Communication and Learning Assessments

Communication and cognition are tightly intertwined. Understanding the world and one’s relationship to it, the essence of cognition, is not easily separated from the child’s communicative abilities. (Rowland, 2009, p. 5)

The assessment of communication and learning in children who are deaf-blind is typically quite extensive and involves considerable time to both plan and carry out.

The assessment team should include an individual with expertise in assessing children who are deaf-blind. Key activities include:

Obtaining input from multiple people in a child's life, including all team members and the family
Using an "authentic" approach—gathering information about a child in their everyday environments and during routine activities (e.g., classrooms, with family, during transitions, while receiving therapies) (Rowland, 2009)

Standardized assessments are not usually appropriate because children with deaf-blindness are not included in the populations on which the tests are based (Rowland, 2009).

Online Resources

External Resource
Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children Who are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple Disabilities
This guide, published in 2009, provides a process for assessment as well as detailed summaries (see Appendix B) of assessment tools sometimes used with children who are deaf-blind, including the strengths and weaknesses of each.
External Resource
Communication Matrix
An essential communication assessment tool for both families and professionals. Available for free, online.
Document
HomeTalk: A Family Assessment of Children who are Deafblindpdf|275.8 KB
External Resource
HomeTalk: A Family Assessment of Children who are Deafblind (Spanish)
Holistic Communication Profiles
External Resource
Tactile Working Memory Scale
External Resource
Tablet Computers and Apps as Informal Assessment Tools

Offline Resources

Book: Sall, N., & Rikhye, C. (2022). Dimensions of communication: A manual to assess the communication skills and behaviors of individuals with disabilities. Council for Exceptional Children.

Book: Nelson, C., van Dijk, J., Oster, T., & McDonnell, A. (2009). Child-guided strategies: The van Dijk approach to assessment for understanding children and youth with sensory impairments and multiple disabilities. American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.

Book chapter: Crook, C., Miles, B., & Riggio, M. (1999). Assessment of communication. In B. Miles, & M. Riggio (Eds.), Remarkable conversations: A guide to development meaningful communication with children and young adults who are deafblind (pp. 94-123). Perkins School for the Blind.

Book chapter: Eyre, J. T. (2000). Holistic assessment. In S. Aitken, M. Buultjens, C. Clark, J. T. Eyre, & L. Pease (Eds.), Teaching children who are deafblind: Contact, communication, and learning (pp. 118-140). David Fulton Publishers.

Article: Bruce, S. M. (2010). Holistic communication profiles for children who are deaf-blind. AER Journal: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness, 3(3), 106-114.

References

National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness. (2010). Authentic assessment.

Rowland, C. (Ed.). (2009). Assessing communication and learning in young children who are deafblind or who have multiple disabilities. Design to Learn Projects, Oregon Health & Science University.

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