Habilitering av barn och ungdomar med dövblindhet

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to study through papers if early intervention of children and adolescents with deaf-blindness can be facilitated through early intervention programs, cochlear implants (CI) and communication strategies.

Method: The method that we used was a literature study of scientific articles through Pubmed and Cinahl databases. The articles reference lists were also studied which lead to that more papers were found.

Results: Children and adolescents with deaf-blindness can benefit from early intervention programs, when their caregivers were educated to give appropriate response to the children’s behavior. The interaction between children and their caregivers can improve through an early intervention model. Children and adolescents with Deafblindness have variable results from CI. The result is not a spoken language but an improved perception and orientation in the environment. Not all children are appropriate candidates for a CI. Different communications strategies can be used to facilitate the interaction in the habilitation between children with deaf-blindness and their caregivers. The strategies differ from those who are appropriate for children with only one impairment.

Conclusion: Deafblindness is a unique disability, these children and adolescents need special treatment and strategies to benefit of early intervention. As there are few research papers written about children and adolescents with deaf-blindness, there is a need of more research in this area.