In educational environments, intervener services are provided by an individual, typically a paraeducator, who has received specialized training in deaf-blindness and the process of intervention. An intervener provides consistent one-to-one support to a student who is deaf-blind (age three through 21) throughout the instructional day.
The NCDB is funded by OSERS’ Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) as a national technical assistance center to improve the quality of life and educational opportunities for the roughly 10,000 children who are deaf-blind. Deaf-blindness is a low incidence disability and within this population of children there is great variability. Ninety percent of children who are identified as deaf-blind have additional physical, medical and/or cognitive disabilities. Without supports, these children are cut off from most, if not all, communication and activities in their environments. Thus, it is clear that many of these children can, and do, benefit from services offered by trained interveners.
Because we recognize that parents are best able to describe their child’s educational experience, consider these comments from parents of children who are deaf-blind who have written to express their thoughts about what happens when their child has an intervener: