Key Details
- Categories
- Masterclass Series
- Course Code
- CPE25MCDB
- Start Date
- 19 February 2025
- Time
- 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Course Information
Deafblindness/ Multiple disabilities/ multisensory loss combines visual and hearing impairments. The degree of deafness or blindness varies in individuals, but the important factor is that this combination (two sensory impairments) creates unique problems in communication, mobility, and the ability to learn about the world.
Deafblindness refers to concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or blindness. Often, deafblindness refers to a total inability to see or hear, but many deafblind people have remaining vision or hearing that they can learn to use better.
Explanation of deafblindness based on definition: Model
The term deafblindness describes this heterogeneous and low incidence group, where the availability of human resources and expertise are very limited, and the service providers for this field are often lack expertise in the field of deafblindness. This generates the need for research in this field to provide in-depth knowledge to stakeholders and service providers working in the field.
Results from the available research studies show the following future directions as follows:
- Special educators and related service providers need training to apply their specialised knowledge and skills in ways that general education personnel find supportive.
- Preparation programs for general education teachers should promote positive attitudes toward inclusion so they will welcome students they are unaccustomed to teaching.
- Families must be recognised as critical team members and encouraged to become partners in their children's education.
- The provision of support services needs to be individualised, flexible and portable.
- The effort to encourage self-advocacy by deafblind people should be expanded to ensure personnel perspectives are accounted for when decisions affect their lives.
The Curriculum-Based Functional Assessment Checklist (CBFAC) helps teachers prepare and plan individualised educational programmes. It enables teachers and parents to monitor the performance of individuals with deafblindness. Policymakers will benefit from objectively assessing individuals with deafblindness attending inclusive education.
Objectives: After engaging in the following units, the participants will be able to:
1. Examine the current scenario of education for students with deafblindness (2 Sessions)
1.1 Concept, meaning and definition of deafblindness
1.2 Education and Rehabilitation in the field of deafblindness
2. Analyse the need for CBFAC based on currently available assessments and educational pedagogy for students with deafblindness (3 Sessions)
2.1 Need for identification and assessment of students with deafblindness
2.2 Types of Assessment for students with deafblindness: Clinical and functional assessment
3. Evaluate and apply the knowledge of CBFAC in research-based learning and teaching strategies. (5 sessions)
3.1 CBFAC: Domain: subdomains: tasks: items: score for Early Intervention & Functional Academic groups
The 10 sessions will run for 90 minutes each on the following dates:
19th Feb 12-1:30pm AEDT
12th March 12-1:30pm AEDT
10th April 12- 1:30 AEST
14th May 12- 1:30 AEST
11th June 12- 1:30 AEST
14th July 12- 1:30 AEST
13th August 12- 1:30 AEST
17th September 12- 1:30 AEST
15th October 12-1:30pm AEDT
12th November 12-1:30pm AEDT
Presenter
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Dr Shruti Bobade
As part of her PhD study, Shruti designed a curriculum-based functional assessment (CBFAC) for students with deafblindness (vision with hearing impairment). She studied various curriculum approaches and designs used in different countries to meet the educational needs of students with deafblindness with the aim of inclusive Education. Parents and teachers have used the designed curriculum-based functional assessment efficiently to track specific goal achievement of students to get mastery over the task. To design the CBFAC, she has worked extensively in special/ Inclusive Education and used different research evidence-based strategies to make teaching-learning result-oriented and fun-based learning. One of her specialties is multisensory teaching-learning. She has used various approaches such as puppet shows, act and role plays, games, music and dancing and nature-based learning.
In her previous work, she designed and implemented structural teaching learning instructions (standard curriculum) into need-based, functional, and fun-based teaching learning instructions for parents and teachers as a qualified vision and deafblind specialist teacher. During her research years, master’s and PhD, and work experiences as a lecturer, assistant professor, training officer and deafblind coordinator in New Zealand, she has managed and established professional relationships with various schools and organisations from multiple countries, such as Sense International, Perkins, governmental agencies, as well as families. Shruti has participated in several research conferences and published research articles.
With her recent experience as a deafblind coordinator in New Zealand, she worked with families and various agencies, such as schools and governmental agencies, to provide the best support to people with visual impairment and deafblindness. As a part of the job duties, she has also coordinated and advocated for people with deafblindness to get choices and assistive devices such as emergency devices, hearing aids, accessible housing such as railing, marking on house steps, etc.
Her research focuses on developing valid assessments and pedagogical tools to support teaching students with vision and multisensory impairment for educational and social inclusion. She has published over 15 research works.
