The Deaf-Blind Resource Team (DBRT) provides technical assistance to IEP (Individualized Education Program) teams to better support students who are deaf-blind. Through a collaborative model, the DBRT delivers training, professional development, and resources to multidisciplinary teams to support their ability to meet the unique needs of learners with deaf-blindness.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Deaf-Blind Resource Team (DBRT) is excited to support local IEP (Individualized Education Program) Teams in meeting the unique needs of students who are deaf-blind. Our team consists of educators with expertise in the fields of hearing and vision who have had specialized training in deaf-blindness. We provide technical assistance to IEP teams to develop and foster the skills needed to educate learners who are deaf-blind. Through collaborative efforts, IEP teams will be able to develop appropriate, personalized supports and services to ensure growth for learners with deaf-blindness.
In the fall of 2019, Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), through the PA Deaf-Blind Grant, invited the AIU to join the first cohort of Deaf-Blind Resource Teams being formed across the Commonwealth.
The AIU DBRT Core Members:
- Administrator Jeanine Esch, jeanine.esch@aiu3.net
- Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ToDHH) Samantha Estremera, samantha.estremera@aiu3.net
- Teacher of the Blind or Visually Impaired (TVI) Melissa Kenderes, melissa.kenderes@aiu3.net
- Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) Melissa Kenderes, melissa.kenderes@aiu3.net
- Educational Audiologist Kim Uccellini, kimberly.uccellini@aiu3.net
- Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP), Pending
- Training & Consultation (TaC) Scott Dougherty, scott.dougherty@aiu3.net
- Family Liaison Jennifer Pirring, jennifer.pirring@aiu3.net
Deaf-Blind Resource Team (DBRT) services are intended to support the professionals and family members around a student. Through a collaborative model, the DBRT provides technical assistance at no cost to multidisciplinary teams addressing the unique needs of learners with deaf-blindness.
This technical assistance may address:
- Understanding sensory and communication needs unique to deaf-blindness
- Promoting inclusion of eligible students in a district’s Deaf-Blind Census data
- Identifying tools for initial and ongoing student assessment
- Conducting observations to guide technical assistance
- Obtaining materials and resources
- Providing professional development opportunities
- Assisting with the Communication Plan (e.g., sign language, augmentative and alternative communication)
- Identifying Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals
- Selecting, implementing, and troubleshooting technology tools
- Facilitating team development and collaboration at the student-team level
- Identifying effective, instructional strategies and best practices
- Planning for transitions (e.g., person-centered planning, self-advocacy, self-determination)
- Supporting, engaging, and connecting families
The resource team does not provide direct student instruction, therapy, or services.
Administrators: Request for Technical Assistance must be initiated by the Local Education Agency’s special education director or building principal. Please use the online form DBRT: Request for Technical Assistance to submit the request.
Parents/ Guardians: If interested in receiving DBRT support, contact your child’s principal or special education director. The district administrator is tasked with initiating the DBRT Request for Technical Assistance on behalf of the student’s team.
The resource team does not provide direct student instruction, therapy, or services. If you are looking for direct services for a deaf-blind student, please complete the appropriate referrals through the AIU Deaf/Hard of Hearing Support Program and the AIU Blind/Visually Impaired Support Program.
- Click here for the AIU Hearing Referral
- Click here for the AIU Vision Referral
Stories and testimonials coming soon!
What is Deaf-Blindness?
The term “deaf-blindness” is any combination of vision and hearing loss, requiring specific instructional strategies that address the presence of both sensory impairments. In combination, the impact of these conditions, with or without additional disabilities, is educationally significant. This includes students with conditions that put them at risk for future combined vision and hearing loss. (PaTTAN, 2018)