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- Emotional Behavioral Disorder
- Hearing Impairment or Deafness
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- Specific Learning Disability
- Speech and Language Disability or Impairment
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- Visual Impairment and Blindness
Treatments
Treatable conditions
Some conditions that have led to deaf-blindess may be treatable through surgery or by using medicines. For example:
- Cataracts can be treated by surgically implanting an artificial lens in the eye
- Glaucoma can be treated using eye drops and laser surgery
- Diabetic retinopathy can be treated with laser surgery, but only in the early stages of the condition, before symptoms become noticeable
- Accumulated earwax is one of the most common causes of hearing loss and can be treated with ear drops
- If hearing loss is caused by otitis media (an infection of the middle ear), it can usually be treated with antibiotics
If the conditions that have lead to deaf-blindess are not treatable, a treatment plan will be drawn up. Goals of the treatment plan may include:
- Preserving and maximizing any remaining sensory functions
- Training in order to retain as much independence as possible
There is a range of equipment that can be used to assist both vision and hearing.
Vision aids
- Vision can be improved using glasses and magnifying lenses. There are also everyday items, such as telephones and keyboards, that have been specially designed for people with reduced vision
- Speech enabled websites
- Software to read text on a screen aloud
- Most libraries stock a selection of large-print books and 'talking books' (where the text of the book is read aloud and recorded onto a CD)
- Hearing loss may be improved with the use of hearing aids. A hearing aid consists of a microphone to pick up sound and an amplifier to increase the sound. Hearing aids are a helpful way of improving communication, but they do not restore hearing to normal.
- People with profound hearing impairment may benefit from a cochlea implant. The cochlea is a coiled, hollow tube inside your inner ear that enables you to hear. A cochlea implant transmits sound directly into your ear's auditory nerve through an electrical wire that is implanted into the cochlea.
There are several communication systems that can be used by deaf-blind people, which are outlined below.
Deaf-blind manual alphabet
- The deaf-blind manual alphabet involves spelling out words using special gestures on the deaf-blind person's hands, for example touching the tip of their thumb to spell the letter 'A'.
- The block alphabet is a simple communication method. Each letter of a word is spelled out in capital letters onto the deaf-blind person's palm. This is used by a variety of deaf-blind people, including those who may not be able to use the deaf-blind manual alphabet.
- Hands-on signing is a communication method that uses an adapted version of British Sign Language (BSL). The deaf-blind person places their hands over the hands of the person who is signing. This method is often used by people with Usher syndrome once their vision starts deteriorating, as they have BSL as their first language.
- Braille uses a series of raised dots to represent letters, or groups of letters. A wide range of Braille publications and specially designed computers are also available that allow you to type and print Braille documents.
- Moon is a communication system that is similar to Braille, but it uses raised symbols to represent words, rather than dots.
- Tadoma is a communication method whereby the deaf-blind person places their thumb on a person's lips and their fingers on their jaw line so that they can feel the vibrations of the person's throat. The combination of these two tactile (using the sense of touch) sensory inputs enables the deaf-blind person to build up a good understanding of what is being said. However, it is not used by many deaf-blind people.