VIDBE-Q 2026 Volume 71 Issue 3
The unexpected journey of raising a child with complex special needs, a path
for which no parent can truly plan, served as the primary compass guiding both my
spouse and I toward our professional careers in special education. My wife's
trajectory was defined by deep interest in communication, leading her to become a
certified educational interpreter, a deaf educator, and eventually the coordinator for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Regional Programs for the State of Nebraska. I
followed a parallel path into the field of deaf education, teaching both center-based
and itinerant programs where my caseload often included children with Usher
Syndrome, a reality that necessitated my additional certification as a Teacher of
Students with Visual Impairments (TSVI) and a Supervisor of Special Education
endorsement. Our effectiveness as professional advocates were significantly
bolstered by our lived experience, as were walking the same path as the parents we
served and could relate to their challenges with genuine empathy. After two
decades of service in these capacities, I chose to return to the University of
Nebraska- Lincoln upon learning of the Special Education Intervention Design
PhD program, which offered a structured opportunity to bridge my practice with
systemic research. My doctoral research is now dedicated to investigating parental
self-efficacy among families of children with deafblindness, specifically
addressing the isolation and uncertainty parents face when navigation a system that
may often leave them feeling they have nowhere to turn. By focusing on this low-
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