Alternate OSes based on Debian

[Tom Allison <tallison@tacocat.net>]

I just got another email that brought to this list.

I know that there are a scattering of projects which are based upon 
Debian (ie: knoppix, ubuntu) but I've heard of a few which are more what 
I'm looking for (ie: k12).

But I'm having a very hard time chasing down any details.

I'm looking for a Debian package set which might be geared towards a 
user who may have any one or more of the following:
low performance machines
special needs (deafness in particular, or others)
low end uses (web, mail, not C/C++ development or servers)

Any suggestions?