Mission and Philosophy VSDBM - Hampton

Mission

VSDBM-H provides essential services for children, adolescents and young adults with disabilities in deafness, blindness and sensory impaired multi-disabilities through quality educational day and residential programs. It is also our charge to serve as a resource for children, adolescents and young adults with similar disabilities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Philosophy

VSDBM-H offers a broad range of opportunities for students. Among the many opportunities are special education classroom services, comprehensive related services including speech/language, audiology, evaluation, counseling, functional vision, orientation and mobility, social and cultural development, creative arts, daily living skills, health and nutritional services, summer programs, assistive technology. The students' IEP guide their educational experiences. The communication policy endorses the philosophy of Total Communication. This philosophy reflects the school's position on two issues: communication strategies and educational goals. It also recognized the fact that communication between persons who are deaf and hearing exists on a continuum of fluency between American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Therefore, the school allows the teacher freedom to move along the continuum between ASL and English in whatever manner meets the communication needs of the students. The usage of assistive devices such as hearing aids and FM auditory trainers, are employed when appropriate for facilitating communication.