Presentation developed by Christopher Woodfill and given by Molly Rimer, both HKNC regional representatives for the DICAPTA conference on November 8th, 2013

Helen Keller National Center Puerto Rico DeafBlind Equipment Distribution Program

OUR MISSION: The mission of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf- Blind Youths and Adults is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice. Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (HKNC) is a national rehabilitation program serving youth and adults who are deaf-blind.

Traditional Program Young Adult Summer Program Confident Living Program Short-term Program Community Service Program Trainings and Seminars

Eight weeks evaluation program Thirteen weeks training program Time in evaluation and training may vary depending on the circumstances The costs of evaluation and training can be paid for by vocational rehabilitation agencies.

Covers eight areas: 1. Vocational: focuses on developing job skills, matching interests and skills with appropriate jobs, job development, and job coaching. 2. Adaptive Technology: focuses on learning and using accessibility features on various technology and the technology specifically developed for the DeafBlind. 3. Communication: focuses on enhancing existing and developing new communication strategies such as sign language, spoken language, reading, writing, tactile sign language, communication cards, Braille and various communication-related technologies such as TTY, Braille labeling machine, Perkins typewriter, vibrating and Braille watches, and dollar bill identifier machines.

Covers eight areas continued: 4. Independent Living Skills: focuses on safe cooking skills and techniques, safe and effective household cleaning, doing laundry safely, organizing household in an effective manner, and living independently in an apartment through in-house (SILE) and out-house (AIM) programs. 5. Orientation and Mobility: focuses on safe and effective traveling methods using a cane as a DeafBlind person. The use of communication card is also included in this training. 6. Low Vision: focuses on helping consumers understand their vision loss and on how to best manage it. Also focuses on low vision devices such as protective eyeglasses, CCTV, mobile CCTV, and binoculars.

Covers eight areas continued: 7. Audiology: focuses on helping consumers understand their hearing loss and on how to best manage it. Also focuses on assistive hearing aids such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and FM systems. 8. Mental Health: focuses on counseling and support groups related to DeafBlindness.

Two weeks program for those who are still in high school or just graduated from high school. Enrollment limited to eight young adults from all over the United States including the territories. Focuses on transition-related, self-determination, self-esteem, and DeafBlind-related topics Fantastic opportunity for DeafBlind young adult to meet and socialize with others like them and to meet DeafBlind adult role models.

Lasting up to one month Focused on some of eight training areas offered by HKNC Limited time due to a variety of factors such as limited need for training, financial constraints, limited time off from job, and family commitments Training will not be as comprehensive as that of Traditional program

Serve the area around Helen Keller National Center headquarter including all of Long Island, New York City and a few counties north of NewYork City. Considered an outside arm of HKNC with a staff of eight providing limited training to consumers living in the aforementioned regions.

DeafBlind interpreter Rehabilitation Counseling for the DeafBlind through Northern Illinois University Train the Trainer Haptics and Pro-Tactile Many other topics

Christopher C. Woodfill, Regional Representative 141 Middle Neck Road Sands Point, NY VP: (516) Voice: (516)

Puerto Rico DeafBlind Equipment Distribution Program

PR-DBEDP is a part of the National DBEDP. NDBEDP was created from the 21st century video accessibility act signed by President Obama in In that Act, $10,000,000 was allocated to this program with the money divided up between the states and territories according to their population. PR-DBEDP is allocated $(provide the correct figure here from the chart). This is for the purpose of getting telecommunication equipment to the DeafBlind people in Puerto Rico.

Outreach Application verification Assessment Equipment ordering Training

Letters sent to known DeafBlind individuals informing them about the program Letters sent to organizations and agencies working with the DeafBlind people. Presentations to groups of DeafBlind people, families of DeafBlind people, and professionals working with DeafBlind people. Hand out the application forms and brochures.

Income Eligibility Under the CVAA, only low-income individuals who are deaf-blind are eligible to receive equipment. Applicants must provide verification of their status as low- income and deaf-blind. To confirm you meet the income eligibility, please provide documentation that proves you are eligibility for one of the following: Medicaid, Low income home energy assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Section 8 housing, Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or National School Lunch Program If you don’t receive the above mentioned, you can provide last year’s tax 1040 form for the entire household

For purposes of determining income eligibility for the NDBEDP, the FCC defines “income” and “household” as follows: “Income” is all income actually received by all members of a household. This includes salary before deductions for taxes, public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, unemployment compensation, veteran's benefits, inheritances, alimony, child support payments, worker's compensation benefits, gifts, lottery winnings, and the like. The only exceptions are student financial aid, military housing and cost-of-living allowances, irregular income from occasional small jobs such as baby-sitting or lawn mowing, and the like.

A “household” is any individual or group of individuals who are living together at the same address as one economic unit. A household may include related and unrelated persons. An “economic unit” consists of all adult individuals contributing to and sharing in the income and expenses of a household. An adult is any person eighteen years or older. If an adult has no or minimal income, and lives with someone who provides financial support to him/her, both people shall be considered part of the same household. Children under the age of eighteen living with their parents or guardians are considered to be part of the same household as their parents or guardians.

For this program, the PR-NDBEDP requires that the term "deaf-blind" has the same meaning given by the Helen Keller National Center Act. In general, the individual must have a certain vision loss and a hearing loss that, combined, cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining a vocation (working). Specifically, the FCC’s NDBEDP rule (c)(2) states that an individual who is “deaf-blind” is:

(i) Any person: (A) Who has a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a field defect such that the peripheral diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees, or a progressive visual loss having a prognosis leading to one or both these conditions; (B) Who has a chronic hearing impairment so severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification, or a progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this condition; and (C) For whom the combination of impairments described in... (A) and (B) of this section cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining a vocation.

(ii) The definition in this paragraph also includes any individual who, despite the inability to be measured accurately for hearing and vision loss due to cognitive or behavioral constraints, or both, can be determined through functional and performance assessment to have severe hearing and visual disabilities that cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining vocational objectives. An applicant's functional abilities with respect to using telecommunications, Internet access, and advanced communications services in various environments shall be considered when determining whether the individual is deaf-blind under... (B) and (C) of this section.

Who can attest to a person’s disability eligibility? A practicing professional who has direct knowledge of the person's vision and hearing loss, such as: Audiologist Community-based service provider Educator Hearing professional HKNC representative Medical/health professional School for the deaf and/or blind Specialist in Deaf-Blindness Speech pathologist State equipment/assistive technology program Vision professional Vocational rehabilitation counsellor

Such professionals may also include, in the attestation, information about the individual’s functional abilities to use telecommunications, Internet access, and advanced communications services in various settings. Existing documentation that a person is deaf-blind, such as an individualized education program (IEP), or a statement from a public or private agency, such as a Social Security determination letter, may serve as verification of disability.

An individual contracted with the agency running PR-DBEDP will meet the consumer and assess the consumer on his/her ability to use telecommunication equipment and the appropriate fit of equipment for this consumer. The list of equipment being provided to the consumer as the result of the assessment will be agreed upon by the assessor and the consumer. The rest of the process will also be explained to the consumer.

Assessor will order equipment with appropriate justifications related to the consumer's ability to access telecommunication by using the equipment that the assessor is ordering. The equipment permitted by the program is very expansive. In subsequent slides, examples of equipment will be provided. The only rules for the equipment are that the consumer can use those equipment with training and that those equipment directly relate to consumer's ability to access telecommunication.

An individual contracted with the agency running PR-DBEDP will train the consumer with the equipment that he/she has received through the program. Training will involve the setting up of the equipment, on how to use the equipment for telecommunication purposes, and on the safety and maintenance of the equipment. After the training is done, the process is complete for the consumer.

Phone calling ing Internet Browsing Paying bills online Videophone/FaceTime/Skype Any other forms of distant communication

SmartPhone Mobile Tablet Laptop and Desktop Computers Screens (television, monitor) Amplified Phones Softwares (ZoomText, Magic, WindowEye, JAWS) For more examples, please go to

The program only provides equipment. The consumers will be responsible for payments related to maintaining the connectivity of their equipment. For example, phone and internet bills are the responsibility of the consumers. The program requires that the consumers have appropriate connectivity before receiving the equipment and that the consumers are able to afford to maintain the connectivity. The program will purchase the extended warranty for the equipment. It is consumers' responsibility to replace or fix the equipment when the warranty runs out.

Christopher C. Woodfill, Regional Representative 141 Middle Neck Road Sands Point, NY VP: (516) Voice: (516)