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Home > OSL&P > Special Education > IDEA Eligibility Categories > Deafblind

Deafblindness: Means having both hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational problems that the child cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed solely for students having hearing or visual impairments. OAR 581-015-2000(4)(c)

OAR 581-015-2140 Deafblind Eligibility Criteria
(1) If a child is suspected of having deafblindness, the following evaluation must be conducted:
   (a) The minimum evaluation procedures for hearing impairment and vision impairment under OAR 581-015-2150 and 581-015-2180, respectively;
   (b) If the child demonstrates inconsistent or inconclusive responses in an assessment of one sensory area, a functional assessment must be administered by a state licensed educator of the visually impaired, a state licensed educator of the hearing impaired or an audiologist licensed by the State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
(2) To be eligible as a child with deafblindness, the child must meet one or more of the following minimum criteria:
   (a) The child meets the minimum criteria for both vision impairment and hearing impairment under OAR 581-015-2150 and 581-015-2180, respectively; or
   (b) The child meets the minimum criteria for either vision impairment or hearing impairment and demonstrates inconsistent or inconclusive responses in an assessment of the other sensory area; or
   (c) The child meets the minimum criteria for either vision impairment or hearing impairment and has a degenerative disease or pathology that affects the acuity of the other sensory area.
(3) For a child to be eligible for special education services as a child having deafblindness, the eligibility team must also determine that:
   (a) The child's disability has an adverse impact on the child's educational performance; and
   (b) The child needs special education services as a result of the disability.

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