VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 4
years ago, and started working as a freelance intervener in schools, homes, and the
community.
It is with great pleasure that I share the experience of working with my
young friend and student Stevan and his wonderful family in their home. Stevan is
a beautiful 12-year-old boy who comes from a loving and active family.
Stevan is a very happy and expressive child who has CHARGE Syndrome.
He is totally blind, and has a severe to profound hearing loss, and he primarily
connects with the world through touch and his residual hearing. I have had the
honor to interact and work with him as his intervener since he was two years old.
Due to a location change as well as COVID, we were apart for about two and a
half years. Fortunately, we were able to reconnect at the beginning of 2021 and
pick up where we left off.
Having worked as an intervener for over 20 years, I have considered it a
privilege to get to know the families of the children whom I have served. Stevan's
mom has often expressed her need for more home support, and we've talked about
how that could possibly happen. We were excited when we were asked to
participate this year in the summer intervener home pilot project through the
CHARGE Syndrome Foundation. Stevan's mother had a long-time goal to increase
her knowledge and use of the foundational deafblind communication practices that
are used with Stevan at school. This included tactile signing and braille. She
