Touch & Positive Access for Learners who are DeafBlind Part 1 — 1 hour 38 minutes
Presentation slides 760 Kb
Touch & Positive Access for Learners who are DeafBlind Part 2 — 1 hour 31 minutes
Image Description: Heather is standing facing the camera, smiling, with a light green background. Her hair is long and curly and she is wearing a dark green short-sleeved shirt.
Heather Withrow, Mother & DeafBlind Advocate
Certified Orientation & Mobility Instructor
Heather Withrow, also known as Hex, is a mother of three children, one of who is DeafBlind, one of who is Deaf, and one of who is a KODA (KODA: Hearing Kid of Deaf Adults). In addition to serving as an advocate for Deaf and DeafBlind Texans, she has received a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Gallaudet University and a Master of Education in Special Education from Texas Tech University. With a concentration in Orientation and Mobility and receiving a graduate certificate in Deafblindness, Hex is now a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS). She has also taught art and has coached volleyball and track and field.
Heather has served on various committees and boards that are to increase better learning and communication access for people who are DeafBlind. In one of her roles she serves on the development team for one of the modules in the Open Hands, Open Access modules on intervener training. Heather is also a member of the Texas Association for the Deaf (TAD), a lifetime member of National Family Association of DeafBlind (NFADB), a lifetime member of DeafBlind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT) and a member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). As a mother who is Deaf and a native signer, Hex brings a very unique perspective to the learning and world of access to her son and to others who are DeafBlind.
Image Description: Orion “chillin'” on the swing. Young white boy with short white hair laying on his back on a turquoise colored mesh swing with a smile on his face.