The Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University received a $10.5 million federal grant to operate a facility that serves children who are both deaf and blind and their families.
The five-year grant came from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. It will allow WOU to operate the National Center on Deaf-Blindness. The center will serve children and students up to age 21 who are deaf-blind.
According to a statement released by Western Oregon University, there are 10,000 infants, children and young people across the country. Almost 90 percent of them have other disabilities
The center is designed to work with professionals and state deaf-blind projects to provide professional and system development to promote evidence-based interventions and instruction.
The National Center for Deaf-Blindness will also partner with the Helen Keller National Center and Perkins School for the Blind.
The Teaching Research Institute hosts seven centers focused on educational and human service systems to improve quality of life. It has been at WOU for more than 50 years.
