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The Critical Need for an Effective Communication System
Developing an effective communication system is often the greatest challenge a child with deafblindness faces, and it is also the most important area for a support team to work on. Communication is the key to all learning and access for the child. Its importance cannot be understated. There is a process of communication development that most children with deafblindness can be taught. It takes time to teach a child who has limited access to information, but it can be done. A child with deafblindness learns by doing, by being actively involved and “hands on”, not by watching or listening, since these are not reliable modalities for him or her. Once meaning is established with objects through routine and consistency, a skilled Intervenor can start attaching more abstract symbols and language to the objects and associated activities. This
process takes time and each step builds on the one before it. The unfolding nature of this communication process requires that there be someone on the support team who is familiar with the ongoing strategies used in the field of deafblindness and who can assess the child’s changing needs over time. This is the best way to ensure the child is presented with the next stage in the communication process at the appropriate time in their development. This is one of the primary roles of the consultants with the Provincial Outreach Program for Students with Deafblindness.
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