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CONTACT a Resource for Staff Working with Children Who Are Deafblind

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CONTACT a Resource for Staff Working with Children Who Are Deafblind CONTACT a resource for staff working with children who are deafblind Study Guide Acknowledgments Introduction Who is CONTACT for? What does CONTACT consist of? Module 1 Starting Out: What Do We Need to Know? Module 2 The School & The Staff Module 3 Children & Families Module 4 Learning and Teaching - Introduction Module 5 Learning and teaching Approaches and Methods Module 6 Learning and Teaching - Curriculum and Assessment Tape One - Starting Out Tape Two - Learning and Teaching How Should You Use CONTACT? List of Contributors Acknowledgments The development of CONTACT was a major project and could not have been achieved without considerable financial and professional assistance. This has been in principle a Scottish office initiative. We wish to thank the Scottish Office Education Department (Division concerned with Special Educational Needs) who recognised the value of Sister Ailish Massey's work and provided the stimulus and finance over a period of 3 years. Gratitude is particularly due to Alastair Milne, HMI (until 1990) and Margery Browning, HMI (since 1990) for their sustained help, encouragement and guidance. Credit must go to Strathclyde Region Education Department who have supported the project from the beginning; to David Harvey, Assistant Director of Education, Julie Bowen (Chief Adviser) and Peter Feeley (Adviser) for their on-going interest, advice and positive support; to Strathclyde Audio Visual Department without whose facilities and technical expertise the videotapes could not have been produced. Marion McLarty (Headteacher), staff, pupils and parents of Carnbooth School, Glasgow, willingly contributed their time and also gave to the project the benefit of their experience. Chris Lewis (Head Teacher), and the staff and pupils of Northern Counties School, Newcastle, trialled an early version of the first part of the course and gave us general and detailed comment which was invaluable in terms of shaping up the final product. Gillian Morbey of Sense (Scotland) also gave valued editorial assistance and specific guidance about resource materials and bibliographies. Her comments were particularly insightful and contributed a valuable parental and professional perspective. To all the authors of the text, illustrators, typists and designers we owe a special debt. In another dimension, a major contribution has been made by Moray House Institute who provided accommodation, administration and secretarial support all the way through. Marion Blythman and Fernando Almeida Diniz (Editors) Introduction The materials have been developed collaboratively but are very largely derived from 15 years of work at St Vincent's (Tollcross) Glasgow (1974-85) and thereafter at Carnbooth School, Glasgow. At the time when staff development began at these schools, there were effectively no training opportunities in the UK for staff working with children who are deafblind. It was during this period, that Sister Ailish Massey, who was the Headteacher, and Elizabeth Bryson, the educational psychologist, collaborated with senior staff in these schools to introduce, develop and test in practice a number of approaches to teaching children with the dual sensory impairment of deafblindness. Recognising the value of these programmes, and the need to have a permanent record of this pioneer work, the Scottish Office Education department made a substantial grant available to enable these materials to be developed, by Sister Ailish Massey and Elizabeth Bryson in conjunction with staff from Moray House Institute of Education, Edinburgh. Broadly stated, the main aim is to help all those working with children who are deafblind to meet the challenge they present and become more effective educators. It is hoped that you find these materials of help. The education of children who are deafblind is a complex business and a relatively new area of education, with staff development material coming along all the time, though these are not always readily available. The main influence on the philosophy and practice which underpins these materials comes from the work of Jan Van Dijk, a leading figure in this field and the methods used in the Instituut voor Doven, St Michielsgestel, The Netherlands. Without this source of help and their encouragement and support the work in Carnbooth School could not have been developed as it was. This set of materials has been designed primarily to be used in schools, particularly by staff beginning work with young (or developmentally young children) who are deaf-blind. Much of it could be used or adapted to the needs of children with additional learning difficulties particularly where there is a hearing or vision loss. CONTACT is a resource which should provide you with fundamental knowledge and skills on which you will build as you work in this area, to extend your skills and try to keep abreast of new developments. The authors have tried to make the materials as comprehensive as possible but would emphasis that it has not been designed as, an 'academic course' covering all aspects and approaches. You are invited to add further materials from time to time which you personally have found of interest or value. These will come from a number of sources reading, books and journals and any conferences or courses you get the chance to attend. Together this will help you develop for yourself and your colleagues a perspective and a resource which might begin to answer your own professional needs, the needs of the school and the children you are involved with. The idea has been to provide a package which is derived from practice and experience grounded in theory but which contains a strong practical element. It has been primarily designed to be used, in a school setting and ideally should involve you and your colleagues individually and in small groups. You will also want to relate it to your work with children in your school or unit. So it is essentially a practical guide, which should help you to identify key areas, reflect on relevant ideas and learn about specific techniques that you can use in your day-to-day work. Inevitably for the authors, it has been difficult to maintain the flexibility which was a natural aspect of the original face-to-face staff development situation. Ideas and approaches set in print can appear crystallized rather than responsive to the real life needs of particular children, staff and schools. Sharing with colleagues, however, and planning and working together can obviate this and help you to use the materials flexibly. This will encourage you to keep going and to keep looking further afield to seek out the practical solutions and further information you might need as your awareness and skills grow and develop. Most of the materials used in this training programme have been developed over a period of years, tried and modified in action. They have gained much from the experience of the authors and from the comments and criticisms of the staff at Carnbooth School who have used them over the years as a valued, intrinsic and on-going part of the work of the school. You will he interested to know that the music used on the video tapes grew from recordings of the natural sounds of deafblind children. The composition portrays the initial isolation and confusion in the deafblind child's life which, when structure and order are established is transformed into a meaningful and harmonious whole. The music was composed by Susan Cassidy of St Columba's, Perth and Julie McKenzie from Carnbooth School. Who is CONTACT for? CONTACT is aimed to improve the knowledge and skills of those education and development. involved with the education of children who are deaf-blind. It does not assume specialist knowledge or experience and is therefore appropriate as a framework within which to support on-going agency-based staff development programmes for New teachers in need of induction. Experienced teachers, psychologists and other professionals who wish to extend knowledge and update skills. Ancillary staff such as residential child care workers who are involved with all aspects of children's Parents as equal partners in the education of their children. Staff in schools for children with multiple disabilities may also find these materials useful though it should be borne in mind that the methods described are not specially designed for children with severe learning difficulties. Where children have global learning difficulties in addition to those arising from a dual sensory impairment it may be more appropriate to follow structured programmes especially designed to meet their needs, though we do hope that some parts of CONTACT will be helpful if used to match to the needs of the child and the staff of the school. What does CONTACT consist of? The contents are listed below Module 1 Starting Out: What Do We Need to Know? Topic 1 A brief look at deafblindness A Massey Topic 2 Common causes of deafblindness M Turner Topic 3 Introduction to observation E Bryson Topic 4 Introduction to communication E Bryson Topic 5 Introduction to mobility and orientation M Lee Topic 6 The network of support M Buultjens Module 2 The School & The Staff Topic 1 Background to education for children who are deafblind A Massey Topic 2 Case study of Rosewood School for children who are deafblind A Massey & M Btythman Topic 3 The visual, auditory and tactile environment A Massey Topic 4 Roles and responsibilities of staff M Turner Module 3 Children & Families Topic 1 A look at normal development A Massey Topic 2 Children who are deafblind A Massey Topic
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