Vermont Sensory Access Project (VSAP)

VERMONT SENSORY ACCESS PROJECT: VERMONT'S DEAFBLIND PROJECT

The Vermont Sensory Access Project (VSAP) is a free, federally funded, statewide resource that is designed to improve the quality of services available to Vermont children and youth with combined vision and hearing loss.

Contact us about the Vermont Sensory Access Project

Current Deaf & DeafBlind Services

At the close of September 2018, The Vermont Sensory Access Project (VSAP), formerly known as Vermont’s Deafblind project, finished its final days of being housed at the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion. Weeks earlier, VSAP’s project director Emma Nelson started her own new adventures out West with her family. As CDCI cycles through projects and personnel, there is a bittersweetness as we have to say goodbye to friends and permit room for new relationships and services to bloom.

VSAP, the DeafBlind Project, and Vermont

The Deafblind project came to CDCI in 1987 and has helped to augment services provided by the Vermont I-Team as well as other Vermont vision and hearing service-providing agencies. This U.S. Department of Education-funded project works to increase the capacity of educational and early intervention teams, including families, in order to improve the lives of Vermont learners who have vision and hearing impairments. This technical assistance and training also works to prepare individuals for success after school.

The combination of hearing and vision impairment is often referred to as “dual sensory impairments” as well as “deafblindess.”

In 2013, the project underwent a name change from the Vermont Deafblind Project to the Vermont Sensory Access Project. This change came about in order to use language that was more inclusive and centered around access instead of impairment. While the name changed, the goal, to serve all children who need specialized supports for learning related to combined vision and hearing loss, has always been the same.

Changing Tides

Challenges with funding for infrastructure and personnel often occur throughout the cycle of projects. The five-year cycle of this project’s funding ended in September of 2018. After a year of planning and problem solving, the project team decided the best way to support the more than 30 Vermont students who are Deaf-Blind was to support the New England Consortium of Deaf-Blind Projects.

What’s Ahead

This project will continue in the hands of the three agency partners who have been supporters of VSAP and the DeafBlind population, including Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, CDCI’s I-Team and I-Team Early Intervention projects. In collaboration with Early Intervention Part C and the Agency of Education, these entities will be working with the New England Consortium of DeafBlind Projects. This New England Consortium already includes Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

The new grant is led by Tracy Evans Luiselli at the New England Consortium, and Vermont’s Nine East Network's Greg Weisel is providing training and TA to Vermont schools. CDCI will continue to be involved with the work of VSAP’s newest iteration, especially through the work of the I-Team and I-Team Earlyl Intervention projects.

We are thankful for all of the opportunities, challenges, personnel, and expertise that hosting this project for 31 years provided, and we look forward to seeing it and our Center grow in the years to come.

CDCI CARES Team Services

Our Service Model

CDCI CARES Team consultants serve as members of the school team with specialized knowledge of the unique access needs of students who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind (DHHDB). Consultants provide technical assistance and training to school teams in order to increase their capacity to meet the needs of these students.

All services are provided remotely and in person.

Consultation and Technical Assistance (TA) Services

The consultation and technical assistance services provided by the CDCI CARES team follows a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) model for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) services.

CDCI CARES Specialized Services include:

• Psycho-educational evaluations.
• Counseling through technical assistance consultation.
• Speech and language evaluations for students who are DHHDB.
• Support with understanding assessments for students who are DHHDB.

The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Services Model

Tier 1

Core Universal Interventions

Core Universal Interventions

Consultants recommend and offer training to public school staff on these preventative and proactive interventions that should be available to all students. Consultants provide recommendations and accommodations to ensure equitable access.

Tier 2

Targeted Interventions

Targeted Group Interventions

All of Tier 1, plus consultants work directly with the school team on identifying access and communication supports to develop targeted interventions.

Tier 3

Intensive Interventions

Intensive, Individualized Interventions

All services must be noted on an Individual Educational Plan (IEP).

This model aligns with the Educational Service Guidelines for students who are DHH developed by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). The NASDSE guidelines were created in partnership with a project through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

CDCI CARES continues to ensure equitable access for students with hearing loss in Vermont and assists in building capacity for Vermont public schools.

Services by Tier

Tier 1 Services may include:

• Communication with student team (e.g.school staff, clinical providers, student, and family)
• Record review
• Development of Technical Assistance plan
• Review of school acoustic checklist
• At-A-Glance student hearing profile information
• Access accommodations and resources
• Equipment troubleshooting
• Team meeting participation
• Self-Advocacy Peer Group participation
• Self-Advocacy educational team resources

Services for Tier 1 are remote, and provided virtually.

Tier 2 Services may include:

Tier 1 Services plus:

• Virtual/in-person support of hearing assistive technology selection and fitting
• Monitoring and implementation of use of hearing assistive technology
• Facilitation of VT Communication Plan
• Transition planning
• Increased meeting frequency and communication with student team
• Virtual/in-person as needed observations
  
  Tier 3 Services may include:
• Tier 1 and 2 Services plus:
• Assessment selection and interpretation for educational teams
• Monthly meeting participation
• Increased assistance with equipment and/or clinical communication
• Residential or day program consultation
• Support for the educational team to access direct service providers including assisting in the selection of qualified candidates
• Expanded training and consultation around best practices in DHH education
  
  
  Other trainings are available on request, based on topic, and consultant availability.