Recruitment: We’d love your professional insight!
Dear colleagues in the field of deafblindness,
The School of Optometry at the Université de Montréal invites you to take part in an exciting international research initiative.
Many of you contributed to the development of the general ICF Core Sets for Deafblindness, completed in early 2025. We are now building on that momentum by turning our focus to children and youth, whose experiences, challenges, and needs deserve dedicated attention.
We are launching an international expert survey to support the development of ICF Core Sets for Deafblindness for Children and Youth. This study aims to identify key aspects of functioning, as well as environmental and personal factors, for children and youth living with deafblindness—drawing directly on professional knowledge and experience, and guided by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF).
Who can participate?
We warmly welcome professionals who:
- Provide direct health, social, educational, or rehabilitation servicesto children and youth (17 years and under) living with any form of deafblindness;
- Are 18 years or older;
- Have at least two years of experienceworking with this population.
Participants may come from a wide range of professional backgrounds, including (but not limited to): rehabilitation, audiology, optometry, nursing, social work, education, teaching, intervenor or interpreter services, and medicine.
What does participation involve?
The online survey includes:
- A brief overview of the project and data management
- Open-ended questions inviting you to share your perspectives on functioning, environmental factors, and personal factors affecting children and youth with deafblindness
- Questions about your professional background and experience
Survey link in English: https://limesurvey.umontreal.ca/118671?lang=en
Survey link in French: https://limesurvey.umontreal.ca/118671?lang=fr
We would be truly grateful to receive your responses by February 20, 2026. Your expertise will play a key role in shaping internationally relevant and meaningful ICF Core Sets for children and youth with deafblindness.
Coming up next
Later this year, we will also be recruiting adolescents (ages 14–17) and/or their parents or caregivers to share their first-hand experiences through interviews. If you already know adolescents and/or parents who may be interested in participating, please feel free to connect them with our research coordinator at any time: shirley.dumassais@umontreal.ca
Thank you for your continued commitment to advancing knowledge and practice in the field of deafblindness. We truly hope you will join us in this important work.