This will be a workshop that will allow an active discussion of the tactile threshold model. I recently proposed this model as the result of a quantitative analysis I conducted of classroom communication environments for learners with deafblindness. The tactile threshold model could be a useful component of training specialized teachers and interveners for this population. Fifteen teacher-student dyads from four states in the United States of America were compared in order to understand multimodal communication used with learners with deafblindness in classrooms. Behavioral coding video clips of natural classroom activities provided rates and a tactile threshold model was developed to establish a point at which a learner should primarily be receiving tactile communication. A created measure that reflects teacher's matching of primary modality use (e.g., visual, verbal, tactile) to learner's expected receptive modality, and potential expressive modalities beyond speech (e.g., tactile sign language, visual or tactile sign language, tactile objects or visual symbols), provided insight to teacher decision making in the classroom. More than half of the teachers did not match their student's expected receptive modality and group-level comparisons were made to explore contributing factors, such as state teaching certification practices, levels of dual sensory loss and independent mobility, and possible solutions. Language modeling needs to use diverse forms and a tactile threshold model could be helpful to teacher decision making and students growth towards symbolic communication. In this presentation, several teaching strategies, such as hand-under-hand guidance, tactile sign language and tangible symbol use, will be highlighted in videotapes from the study so that teachers can use them in their own classrooms to increase students’ symbolic communication skills.