Virginia Administrative Code › Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES › Agency 45 - DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND AND VISION IMPAIRED › Chapter 100 - REGULATIONS GOVERNING DEAF-BLIND SERVICES › Section 22VAC45-100-10 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 40, No. 24, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
				  shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
Blind person," as defined in § 51.5-60 of the Code of
				  Virginia, means an individual who has central visual acuity of 20/200 or less
				  in the better eye, as measured with best correction, or a limitation in the
				  field of vision in the better eye, such that the widest diameter of the visual
				  field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less.
"DeafBlind Services" means special assistance and supports
				  person needs because of a combined loss of vision and hearing; including an
				  interpreter for a person who is deafblind; communication skills assessment and
				  training; and assessment of special aids and devices such as tactile or visual
				  signaling systems, telecommunication devices, and assistive listening devices.
"DBVI" means the Department for the Blind and Vision
				  Impaired.
"Department" means the Department for the Blind and Vision
				  Impaired.
"Persons who are deaf," as defined in subdivision 1 of §
				  51.5-111 of the Code of Virginia, means individuals whose hearing is totally
				  impaired or whose hearing, with or without amplification, is so seriously
				  impaired that the primary means of receiving spoken communication is through
				  visual input such as lip-reading, sign language, finger spelling, reading, or
				  writing.
"Persons who are deafblind," pursuant to 20 USC §
				  1905(2)(B) and 29 USC § 1905(2)(A), means individuals:
(i) who have central visual acuity of 20/200
				or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a field defect such that
				the peripheral diameter of visual fields subtends an angular distance no
				greater than 20 degrees, or a progressive visual loss having a prognosis
				leading to one or both of these conditions;
(ii) who have a chronic hearing impairment so
				severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification, or a
				progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this condition;
(iii) for whom the combination of
				impairments described in this definition cause extreme difficulty in attaining
				independence in daily life activities, achieving psychological adjustment, or
				obtaining a vocation; and
(iv) who,
				despite the inability to be measured accurately for hearing and vision loss due
				to cognitive or behavioral constraints, or both, can be determined through
				functional and performance assessments to have severe hearing and visual
				disabilities that cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily
				life activities, achieving psychological adjustment or obtaining vocational
				objectives.
"Persons who are hard-of-hearing," as defined in subdivision
				  2 of § 51.5-111 of the Code of Virginia, means those individuals whose
				  hearing is impaired to an extent that makes hearing difficult but does not
				  preclude the understanding of spoken communication through the ear alone, with
				  or without a hearing aid.
"Severely visually impaired" means vision no better than
				  20/70 in the better eye with correction or a field of vision restricted to 70
				  degrees or less in the better eye.
"Speech discrimination" means the ability to hear and
				  understand spoken communication.
Statutory Authority: § 51.5-60 of the Code of
					 Virginia.