VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
• Provide interveners with support and opportunities for networking with
others in the field
• Advocate through the legislative process to promote national systems change
and have interveners recognized as related service providers under IDEA
The following vignettes are shared by the current National Intervener &
Advocate Leadership Team.
Chris Jay, New York
What is an Intervener? I had no idea what that was when I started to work
with a kindergarten student who was deafblind. After working with him for a time,
his team and I learned about the Intervener Training Program through Utah State
University. I decided to embark on a new task, and I enrolled in the intervener
training in 2008. What a huge difference it made in my student's education! When
I started working with my student, I did not know how to help him, but after taking
the intervener training classes, everything totally changed, and my student started
to thrive. He learned his schedule and how to sign words that had meaning to him.
Communication made a big difference for him, and he showed many indications of
understanding. I helped him gather information and communicate through sign
language. I provided him with support to enable him to have access to his
environment. I was his "eyes" and "ears," helping him access his environment and
giving him a connection to others. In all honesty, his behaviors were not good all
