Introduction to Calendars for Students Who Are Deaf-Blind

Blaha, R., Borg, J., Clyne, M., Hartman, V., Martin, B. (2015)

Who Needs a Calendar?

• You do! You probably have more than one, right?
• If you ever lost your calendar, you would most likely react very strongly.
• Students with deaf-blindness have the same need for a calendar, as Barbara describes in the video below.

​

Transcript

Overview

• Most students with deaf-blindness are emerging communicators who need strong educational programming to support and expand their skills.
• For many decades in the United States and other countries, “calendar” systems have been used as a key element of this type of instruction.

​

Overview (cont.)

Much of the information that you will learn in this module is from this book:

​

Blaha, Robbie. (2001). Calendars for Students with Multiple Impairments Including Deafblindness. Austin, TX: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

www.tsbvi.edu

​

Calendars As Timepieces

• Calendars are timepieces for students who are deaf-blind, but they differ from the traditional calendars that most of us use.
• Each calendar system for a student with deaf-blindness is highly individualized so that it makes sense to a particular student.

​

Terminology note: The terms “calendar,” “calendar system,” and “timepiece” are used to refer to the same thing.

Calendars As Timepieces (cont.)

• The magic of calendars is that they allow students who are at very early stages of communication to understand abstract time concepts like “past” and “future.”
• Once understood, these concepts support the learning of additional time words even if the student has limited vocabulary in other areas.

​

Transcript

Types of Calendars

Calendars for children who are deaf-blind range from very simple formats that just tell you what is going to happen next, to annual calendars.

​

Types of Calendars (cont.)

Beginning Calendars

(non-traditional format)

Anticipation calendars

Daily calendars

​

Expanded calendars

(closer to traditional format)

Weekly

Monthly

Annual

​

Types of Calendars (cont.)

The beginning calendars look very different than typical calendars.

​

​

​

​

They keep evolving, though, as a student’s concepts, skills, and vocabulary grow. Eventually the student may move on to traditional calendar formats.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Anticipation Calendar Example

Benefits of Calendars

Apart from teaching students about time, calendars have other benefits. For, example, they:

• Promote emotional well-being
• Facilitate communication

​

Calendars Promote

Emotional Well-Being

• Calendars provide the security of knowing what will happen (right away or further in the future).
• They allow a student to know in advance when a change is occurring so she can be prepared.
• They make it possible for her to participate in controlling her schedule and planning her own life.

​

Promote Emotional Well-Being (cont.)

• Calendars provide a way to revisit the past.
• They support the pleasure of reminiscing.
• They enhance understanding by making it possible to review past events.

We went to the Louisville Zoo.

I met an elephant named Mickey.

I was a little scared because Mickey was so BIG!!!

Promote Emotional Well-Being (cont.)

Without calendars, children with deaf-blindness are forever floating in the present. They remember things, but they don’t have a way to organize them for themselves or others so they can reminisce. To not have this must be one of the most disorienting ways to live. It is almost unimaginable.

Calendars Facilitate Communication

• Calendars support conversations that use a student’s communication system.
• They allow her to talk about things before and after they occur.
• Conversations about things that have happened or will happen provide motivation for a student to communicate because they are about her life.

Dr. Jan van Dijk

Calendar systems for children with deaf-blindness grew out of the work of Dr. Jan van Dijk. Dr. van Dijk has over 50 years experience in research and education with children who are deaf-blind. He is considered the godfather of the practice of designing and using calendars with these students.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The value of [a calendar] cannot be overestimated. It gives the child security and he can anticipate the next event. Last, but not least, it stimulates communication.

- Dr. Jan van Dijk

​

​

A Calendar is More Than

Just a Schedule

• As you can see, the types of calendars we are talking about are very different from those that are typically used in classrooms.
• They are also different from those that are typically used for special education students.

​

​

​

​

​

A Calendar is More Than

Just a Schedule (cont.)

In special education, the goal is often to give a student a to-do list for him to follow independently--to test him, rather than to experience events and the flow of time with him.

​

Transcript

A Calendar is More Than

Just a Schedule (cont.)

Although, a daily schedule is an important part of calendar systems, well-designed and properly implemented calendars are much much more.

​

​

​

​

Transcript

A Calendar is More Than

Just a Schedule (cont.)

Calendars provide opportunities for conversations.

Transcript

Before You Begin

• In the other learning activities in this module you will learn much more about specific types of calendars.
• Before we do that, however, we want to provide you with some basic information that applies to all types of calendars.
• This relates to designing and using a calendar so that it is appropriate for a particular student with all of her unique characteristics.

​

​

Before You Begin (cont.)

Before you can begin a calendar system for a student, you must:

1. Ensure that she has a communication system in place.
2. Design a schedule of effective routines (routines and calendars go together).
3. Determine the accommodations that she will need. It is essential to know this in order to individualize the calendar so that it is accessible and interesting.

​

​

Customization

Each calendar is designed for a particular student based on:

• Her preferences
• The type of communication system she uses
• Her current understanding of time
• Her accommodation needs (e.g., visual, tactile, and auditory)

​

Transcript

What Are Accommodations?

• Accommodations are changes to materials, settings, or instruction that help a student access information and communication despite combined vision and hearing loss.
• Having proper accommodations is essential to having a calendar system that works for a student.

What Are Accommodations? (cont.)

Examples of accommodations include:

• Changes to lighting
• Changes to the work area
• Supports to maximize vision
• Supports to maximize hearing
• Individualized educational strategies (e.g., pacing, wait time, breaks, close instruction)

​

Accommodations Assignment

Now we are going to do a short assignment.

• Get the assignment sheet called “Analyzing Accommodations in a Calendar Routine” that you downloaded before beginning this slide presentation.
• On the next slide you will watch a video clip of a student named Jason and analyze his accommodations.
• Jason’s hearing loss prevents him from understanding speech so he relies on his available vision and uses pictures, sign, and print to communicate.

​

​

Accommodations Assignment (cont.)

Instructions

As you watch this video, write down all the accommodations that you see on your assignment sheet, “Analyzing Accommodations in a Calendar Routine.”

Note: Jason is writing out his schedule as part of a 3-week calendar (you will learn about these types of calendars in in Learning Activity 3).

​

Audio Description and Transcript

A List of Jason’s Accommodations

On this slide and the next is a list of the accommodations shown in the video. How many did you get right?

• Get Jason’s attention before signing to him.
• Close vision signing
• (The typical distance for signing in a classroom is 3 feet to 15 feet; Jason requires it to be within 20 inches.)
• Tactual signing when necessary to reduce the eye fatigue that results from Jason shifting his gaze back and forth between the calendar and signing.

​

(continued on next slide)

A List of Jason’s Accommodations (cont.)

• Clutter-free working space
• Bold lined paper
• Black felt tip pens
• Slowing the pacing of the activity when he starts to read or write more slowly
• Frequent “vision breaks” to offset eye fatigue
• Area lighting (a lamp or overhead projector can spotlight the writing task and help illuminate visual signing)
• Encourage Jason to work on the task independently, but ask for help as needed

​

An Additional Note About Jason’s Accommodations

• Jason’s eyes get tired easily. Many of his accommodations are to help him cope with eye fatigue.
• You probably noticed that he was able to “listen” to signed information with his left hand while he wrote with his right. This was a way to give his eyes a break from close visual signing.
• (This is one reason a student will combine close signing and tactile signing as part of his communication mode.)
• Jason puts his hand on the intervener’s hand when she is writing, while he looks away to rest his eyes. It is an indication that he is staying engaged.

Accommodations Assignment (cont.)

Now watch the video again while you look for these accommodations:

• Get Jason’s attention before signing.
• Close vision signing.
• Intermittent tactile signing
• Clutter-free workspace
• Bold lined paper
• Black felt tip pen
• Slowing the activity when necessary
• Frequent “vision breaks”
• Area lighting
• Encourage independent work with asking for help when needed

Audio Description

​

Accommodations Assignment (cont.)

Click on this video to hear one of Jason’s teachers describe some recent vision changes and how the educational team has had to alter his accommodations as a result of these changes.

​

​

Next, go back to your assignment sheet and respond to the following questions:

1. Why are Jason’s accommodations being changed?
2. Some students with deaf-blindness will need ongoing observations to ensure that their accommodations are correct. How can an intervener help the team with this process?

​

​

Transcript

OHOA Deaf-Blind Intervener Learning Modules

​

A national resource designed to increase awareness, knowledge, and skills related to the process of intervention for students who are deaf-blind. Developed by National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

​

​

For more information, contact NCDB at

info@nationaldb.org.

​

​

​

The contents of this presentation were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education #H326T130013. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the The Research Institute, nor the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Jo Ann McCann.

​

​