VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
intervener. They said "no". I asked for another IEP meeting. I had to explain that
none of the other students had combined vision and hearing losses. I gave them
examples of how an intervener would benefit Liam.
Unfortunately, I still had to go above his team and meet with the director of
pupil services for the district to plead our case. I used the parent booklet, A
Family's Guide to Interveners, to ask her questions such as: "How is Liam going to
have consistent access to the visual and auditory information and instruction
needed for learning?" and "How will Liam know what is happening around him
and who is present?" I also arranged for the deafblind consultant from the state
deafblind project to give a presentation about interveners. In addition, I let the IEP
team know that I was going to be asking for mediation if they continued to refuse. I
believe I wore them down, and they finally agreed to give Liam an intervener when
he was in first grade. That same intervener has worked with Liam for 9 years.
Also, we have a wonderful substitute who is an interpreter and who understands
deafblindness and is willing to learn.
It's been 9 years since my son first received the services of an intervener,
and it has been one of the proudest accomplishments in my advocacy efforts for
him. Because of our advocacy and Liam's success, the district decided that any
deafblind child must have a nationally credentialed intervener. Now other students
