Nebraska Department of Education Telephone: 402-471-2471 Web Address: www.neb.state.ne.us/SPED/sped/html