LEARNERS WITH DIFFICULTY PERFORMING ADAPTIVE SKILLS

(DEAF-BLINDNESS)
Session Guide 2
Title: “ I Will Break the Silence”

I. Greetings
Say:
A pleasant day to everyone. I am/ We are _______________. I/We will
be facilitating the session on Learners with Deaf-Blindness (DB) who have
Difficulty Performing Adaptive Skills.

II. Introduction
“Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people,”
a famed activist and educator named Helen Keller ‘said’.

Learners with difficulty seeing and hearing have twice the hurdle to go
through when dealing with the practical, everyday skills needed for them
to function in this world. Their experiences are a combination of hearing
and vision loss. They have to meet the demands of effectively and
independently taking care of themselves and interacting with other people,
commonly resulting to problems in behavior. To be able to do so, teachers
from diverse backgrounds, have to equip themselves.

Objectives:
At the end of the session, the participants are expected to:
1. acquire relevant knowledge on the characteristics of learners with difficulty
in hearing and seeing;
2. use accommodations, teaching strategies and activities appropriate to the
learners with difficulty in hearing and seeing;
3. prepare instructional materials (IMs) applicable to classroom use; and
4. reflect on how one’s self is similar to a learner with deaf-blindness and how
they are unique on their own.

III. Time Allotted

Session: 2 hours
Videos: 30 minutes
IV. Materials
PowerPoint presentation, LCD projector, laptop
Metacards (of five different colors), markers, kerchiefs, noise-blocking
headphones, box containing varied materials (e.g. spoon, pencil,
toothbrush, napkin or tissue, buttons, etc.)

For IM preparation: recyclable materials, art or coloring materials

(Note: Have participants be notified to bring at least 2-3 recyclable materials
before proceeding to the venue.)

V. Procedures
A. Priming Activity – Charade (5 minutes)

1. Call on three (3) volunteers to perform the game of charades involving

the three main adaptive skills, namely:
a) conceptual skills: telling time
b) social skills: asking for help
c) practical life skills: preparing snacks (e.g. sandwich)

2. Let the participants guess the specific adaptive skill within a 30-second
time limit. [Use the rocket timer application embedded in the
presentation. Set the time to 30 seconds, then press start.]

B. Activity
Activity 1 (10 minutes)
1. Provide an overview of what the participants are expected to tackle for
this session.
2. Divide the participants into five groups. Have them complete the
following phrase with their own knowledge or understanding. Provide
each group a marker and a metacard to write their answers.

A learner with deaf-blindness is NOT…

3. Let each group post their answers in the semantic web or radial chart
posted or projected (Note: The facilitators may opt to use a manila
paper or a PowerPoint presentation for the said activity).

What's
COMMON
among
them?
 4. Identify and discuss the commonalities among the group answers.

Activity 2 – PowerPoint Presentation and Active Film Viewing (25 minutes)

1. Introduce one teaching strategy (use of “anticipation box”) that
involves how learners associate an everyday activity with an actual
object:
a. Cover the eyes and ears of the participants with kerchiefs and
headphones respectively.
b. Let the participants place their hands inside the box, touch the
object for at least 10 seconds, have them identify the object and
associate it with a specific adaptive skill.
c. Do these for three to five (3-5) times.
2. Present two videos showcasing how learners with deaf-blindness live
and what possible teaching practices or accommodations are done.

Deaf Blind from Bohol

Helen Keller

(See the references for the URL link.)

3. Give a focus question before the participants watch the videos:

- What specific accommodations or teaching strategies are used by
the persons shown in the video to address the adaptive skills we have
identified in the previous activity?
4. Have each group determine which teaching strategy and
accommodation are most applicable for the learner to be able to
perform the following adaptive skill. Provide the materials needed
(metacards and markers).
5. Each group will post their answers and then simulate a possible situation
using the listed teaching strategy and/or accommodation.

C. Analysis (15 minutes)

Ask these questions immediately after every activity indicated.

(In Activity 1)
1. Based on what’s common among the group answers, how then should
we describe a learner with difficulty in both hearing and seeing?
 Follow up: What misconceptions are brought up and need to be
clarified?

2. What are the factors needed to be considered in addressing the needs

of learners with difficulty in hearing and seeing in terms of their ability to
perform adaptive skills?

(In Activity 2)
1. Which teaching strategy and accommodation is the most effective in
your own opinion? Why?
2. Describe a situation wherein this strategy or accommodation is
applicable.

D. Abstraction (20 minutes)

Discuss and summarize the key points:
a. Characteristics for learners with difficulty performing adaptive skills
b. Teaching strategies and accommodations for learners with difficulty
performing adaptive skills (Deaf-Blindness)

E. Application (20 minutes)

Let them prepare an instructional material (e.g. tactile schedule) that
will address the adaptive skills of a learner having difficulty in seeing and
hearing:
Group 1: Telling time
Group 2:
Group 3: Asking for help / request
Group 4: Preparing snacks (e.g. sandwich)
Group 5: Taking a bath
Afterwards, they will give a 1-to-2-minute presentation explaining
WHY they chose that specific IM and HOW to use that in their everyday
classroom use.

F. Concluding Activity (25 minutes)

Let them watch the video about a deaf-blind adult in the
name of “Heather”.

Deaf and Blind: Being Me - Heather

Ask: What insights or reflections did you get from the video?
 Connect the video with a passage, reminding participants how similar
we are to a person with deaf-blindness and how they are unique on their
own:

A person who is deaf-blind has a unique experience of

the world. For people who can see and hear, the world extends
outward as far as his or her eyes and ears can reach. For the
young child who is deaf-blind, the world is initially much
narrower. If the child is profoundly deaf and totally blind, his or
her experience of the world extends only as far as the fingertips
can reach. Such children are effectively alone if no one is
touching them. (Miles, 2005, p.1)

References:

Action on Hearing Loss. (2017). Deafblindness.

file:///C:/Users/DepED/Downloads/Factsheet_Deafblindness_Aug
-2017_v1.pdf
Arkansas Department of Education (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://arksped.k12.ar.us/documents/policy/rulesandregulations
/B1.pdf

Deaf blind from Bohol recalls his experience during the Bohol
earthquake. (August 2015). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RERWIV_1mcQ

Geary, R. O. (n.d.) Students with deafblindness: An introduction.

Modules Addressing Special Education and Teacher Education.
Retrieved from
http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/db_intro/concept/

New York Deaf-Blind Cooperative. (2015). Instructional strategies

for DB. Retrieved from https://aerbvi.org/wp-
content/.../Instructional-Strategies-for-DB-2015_on-page.ppt

Perkins School for the Blind. (n.d.) Daily living skills in young children.
Retrieved from http://www.perkinselearning.org/ scout/daily-
living-skills-young-children#Mealtime

Sacks, S. Z, Silberman, R.K. (1998). Educating students who have

visual impairments with other disabilities. Paul H. Brookes
Publishing Co.
 This video is about Helen Keller. (July 2016). Retrieved at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joW26Bbjqc0

Prepared by:

Wilme F. Zabala Judy Ann K. Bolayo

Sarangani Division Benguet Division
Region XII Region CAR

Trinidad M. Lagarto, Ed. D.

Senior Education Program Supervisor
SLD – BLD
Department of Education - Central Office