This paper presents an overview of action research on deafblind education in Japan. It defines the concept of deafblindness in Japan along with the relevant number of affected children, describes their daily life, and summarizes the educational challenges they encounter. This study also outlines educational practice in Japan, which began in 1948 and marked the beginning of deafblind education in the country, and reviews the educational perspectives (“initial learning” and “problem-solving-based learning as an aspect of initial learning”) and the effects of educational practice on deafblind education in Japan. This paper also examines several initial communication studies on deafblind education published in Japan since 2001. Among those cited is the author’s research, which focuses on a dialogue with one congenitally deafblind child and addresses the challenges of action research surrounding communication with deafblind children in Japan.

In Japan, education for children who are sensory-impaired with disabilities has been regarded as part of education delivered to individuals with severe and multiple disabilities, which is why experts have not completely recognized its uniqueness. In the era of special-needs education, the national curriculum standard has focused on the importance of education based on individual needs, which has reaffirmed the uniqueness of education for the sensory-impaired. This paper described relevant efforts made so far in Japan, their distinctiveness, and the potential of education and summarized the viewpoints and issues of educational practice in this field of disability. Furthermore, we discussed the author’s practical studies on children who are visually/hearing impaired with disabilities and considered the issues surrounding practical research on education for these children.

This paper presents educational action research for children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities in Japan. Many educational practices focus on the acquisition of specific skills and concepts. Action research has developed as well focusing on capturing and extending children’s active interactions with the environment, that is, their exploratory activities. Exploratory activities are one theme of educational practice for children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Action research conducted in Japan has highlighted the need to (1) explore a child’s attention and interest, (2) attune the partner’s action to the child’s attention, (3) promote exploratory activities as joint activities between the child and the partner, and (4) build a relationship of mutual trust based on attachment to promote the exploratory activity of children with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. This paper reviews several educational practices for children with severe intellectual disabilities, including the author’s own work, and discusses the contemporary significance of educational practices that focus on exploratory activities.

This paper outlines the current state of action research on education for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID). Examining three cases of children with SMID, this study explores the concept of children with these disabilities in Japan, the viewpoint of educational interaction with these children, and aspects of the author’s own action research. The educational approach for children with SMID began by rethinking the situation and behavior from an interaction and communication perspective. From this viewpoint, action research on education has been conducted on personal care, movement, medical care, and other situations. Recent years have seen the implementation of educational practices for children with SMID who require continuous and intensive medical care and are considered a medically dependent group. The author, as a practitioner, has seen the changes and growth in educational practice for these children, which have changed how people around these children have understood them and interact with them. The utility of educational practices for children with SMID in Japan highlights the need for educational interaction.