PSU awarded $1.25 million to prepare orientation and mobility specialists to support deafblind students

Kyrsten Hansen (left), orientation mobility specialist and PSU special education alum (`20), offers hands-on assistance to DeafBlind student JiaFei Reeves at a crosswalk. Photo credit: Jacob Hogan

Individuals who are DeafBlind or have multiple disabilities face unique challenges accessing information and finding supportive communication partners, and require professionals with specialized training to support them in learning to navigate their communities.

The need for qualified specialists to support DeafBlind students and community members is critical. To address the need, Portland State University (PSU) Special Education faculty Amy Parker and Holly Lawson have secured a five-year $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for their pioneering project, "Touch-Based O&M with DeafBlind to Affect Social-Emotional Development" (TODAS). This innovative approach aims to enhance the independence and emotional well-being of individuals who are DeafBlind.

The TODAS funding will cover tuition costs and fees to help recruit and prepare 30 new professionals as Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists, including nine who will be dually trained as Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI).

The heart of this grant layers a new DeafBlind course on top of existing O&M program curriculum, integrating knowledge from people with lived experience, and practitioners who have been learning with the community about the spatial information that touch provides.

The project aims to help students understand how to teach using touch in ways that respect different cultures and languages, improves their ability to support social and emotional skills and prepares them to offer both in-person and online consultations and instruction.

Parker, an associate professor and coordinator of PSU's O&M program, said it's long been a dream of hers to better serve children and adults in the DeafBlind community. Children in particular, she said, are not able to advocate for themselves - and their families are not always aware of the O&M services available to them.

"This grant will help us create new knowledge about touch-based approaches for orientation and mobility. We are not only interested in GPS systems that talk to you, but other types of vibrotactile technology and approaches that support multisensory learning," she said, adding, "The power of touch can translate to access."

While sighted people as well as those who are blind have come to depend on technology like spoken GPS instructions to navigate their everyday lives, research studies indicate that many technologies have not been as accessible to DeafBlind individuals.

But technologies offering more tactile-based information have evolved, making it possible for this population to travel safely and know where they're going. For example, Accessible Pedestrian Signals once offered only visual cues. Later, they added auditory information. Now, they often offer vibrotactile information so a traveler knows when the walk signal is on for a street crossing.

"We want our students to know about those technologies and feel confident teaching travelers to use them," Parker said.

On top of the practical implications touch-based technology can address, the social-emotional impact is also a driving force in this project. It can be very isolating to be DeafBlind and not to be able to communicate freely with other people or to be able to travel to places to meet with others, go to work or be a part of a larger social world.

"I think that's the real difference between someone who is blind and someone who is DeafBlind," Parker reflected. "Someone who is blind still has access to sound and language and speech. Someone who is DeafBlind doesn't have that same level of access to environmental information or to communication in most settings."

"So, mobility is connected to quality of life and we want to collaborate with students who are DeafBlind as well as practitioners to help this population live their best life," she said.

PSU, recognized as a leader in accessibility discussions, offers the only O&M program in the Pacific Northwest, providing crucial training for professionals serving individuals with visual impairments. The success of this program is deeply rooted in its strong partnerships.

Similarly, this grant embodies a collaborative effort. By connecting O&M practitioners, DeafBlind leaders, educators and family members, PSU will gather diverse ideas and approaches to enhance accessibility and independence.

DeafBlind community innovator and Protactile language creator, Jelica Nuccio, expressed enthusiasm about participating. "We are excited to mentor PSU's O&M students so they can better understand our travel needs and effectively use touch and touch-based technologies," she said.

Megan Conway, the director of information, research, and professional development at the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults, is another important partner. Conway will bring her expertise as a consultant and evaluator on the TODAS project.

"As a DeafBlind person and a professional in the field of DeafBlindness, I look forward to following the progress of this project and its impact on enhancing the ability of Orientation and Mobility specialists to effectively serve the DeafBlind community," Conway said.

Kyrsten Hansen, a 2020 PSU special education master's alum and teacher for the visually impaired at Columbia Regional Inclusive Services, called the grant a groundbreaking step towards enhancing accessibility and independence for individuals who are DeafBlind.

"By integrating touch-based instruction and communication techniques, this initiative will address the unique challenges in instructing this population - a field where few truly grasp the nuances," they said. "Tailored support for both DeafBlind youth and adults will foster greater autonomy and transform lives through personalized, sensory-focused approaches."