Welcome

The information and resources that you will find on this website can help you in adjusting to life with your new baby. Caring for an infant who has both a hearing loss and visual impairment can be a challenging experience. It is our hope that the links on this page will connect you to a wealth of information and knowledge to help you in caring for your baby and your family.

Touch

As a parent and family member, you are the most significant and valuable person in your baby's life. Your baby will come to know you by your touch. Touch is the beginning of communication and the starting point for shaping your child's learning and development. Touching helps your child to know that you are there and noticing what he or she is doing. Touch is essential to bonding and will develop the attachment that you and your baby have to each other. This article describes The Importance of Touch in Parent-Infant Bonding .

Touch and Touching is written by Peggy Freeman, the mother of a daughter deaf-blind from rubella. Her book, The Deafblind Disabled Baby - A program of care has ideas and suggestions that parents have relied upon for more than 30 years.

Communication

Holding and touching your infant is the foundation for communication. Early Interactions with Children Who Are Deaf-Blind describes ideas and techniques for expanding your responses and cues. You will find more ideas for routines and strategies in Learning to Communicate: Strategies for Developing Communication with Infants Whose Multiple Disabilities Include Visual Impairment and Hearing Loss.

Early Intervention

Early Intervention services during infancy and early childhood provide critical opportunities to influence the development of children who are deaf-blind. This article discusses the importance of quality early intervention services. Contact your State Deaf-Blind Project to locate a knowledgeable early intervention specialist to work with you and your child.

Resources in your state

It may be that your local medical and service personnel have had little or no experience with a baby who is deaf-blind. You should know, however, that there are families and service providers across the country who have had tremendous experience with deaf-blindness. Each state has a state deaf-blind project that can help to direct or locate services and provide support to families. Your state deaf-blind project personnel will know if there are experienced pediatricians, medical facilities, early intervention programs or other expertise in your geographic area. They may be able to provide training to you and to those who are working with your baby. Find the Deaf-Blind Project in your state and contact them.

Other Families

For more than 15 years, families of children who are deaf-blind have come together to support each other and to focus on the unique needs of their children. The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB) is a national organization with 10 regional representatives across the country. They publish a newsletter, advocate on the national level and offer support to families. Connecting with other families who have similar situations and experiences can provide a great many benefits. Email NFADB

National Resources

The federal government has a long history of supports to children who are deaf-blind. The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness, NCDB, brings together the resources of three organizations that have long histories of expertise in the field of deaf-blindness to provide national technical assistance, information dissemination and personnel training. As a result, yuo have, at your fingertips, the most comprehensive collection of articles, books, information and resources on the topic of deaf-blindness. We have professional information specialists available by phone or email who can help you to find exactly what you need.

We are here to serve you. We want to hear from you. Contact us at (800) 438-9376 (Voice) or (800) 854-7013 (TTY). Email us at info@nationaldb.org. Visit us on the web at www.nationaldb.org

We look forward to serving you.

The DB-LINK Staff