Message from the Guest Editor
There's No Place like Home: Growing a Professional Home
for the Field of Deafblindness within DVIDB
Amy T. Parker
Coordinator of Professional Development & Products, National Center
on Deafblindness
parkera@wou.edu
When Dorothy travels through the mythical Land of Oz, she meets colorful
characters along the way who teach her about brains, heart and nerve (Baum, 1900).
Throughout her journey, she is reminded of important lessons that she learned from
Auntie Em and Uncle Henry back in Kansas, which help her face the challenges in
Oz, and which eventually, enable her to make her way back home. A professional
home is a place where one belongs; where one learns about what is important in
research, practice, and policy; and where one contributes to ongoing efforts within a
field. A professional home provides us with resources and supports from colleagues
that are engaged in a field of practice. Like Dorothy, when we are challenged with
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