Unrealized Dreams:

Conference Describes LFD Population's Challenges

By Amy Hebert, PEPNet-South Outreach Specialist and Theresa Johnson, Educational Specialist and Parent

Kelly Camel wheeled onstage at the Low Functioning Deaf (LFD) conference in Houston last November, and the audience erupted in applause. Kelly, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, is featured in the DVD, Unrealized Dreams: Stories of Deaf Individuals with Unique Needs, a collaborative project of the Texas Region 4 Education Service Center and PEPNet. Unrealized Dreams highlights individuals who are deaf and low functioning and describes barriers they have encountered in their quest for services.

The Region 4 Education Service Center hosted the conference, which brought together more than 300 professionals from around the U.S. to discuss and share information with educators and service providers who work with people who are low functioning and deaf.

Labels used to identify people who are low functioning and deaf include Low Functioning Deaf, Minimal Language Skills Deaf, Special Needs Students, Traditionally Underserved, and At Risk Deaf. No single label adequately describes them all, but people who are LFD have some life experiences in common. Many are poor, lonely, isolated and marginalized. Some are foreign born or a member of a minority and do not speak English at home. Frequently people who are LFD have little or no education, lack family support, and may have issues with substance abuse or secondary disabilities. Many live in rural or low-economic urban settings.

Individuals who are low function, deaf, and "at risk" are considered the most severely disabled members of the larger deaf population. Often, an individual is deaf but also has additional disabling conditions, minimal or fragmented communication skills, or limited educational, socioeconomic, or life experiences. Many systems may "touch" this individual in his or her lifetime.

The National Task Force, established in 2000 by Annette Reichman of the U. S. Department of Education and Don Ashmore of PEPNet-South, issued a position paper recommending funding and the establishment of a national service delivery system to serve this group. Although many professionals support this recommendation, it has yet to happen. For now, the key to providing effective services for this population is collaboration. Anyone who has worked in the field of deafness has encountered persons who are deaf who struggle to keep jobs, who drop out of the secondary or postsecondary system, who have alcohol and drug addictions, and who face enormous challenges to live independently.

The success of the LFD conference shows how critical the need is for professional development opportunities and technical assistance for stakeholders to provide satisfactory and comprehensive services over a lifetime for people who are LFD. For more information on LFD individuals and services and issues related to this population, see the resource box below.

Unrealized Dreams DVD:
Go to www.pepnet.org/pdc/
Click on Search link on left sidebar, in Product Title box type "Unrealized Dreams" then press "Enter"
National Association of the Deaf Strategic Vision:
http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=275345
25th Institute on Rehabilitation Issues: Serving Individuals Who Are Low-Functioning Deaf:
www.gwu.edu/~iri/pdf/25.pdf