Blogs
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We are always interested in hearing ideas from the field, so please contact us if you would like to share your thoughts.
Blog contributors are welcome; please contact Kate Hurst at hurstk@tsbvi.edu or Kaycee Bennett at bennettk@tsbvi.edu to share your blog posts.
July 22, 2021 – Cogswell-Macy Tweeter Blast
This important message on the Cogswell-Macy Act came in this morning. Be sure to read and share this information with friends, family, and colleagues. This legislation is very important to the deafblind community and others. We need your help in contacting your senators and representatives to urge their support. With so many other important pieces of legislation in the works, they need to know this piece of legislation matters to you. Make your opinions on this legislation known.
July 14, 2021 – Calling All Chefs
This just in from Deafblind International Youth Network!
Today we are announcing plans of a new publication!
We are requesting young deafblind people to submit an original recipe from their own experience of cooking and baking. Perhaps a family recipe shared through generations, a favourite dish from your country or just a meal you enjoy to cook / bake.
Please share this post with those who may like to contribute to our DbI youth network recipe book.
The deadline for submissions of recipes is September 1st 2021. Please send these to simon.allison@sense.org.uk
If you have never tried cooking with your child who is deafblind, we encourage you to give it a try. You don’t have to start with elaborate dishes or begin by practicing your Bobby Flay knife skills. There are many things you can make together that are easy and fun. You may want to download the Independent Living Skills Recipes on the TSBVI website or read Hey What’s Cooking, an article by by Franziska Naughton and Sharon Sacks to get inspired.
July 9, 2021 - Do You Know about the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation?
The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) is dedicated to providing information and support to the albinism community. This organization provides resources and supports research about albinism. They have dynamic training using both virtual and face-to-face events targeting individuals with albinism and their families.
There are many types of albinism and hypopigmentation. Did you know that a variety of eye problems in albinism result from the abnormal development of the eye because of a lack of pigment? These often include:
July 8, 2021 – Deafblind Youth Network Publication
Deafblind International Youth Network publication. 
We are excited to hear about this new publication from Deafblind International’s Youth Network. Share this with everyone you know!
Hello from Deafblind International Youth Network
I am pleased to attach the 2021 Deafblind International Youth Network publication.
‘Young deafblind people live their lives in many different ways. Their choices and decisions are influenced by many things including where they live, their culture and heritage.
Being deafblind in a seeing, hearing world creates challenges. In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic created even greater challenges.
Are these dealt or coped with in different ways in different countries? This collection of stories provides a unique insight into of how young deafblind people have lived their lives in a new unpredictable world’
June 16, 2021 - Celebrating Joe McNulty
There are people in the field of deafblind education that make deep impressions on us for who they are as professionals, but also for who they are as people. This week we learned of the passing of one of these individuals.
Joe McNulty
It is with sadness that we are sharing the news that Joe McNulty, former Executive Director of Helen Keller National Center passed away June 14, 2021. Joe was an amazing man who helped lead the advocacy efforts for individuals who are deafblind as he co-chaired (with Michael Collins) the National Coalition on Deafblindness. The National Coalition on Deafblindness was formed in 1987 in response to a need to provide feedback to legislators and policy makers regarding the ongoing needs of children who are deaf-blind and the reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
June 15, 2021 - 2021 Deafblind Awareness Week
June 27th to July 3rd, 2021 is DeafBlind Awareness Week, and HKNC has posters and ideas for activities available for download on their website at https://www.helenkeller.org/hknc/dbaw.
The theme this year is: DeafBlind Employees Can Help Businesses Grow with Unique Insights and Perspectives. TrailBlazer, BigThinker, GoGetter, DeafBlind
The essence of the message is that 2020 was a landmark year for improvements in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), and disabled individuals have seen benefits of this progress. Talented employees who are DeafBlind are more than doing their part to assist companies grow. A recent study provided by Accenture, Getting Equal 2018:
June 11, 2021 - Support Service Providers White Paper
NCDB is sharing an outstanding new publication on support service providers (SSPs). Deafblind People and Support Service Providers in the 21st Century, a white paper written by a number of experts in the deaf-blindness field, includes details on the role of SSPs, how SSP services were developed, how to establish and operate SSP programs and train SSPs, and the challenges of ensuring that high-quality services are available in our communities. This is the most comprehensive publication to date on SSPs.