Videophone Technology and Students with Deaf-Blindness: A Method for Increasing Access and Communication.

Structured abstract: Introduction: Seeing the Possibilities with Videophone Technology began as research project funded by the National Center for Technology Innovation. The project implemented a face-to-face social networking program for students with deaf-blindness to investigate the potential for increasing access and communication using videophone technology. Methods: Ten students with deaf-blindness aged 16 to 20 in four southeastern states were recruited through the network of Deaf-Blind Project offices throughout the United States. Criteria for selection to participate in the study were that the participants needed to have enough functional visual acuity to access a 22-inch videophone monitor and use manual sign language as a mode of communication. After a videophone was installed in each participant's home and school, data were collected over six months, using three primary methods of collection. The data were analyzed through a qualitative design method. Results: The primary outcomes were increased accessibility for interpersonal communication among the students with deaf-blindness, seen notably in subscales of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and through the development of themes involving the cultivation and maintenance of friendships with peers through interaction using videophone technology. Discussion: With the role of interactive technologies in our ever-increasing digital landscapes, timing is ripe for research that aids the advancement of accessibility to information and social interaction, particularly among populations that have historically been marginalized in traditional educational systems. Implications for practitioners: Dissemination of the results of the project through the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness and the American Association of the Deaf-Blind will encourage practitioners in the field to replicate the project's activities with videophone technology to benefit youths who are deaf-blind. ********** The term deaf-blindness does not refer to the total inability to see or hear--the range of sensory impairments included in the definition of deaf-blindness is quite broad (Miles, 2008). For example, many individuals with dual sensory impairments have some residual hearing or some residual vision or both that enable them to navigate environments, recognize familiar people, see sign language, read large-print text, recognize familiar sounds, understand the spoken word, or develop limited speech. Individuals with deaf-blindness frequently lack opportunities to develop meaningful relationships because of the challenges that combined hearing and vision loss create for connecting with other people and accessing information. Communication and mobility are often the most affected areas of life for a person with deaf-blindness, causing feelings of loneliness that result in conditions of isolation. Janssen, Riksen-Walraven, and van Dijk (2003) studied the specific qualities of interaction that are important for children who are deaf-blind, coining the term harmonious interactions to describe the basic human need to connect with other people. According to Janssen and colleagues, this connection--the experience of interacting with others--is essential for social, emotional, and communicative development among children who are deaf-blind. Seeing the Possibilities with Videophone Technology project Seeing the Possibilities with Videophone Technology was an investigative project to examine the potential to use existing technology in an innovative way to address the challenges that individuals who are deaf-blind experience in accessing communication. The study was conducted by a collaborative group of researchers led by the authors. Two other members of the project team included the director of the Mississippi Deaf-Blind Project and a special education professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) awarded the team a 2010 Tech in the Works Competition grant to conduct the study. …