and local intervener services. These recommendations have now been published (NCDB, 2012e)
and implementation of them began in 2012.
The recommendations are designed to accomplish 4 goals: 1) increase recognition and appropriate use of intervener services for children and
youth who are deaf-blind; 2) establish a strong
national foundation for intervener training and
workplace supports; 3) build the capacity of families to participate in decisions about intervener
services for their children and in efforts to improve these services; and 4) sustain high-quality
intervener services across the nation through the
inclusion of intervener services in national special
education policy.
Since they were published, NCDB, in concert with
numerous partners, has begun work on key recommendations. The most intensive work thus far
has been the development of open access intervener training modules, entitled Open Hands,
Open Access (OHOA) Deaf-Blind Intervener
Learning Modules. The primary purpose of the
modules is as a resource for agencies or institutions that develop, host, or deliver comprehensive
intervener training programs, but they will also be
useful to other learners (e.g., parents, teachers,
other service providers) who are not seeking to
become interveners, but simply wish to increase
their awareness and understanding of deafblindness and its unique intervention practices
and principles in the U.S.
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