Who's Eligible for Our Services?

The student must be enrolled in a School District, or attending a Band School within British Columbia, Canada. The Ministry of Education Guidelines are as follows:

A student with deafblindness has a degree of visual and auditory impairment which, when compounded, results in significant difficulties in developing communicative, educational, vocational, avocational, and social skills.

To be considered deafblind the student's vision and auditory impairments can range from partial sight to total blindness and from moderate to profound hearing loss.

If you have any questions regarding a student's eligibilty, please contact the BC Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness, and speak with the Program Coordinator. If it is necessary, a previsit from one of our consultants may be arranged to meet with the team and the student to help determine eligibility for service.

For the complete guidelines link to the Ministry of Education at

If your student is deafblind with additional disabilities, why should you claim them in
Funding Category E.7 Deafblind, rather than in E.8 Physical Disabilities?

1.  If a student with deafblindness and additional physical needs is designated in the “physically dependent - A category”, only one aspect of this student’s needs are being addressed and does not reflect their needs as a student with deafblindness. If a posting goes out for a position or a student arrives at a new school and the paperwork has a student listed in “A” category, a mental picture of who this student is may be created (e.g. uses a wheelchair, needs support with personal care etc.). Based on this description, a teaching assistant may be hired for this individual based solely on their experiences with individuals who are "physically dependent".  If an individual is identified in “Category B - deafblind”, this creates a different reaction. The first response would likely be to ask questions, "What is deafblindness?”; "How is this different from a student who is physically dependent?”; "What do I need to find out to address this student’s needs?”.  Once deafblindness has been brought to the forefront, school staff should explore further and call upon their Itinerate Teachers and District staff for support and answers. At this point a referral to the BC Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness should be made.
2.  When a student enters a new school or a classroom, the physical needs are very easy to identify. The visual and auditory losses are not immediately evident in the same way the physical needs are. In some situations this may lead to a delay in identifying the student's visual and auditory needs resulting in inappropriate programming and a misunderstanding of the student's lack of response. If the student is listed as deafblind up front this should be less likely to occur.

3.  Accountability between the Ministry of Education, the School Districts, and the Deafblind Outreach Program is important in terms of accurate numbers of individuals with deafblindness in the province.  We are fortunate that the Ministry of Education considers deafblindness as a unique disability and have a specific category for funding.  It is our responsibility to accurately account for our students and ensure they are identified and their needs recognized.