GLEN ELLYN – Philip Rock recognized the need for a facility to serve individuals who are both blind and deaf.

"He was the champion of children who were deaf-blind," said Seth Harkins, chief executive officer of the Philip J. Rock Center and School in Glen Ellyn. "He discovered back in the '70s that there were no programs tailored to this population of children."

Rock, the longest-serving Illinois Senate president, died in January at the age of 78. He pushed through the legislation that resulted in the founding of the Illinois Deaf-Blind Service Center and School.

The school first opened its doors in 1978 and was originally located in Chicago. Because of increased demand, the Illinois Deaf-Blind Service Center and School in 1980 moved to its current building at 818 DuPage Blvd. in Glen Ellyn in what formerly housed Manor Convalescent Center.

The school was later renamed the Philip J. Rock Center and School to honor Rock's contributions.

The Philip J. Rock Center and School, operated by the Illinois State Board of Education, serves two functions in providing services to Illinois students who are deaf-blind.

The residential school serves those ages 3 through 21 who have combination auditory and visual impairments.

The center serves as a statewide resource for children who are deaf-blind, their families and service providers. It administers a federal grant project, "Project Reach: Illinois Deaf-Blind Services." As part of the project, regional deaf-blind specialists provide technical assistance at schools and homes.

These services are free to families and school districts in Illinois. Younger students attend special education programs in Keeneyville Elementary School District 20 in Hanover Park.

"That location allows for our students to have interaction with typically developing peers," Harkins said. "One of our mandates is to provide services in the least restrictive environment. The least restrictive environment is a public school with access to other students who are not disabled. The goal for them is to be as integrated into the community as possible and to be as independent in the community as possible."

The best part of Susan Hamlink's job is seeing the progress the students make. Hamlink is a teacher at the school.

Students from the school recently volunteered at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, a nonprofit organization that packs meals for those who are malnourished around the world.

"It's rewarding working with the students," Hamlink said.

At the height of enrollment, the school served 27 students, which followed the rubella crisis of the ’60s and early ’70s, Hamlink said. Congenital rubella caused children to have educational and medical challenges, including deaf-blindness.

The school currently has nine students, four of whom are tube-fed.

"I would say these are the most complex students with disabilities in the state," Harkins said. "The children who are here have the deaf-blind condition, as well as co-occurring medical conditions."

The school was recently given the authority to accept students from out of state on a tuition basis. Harkins is excited about the possibility of serving more students who are in need of the facility's services.

"We're the only public institution in America that serves this population on a residential basis," he said. "There is no other public entity like this in the country. … We think we can be of service to kids across the country."