Supporting schools and districts in the
counties of Holmes, Stark, and Wayne.
Vision: Maximizing Partnerships to Elevate Learning
The Ohio Center for Deafblind Education
The Ohio Center for Deafblind Education provides services in Ohio for individuals from birth through 21 years with deafblindness, including free collaborative technical assistance to families, education personnel, and service providers through training and information dissemination.
The News & Events section on the right side of the OCDBE website provides a list of their current professional development opportunities.
These events are not sponsored by State Support Team 9, but are provided for your information.
OCDBE Resources
The OCDBE website offers an extensive resource page, including state and local resources; international, national, and state organizations; educational materials; and more. For state and local resources, you can use the interactive map to locate agencies near you. To find out more, visit www.ohiodeafblind.com and click the resources drop-down menu.
Home Fire Safety Equipment
The American Red Cross and its partners install free assistive equipment designed to alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the event of a fire. Resources are made available as supplies allow. To request these services, you can fill out the form here.
EMPOWERing Youth With Visual Impairments Mentoring Program
The goal of EMPOWER is to equip transition-aged students with visual impairment living in rural communities, their families, and the transition professionals who serve them with the virtual supports to improve postsecondary education and employment outcomes.
Space for Me: COSI
As part of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) Space for Me Campaign, they recently visited COSI in Columbus to learn how they make science accessible for everyone. Visitors can check out sensory bags, explore tactile and braille exhibit features, use the universal changing table, take a break in one of their sensory rooms, and more! All of these accessibility features work together to ensure that visitors and families can experience COSI in a way that works best for them. To learn about COSI’s accessibility, visit here.
Center for Parent Information and Resources
CPIR shares information and resources for parents, schools, and early childhood programs about informal removals. The center describes how schools and early programs can collaborate with parents to address a child’s behavior; provides examples of evidence-based practices schools can implement to avoid relying on informal removals to address behaviors; and highlights resources parents can access to support their participation in their child’s education. Center for Parent Information and Resources | Your Central Hub for Parent Centers Serving Families of Children with Disabilities (parentcenterhub.org)
Sound shirts help deaf soccer fans feel the excitement.
Two sports fans who are Deaf in the U.K. have just experienced the crowd's excitement for the first time - thanks to sound shirts. Newcastle United and their sponsor Sela teamed up to bring the hi-tech shirts to fans. See the video from CBS News here.
Getting Started Guides
The American Printing House has created guides for families new to blindness and low vision. Access these resources here:
Parent Scholarship Program
OCDBE offers parents/guardians of a child who is registered on the Ohio Deafblind Census the opportunity to support and increase their knowledge about deafblindness by assisting them in attending conferences, trainings, and workshops. To find out more about the program or to submit a request, visit https://www.ohiodeafblind.com/for-families/scholarships/
Supporting Students Who Are Deaf with PBIS
The Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS), the National Deaf Center (NDC), and NCDB provide a new resource on “Supporting Deaf Students in the Classroom Within a PBIS Framework” to better address their needs and create more effective learning environments. Included are the top 10 practices to support and respond to students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs in the classroom. To learn more, click here.
Voicecorps Reading Service
Voicecorps is a reading service for people who cannot read due to a medical condition, including
Ohioans who are blind or have low vision. Volunteers read aloud newspapers, print publications, and shopping flyers. To learn more, visit https://voicecorps.org
SignUp
SignUp is providing media accessibility for the Deaf community. SignUp is a free-of-charge Google Chrome Extension that provides sign language interpretation on several popular streaming channels. For more information, visit their website at https://www.signupcaptions.com/
National Family Association for the DeafBlind (NFADB)
NFADB exists to empower the voices of families with individuals who are deafblind and advocate for their unique needs. Want to become a member? For more information on joining NFADB, click here.