FAQ Sheet About Students with Sensory Impairments
The learning process is markedly different for students with sensory impairments and instructional methods for these individuals must differ from those used for the general population. The table below lists some key facts about individuals with sensory impairments and describes possible outcomes of the condition.
| Who are they? | Classifications may include |
| • Blind or visually impaired | |
| • Deaf or hard of hearing | |
| • Deaf-blind | |
| What are typical characteristics? | • Total or partial loss of vision |
| • Total or partial loss of hearing | |
| • Loss of significant degree of both hearing and vision | |
| To qualify for special education, hearing and or vision loss must interfere with normal learning ability. | |
| What are the demographics? | • In the total U.S. population, there are approximately 10,000,000 who are blind or visually impaired; 42,000,000 who are deaf or hard of hearing; and 50,000 who are classified as deaf-blind. |
| • Among children between the ages of 0 and 12, there are 82,000 who are blind or visually impaired; 150,000 who are deaf or hard of hearing; and 11,000 who are deaf-blind. | |
| • The number reported by the U.S. Department of Education receiving special education includes 29,000 who are blind or visually impaired, 78,000 who are deaf or hard of hearing; and 1300 who are deaf-blind. | |
| Where are students educated? | • Some students with sensory impairments will be served in residential schools. Others will be served in general classes or in special classes, often in general education schools. |
| What are the outcomes? | • Most persons with visual disabilities will live as adults in integrated society. |
| • Many people who are deaf participate more in the Deaf culture but may also live in an integrated society. | |
| • Persons with deaf-blindness will usually require some degree of ongoing support. |
Excerpt from Special Education for Today's Teachers: An Introduction , by M.S. Rosenberg & D.L. Westling & J. McLeskey, 2008 edition, p. 349.
© 2008, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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