“Enhancing Student Success”: Meeting the Unique Needs of University Students with Deaf-Blindness

Abstract

This article discusses particular challenges that students face who are Deaf-blind at university, for whom it is not effective simply to combine strategies that help students who are blind with those that work for students who are Deaf. Innovative ways of working have been developed by a B.A. student with Deaf-blindness collaborating with an academic language and learning (ALL) adviser, leading to marked improvements in the student's academic work. First, through regular dialog about the content of her assignments, the student extends her understanding of the routines of enquiry in her discipline. Secondly, we have devised a simple, systematic method by which to offer feedback on her written work, which is easily recognizable to someone using a Braille display to read documents exchanged via email. While these methods were developed to meet the particular needs of a student with a dual sensory impairment, it is likely that the first - which draws on Vygotsky's insights into language learning, and Bakhtin's notion of social dialects - could also be helpful to students who are Deaf, while the second, by simplifying feedback and revision, could be helpful to students who are blind.