This course provides a brief overview of deaf-blindness. The course is designed for service providers and includes definitions, causes of deaf-blindness, communication strategies, assistive technology, and evidence-based recommendations regarding helping people who are deaf-blind obtain employment. (1.75 hours)

This course is available for CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand the definition of deaf-blindness and the impact of combined hearing and vision loss on life, including independence and employment.
2. Know about various methods of communication and communications systems used by individuals who are deaf-blind.
3. Understand the implications of time of on-set on communications and employment of individuals who are deaf-blind.
4. Learn the current employment research in deaf-blindness and implications for employment services to people who are deaf-blind.

The following are recommended screen reader and browser combinations.

Mac: Voiceover with the latest version of Safari,

PC: JAWS or NVDA with Firefox.

Note that currently, course quizzes are not functioning properly for Microsoft screen reader users with Chrome or Edge.

The course shows a start date, but this is simply the date the course was made available to the public. They are self-paced. So, there is not an end date. You can enroll at any time.

This course was developed by the National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University. We are the only national center funded to conduct research related to employment for people with blindness or low vision, and training and technical assistance for the federal Older Individuals who are Blind program. As a national center of excellence, we offer resources on a variety of topics for service providers, businesses, and persons with vision loss on our websites:

For daily content relevant to the field of blindness and low vision, connect with us on social media: