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The Arkansas Project for Children
with Deafblindness is a federally funded program
serving individuals from birth through age 21 who are deafblind
or at risk of being deafblind. The project provides
training, technical assistance and information to families,
educators and others who work with these individuals.
The Project supports the philosophy of the inclusion of the individual
with deafblindness in educational, vocational, recreational
and community environments. The Project's Advisory
Committee includes parents, consumers, and representatives
of education, early childhood services, adult service providers,
state agencies, higher education, and advocacy organizations.
 What Are the Causes Of Deafblindness? |
The varied causes may include:
- Prematurity
- CHARGE Association
- Usher's Syndrome
- Central Nervous System Dysfunction
- Viral infections such as cytomegalovirus (CMV)
- Brain diseases, such as meningitis or encephalitis
- Genetic abnormalities
- Prenatal exposure to drugs
- Various syndromes
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What Services Are Provided by the Project? |
- Training based on needs expressed by local school district or individual agency
- Parent support meetings
- Family and professional networking and sharing of effective practices
- Onsite consultations by request
- Resource library for families and professionals
- Information dissemination regarding deafblindness and Project activities
- Maintenance of a census of children birth through age 21 who are deafblind
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What Training Topics Are Offered by the Project? |
- Overview of deafblindness
- Communication strategies
- Functional, age appropriate curriculum
- INCLUDING, students who are deafblind
- Positive behavior support for students who are deafblind
- Instructional strategies
- Collaborative teaming methods
- Parent-professional collaboration
- Early intervention
- Personal futures planning/MAPS
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Who Is Eligible for Services From the Project? |
- Individuals from birth through age 21 who have:
- Both vision and hearing impairments
- Both vision and hearing impairments and an additional learning and/or language disability
- Been diagnosed as having a degenerative disease that will affect both vision and hearing, such as Usher's Syndrome or CHARGE Association
- Have multiple disabilities due to generalized central nervous system dysfunction and exhibit inconsistent responses to visual and auditory stimuli (These individuals are determined to be functionally deafblind.)
- Education personnel and service providers serving at least one person from birth through age 21 who is deafblind.
- Parents, family members and care providers of individuals from birth through age 21 who are deafblind.
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Resources |
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Additional information on Deafblindness including communication,
causes, books, videos, organizations, support services
& mailing lists.
Brochures
Newsletter Archives
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