Pennsylvania School Teams 'Kickoff' Open Hands Access
(OHOA) Intervener Module Training
Molly Black, Family Consultant, PA Deaf-Blind Initiative Pennsylvania
Training and Technical Assistance Network, MBlack@pattan.net
Tina Hertzog, Retired Teacher of the Visually Impaired and Independent
Deaf-Blind Consultant, trhertzog@verizon.net
Patti McGowan, Family Consultant, PA Deaf-Blind Initiative
Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network,
pmegowan@pattan.net
During the summer PaTTAN Low Incidence Conference 2014, The
Pennsylvania Deaf-Blind Initiative 'kicked off' the Open Hands/Open Access
(OHOA) Module Training for Interveners and Educational teams with six teams
across the Commonwealth. As is described on the National Center on Deaf-
Blindness website, "the Open Hands/Open Access (OHOA) Intervener Learning
Modules are a national resource designed to increase awareness, knowledge, and
skills related to intervention for students who are deaf-blind and are being served in
educational settings (ages 3 through 21)". Although "kickoff" is a word typically
used in the fall to indicate the start of the football game, our team in Pennsylvania has
been invested in the effort to advance the intervener practice for several years. We
want to share a bit about our journey to help create and use the OHOA modules to
meet the needs of students and families in our state.
The idea of intervention with students with deafblindness is not new to
Pennsylvania. Since 2010, the Pennsylvania Deaf-Blind Initiative has been engaged
in team training and direct technical assistance that focuses on the role intervention
41