By Neil Doyle
NORMAL – Two Illinois State University professors have been awarded a $1.23 million grant to assist students in their future work with infants and toddlers who are blind or deaf and their families.
The funds will help develop the LIMITLESS program, which will guide students in integrating special education and speech language pathology coursework into their training, according to the university. Maribeth Lartz and
Mindy Ely are the two professors sharing the grant funds.
“We have a perilous shortage—not only in the state of Illinois, but the nation—of early intervention practitioners for children who are blind or deaf, ages birth to three,” said Lartz, a professor of deaf education who has been training teachers for more than 30 years.
“It is common to have five or six different therapists coming into the home to help young children with aspects of development, such as feeding issues and motor skills,” said Ely, an assistant professor of low vision/blindness education. “That is a lot for families to manage. By having a greater knowledge of needs across the board, early interventionists can help families move beyond surviving and set goals.”
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Education.
Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]
