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| Dr. Christopher Brum launched the Advanced Learning Series in Deafblindness. |
By Michael Klitzing
Imagine being blindfolded, fitted with earplugs and transported to an unknown location where a stranger gives you unintelligible commands. This isn’t a movie plot, but the everyday reality of going to school for young people with deafblindness.
According to recent numbers, more than 10,000 children in the U.S. and more than 1,100 children in California are living with the condition, defined as a combination of hearing and vision loss that causes severe needs. The relative rarity of deafblindness makes this population particularly vulnerable as there is a dearth of qualified professionals who know how to respond to the needs of these individuals.
That’s exactly the paradigm Dr. Christopher Brum, an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education, is out to change.
"If these kids don't have the right people working with them, they're doomed,” Brum said. “Even by the time they get into late elementary school, they're potentially exhibiting intense behavior issues. They just get deeper and deeper into this pit caused by lack of understanding about their disability."
In February, Brum launched the Advanced Learning Series in Deafblindness, a partnership between San Diego State University and the National Center on Deaf-Blindness. The online series features three 6-week units, each offering one non-degree-bearing credit at a cost of $80.
The first unit, which debuted last month and will likely repeat for a new cohort soon after, provides an introduction to deafblindness. The next two units focus on learning strategies and assessment. Brum said the series is an opportunity for professionals already working in the field — such as teachers, occupational therapists, physical therapists or speech pathologists — to gain specialized knowledge. His first online cohort includes students from California, New Jersey, Kansas, Florida and Virginia — but he sees the value for current educators studying in COE’s programs.
"I think the Advanced Learning Series is a really good way for teachers, when they see a need, to have an accessible way to get some more knowledge around that,” Brum said. “As a former special ed teacher, that was the struggle. It was 'Oh gosh I have this kid with this rare disorder. I don't know what to do.’”
This is the second online program around deafblindness initiated by Brum. Last year he partnered with California Deafblind Services to launch a Deafblind Intervener Training Certificate Program, which teaches paraeducators to effectively serve learners who are deafblind. The program — one of only three of its kind in the country — will complete its first cohort in June.
"The strategies that work with these kiddos work with all kids with disabilities,” Brum said. “You have to be attuned to how these kids use their senses and maybe try ways of incorporating a total communication approach where you're developing activities that target all the different senses. And you have to use more of a child-guided approach where, instead of forcing them to do something, it’s, “Let me see what you're naturally doing and I'll build my instruction around that.”
For more information on how to take part in the Advanced Learning Series in Deafblindness, contact Christopher Brum at cbrum@sdsu.edu.