Overview

Students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities, including deafblindness, are some of the most vulnerable in the world.

They’re also the least likely to receive an education. Education of Learners with Multiple Disabilities and Sensory Loss — Foundations 2.0 establishes the first-ever international competency standard for teachers working with children with multiple disabilities. Participants complete the course through a combination of modules delivered through an online platform and face-to-face instruction.

What to expect

Participants in the Blended Training Course receive:

  • 5 weeks of online training
  • Learning platform and app
  • International guest lecturers
  • Online instructor and IT support
  • 7 days of in-person training
  • On-site instructors
  • Practical activities and video analysis
  • Perkins certification upon completion
Two young girls wearing matching school uniforms that are embracing outside with big smiles.

Key features of Foundations 2.0

Foundations 2.0 is designed to ensure that educators and other service providers for students with multiple disabilities and vision impairments have the practical skills and professional knowledge necessary to move the education of these children forward, successfully and confidently.

A female student and her teacher in the workshop together using a meter stick to measure.

Real-life scenarios

Real-life classroom and community-based scenarios and student-teacher interactions help participants learn key concepts in teaching children with multiple disabilities.

Teachers learning at a training course.

Expert lectures

Lectures from experts in the field provide a rich opportunity for participants to learn. Participants can now watch multiple times for greater understanding and internalization.

Two male and female students sitting typing on a laptop and an Iphone

Online learning platform

An online learning platform helps support the blended learning approach. Now participants can read, watch and do their work online or through the app.

Two female teachers working with young male students in a classroom.

Be part of Foundations 2.0

Experience the benefits of the Foundations 2.0 blended learning approach. Online and onsite instruction empowers you to best serve your students with multiple disabilities and vision impairments.

Grace Chintia Novita Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“I hope this kind of training continues so that more people are able to understand how MDVI (multiple disabilities with vision impairment) and deafblind students are unique human beings who have the right to get education suitable for their needs and abilities. Hopefully, this training can also open the minds and hearts of other teachers with students with disabilities in order to understand more about them.”

What to know

Learning outcomes from multiple disabilities and sensory loss course

Learners with multiple disabilities and sensory loss

Participants will learn about the diversity and life experiences of people with multiple disabilities and sensory loss, including deafblindness. While learning about accommodations and strategies, participants will learn about vision, touch, motor skills and sensory functioning.

Communication and language development

Participants will gain an understanding that all children, even those with the most significant disabilities, are communicating with us every day. They will learn about the forms, functions, content and context of communication and the strategies for creating communication-rich environments that build relationships and become the foundation for all learning.

Assessment and individualized education programs

This module will provide an overview of the critical considerations in the assessment of learners with multiple disabilities and sensory loss. The module will focus on the importance of observational assessment and the link between assessment and the development of individualized education programs

Curriculum and teaching strategies

Participants will learn about the important considerations in developing curriculum for learners who have multiple disabilities and sensory loss. They will learn the characteristics of meaningful curriculum and that all learning should be founded in social communication.



A group of students standing in a circle in front of a large globe
Educational Leadership Program

Educators from around the globe participate in the Educational Leadership Program. The result is transformational.

A young boy touching a large white statue in deep thought
Custom programs development

Together with you, we design tailor-made solutions to put your program, staff and leadership development on the path to excellence in education for children with multiple disabilities. 

A woman and a boy smiling and hugging on a blue background
The Perkins Effect

Help us ensure that highly-trained professionals and transformative educational opportunities will always be there when children need them most. Support Perkins International and be a part of #ThePerkinsEffect.

Contact Perkins International Academy

We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to Perkins International Academy to sign up or learn more.