All Posts by

Denise Voelker

Teaching Children Who Are DeafBlind

Register for Teaching Children Who Are DeafBlind courses taught by FAVI Deafblind Collaborative (hosted by FIMC-VI). The FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative collaborates with our partner the Florida Instructional Materials Center for the Visually Impaired (FIMC-VI) to offer three courses on Teaching Children Who Are DeafBlind. These…

Recorded Webinar series: Cortical Visual Impairment, Christopher Russell

Archived Presentations: (Captions and transcripts of the recorded webinar have not yet been edited) Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI Part 1): An Overview of Characteristics & Phases (recorded March 27, 2025) Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is the leading cause of childhood visual impairment in the United States, and…

Professional Development: Meet OHOA

The Florida & Virgin Islands (FAVI) DeafBlind Collaborative offers Open Hands Open Access (OHOA) DeafBlind Intervener Learning Modules for educators seeking professional development on deafblindness, multiple disabilities, and effective intervention.  OHOA Modules are designed to increase knowledge and skills related to intervention for students who are deafblind. Content was…

USE OF “DEAFBLIND” VERSUS “DEAF-BLIND”

In October 2023, the Florida & Virgin Islands (FAVI) Deaf-Blind Collaborative became the FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative. The terms DeafBlind and deaflindness, without a hyphen, are accepted usage in both the United States and Europe. This change emphasizes that being DeafBlind means more than the addition of deafness and…

Transition Self-Advocacy Portfolio

Welcome to the Transition Self-Advocacy Portfolio!  These documents are  intended to guide a young person with deaf-blindness, a family, and/or an educational team in developing goals for the future AND a set of experiences, supports, strategies, resources, and SKILLS that promote a successful adult life. Each document represents an important…

What is the FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative?

The Florida and Virgin Islands (FAVI) DeafBlind Collaborative provide consultation and support to children and youth (ages birth through 21) who have both hearing loss and vision loss (diagnosed or suspected). We consult with families, educators, service providers, agencies and educational teams…

FREE Online Learning: OHOA DeafBlind Intervener Learning Modules

The FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative has partnered with the Mississippi Hearing-Vision Project to offer the Open Hands Open Access (OHOA) Deaf-Blind Intervener Modules to cohorts of educators, interpreters, other professionals and paraprofessionals who are serving students with combined hearing and vision loss. These cohorts are facilitated by an expert…