All good instruction starts with good assessment. There are a wide variety of tools that may be used, though we have some favorites. 

Students who are deafblind and functioning at or near their same-aged peers may be assessed using many of the standardized assessment tools used in schools. It is important to note that some assessment tools are not designed to accommodate the sensory losses these children experience, so, though they may yield some valuable information, your teacher of students who are visually impaired and/or teacher of students who are deaf and hard of hearing should be consulted.

Students who are deafblind and visually and multiply impaired or have significant disabilities can be very hard to assess. Assessment that is meaningful and yields information that guides quality program development may take a much longer time. Good and ongoing observation is critical to gather this information.

Here are a few tools that focus on students who are deafblind or have visual and multiple impairments to help you get started:

• • Assessing Communication and Learning in Young Children Who Are Deafblind or Who Have Multiple Disabilities
  • Assessment of Deafblind Access to Manual Language Systems (ADAMLS)
  • Child-Guided Strategies: The van Dijk approach to assessment from APH 
  • Communication Matrix
  • Functional Scheme
  • Home/School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills (HIPSS and SIPSS)
  • Informal Functional Hearing Evaluation
  • Infused Skills Assessment:
    • Evals: Evaluating Visually Impaired Students from TSBVI Curriculum Publications
  • Sensory Learning Kit