Deafblind Intervention Certificate

This course introduces the fascinating field of deafblindness. The greatest challenge facing an individual with deafblindness lies in gathering sufficient information from the environment to fully understand what is happening around them. In this course, we explore the impact that deafblindness can have on learning, communication, and social skills, introduce the four Key Concepts of deafblind Intervention, and discuss the best practices used in supporting a person who is deafblind. Participants are led through an exploration of the senses to better understand how to effectively support a person with deafblindness. Course content focuses on the needs of individuals whose deafblindness is congenital or early adventitious in nature and in school settings. This course is designed to be an overview that can be adapted and applied to specific situations.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to

• Describe the impact of deafblindness on living and learning.
• Understand and implement best practices in supporting someone with deafblindness.
• Understand how the eye and ear work and implications of vision and hearing on living and learning.
• Understand distance and impact senses and how they affect living and learning.
• Explain and implement communication techniques for people with deafblindness.
• Describe the deafblind Intervention and the Four Key Concepts (anticipation, motivation, communication, and confirmation).

Individuals with deafblindness gain access to the information they are unable to gather on their own through a process known as Intervention. Through Intervention, individuals with deafblindness are able to successfully interact with the environment. Intervention enables them to establish and maintain maximum control over their lives. The person who provides this information is known as the Intervenor. This course is an introduction to Intervention and to the complex role the Intervenor plays in effectively supporting a person with deafblindness. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the impact of deafblindness, and the importance of access to clear, non-distorted information through Intervention for someone living with deafblindness. The course will discuss the philosophy and specific techniques of effective Intervention.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the philosophy and principles of Intervention, as it applies to people whose deafblindness is congenital in nature.
• Describe the role of the Intervenor.
• Implement the key components of Intervention (Anticipation, Motivation, Communication, and Confirmation), and provide examples of how these are accomplished.
• Describe the difference between caregivers, classroom assistants, community support workers, and Intervenors.
• Learn effective Intervention strategies.
• Select appropriate and meaningful activities and materials when working with someone who is deafblind.
• Demonstrate an ability to successfully adapt materials and activities for someone who is deafblind.
• Describe the differences between skill development and concept development with a person who is deafblind and give examples of each.
• Describe the role of the Intervenor in social relationships; understand social Intervention.

Intervention for learners who are deafblind is a very complex process that looks different for each individual. This course focuses on the work by Dr. Catherine Nelson and Dr Jan van Dijk and in the book Child Guided Strategies: The van Dijk Approach to Assessment, For Understanding Children and Youth with Sensory Impairments and Multiple Disabilities.

The course will explore Van Dijk and Nelson’s eight observational domains. Participants will develop their observational skills and intervention strategies to support a student with deafblindness.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Define Dr Jan van Dijk’s Observational areas and how they impact the student.
• Understand the importance of looking at the whole student.
• Understanding the framework of Child Guided assessment and how it supports educational programming.
• Developing observation skills and data collection to support educational programming.

This course will explore current ethical issues and perspectives in the area of deafblindness. it will also examine the impact of deafblindness on the individual's life and on families.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Analyze and evaluate personal and professional standpoint and value systems and how that impacts working with a student and his/her family
• Describe the grieving process as it relates to the loss of the senses of vision and hearing from a family perspective
• Identify specific concerns for individuals with deafblindness in regards to socialization and integration and develop advocacy strategies

This course will look at the various etiologies of deafblindness, including the anatomy and physiology of the eye and the ear. The impact of losses in these areas will be discussed along with strategies to encourage learners with deafblindness to learn to effectively use whatever vision and hearing they do have. 

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe visual acuity loss, field loss, contrast sensitivity, processing problems, and oculomotor problems.
• Describe the different types of hearing loss, and environmental issues.
• Describe the impact of combined vision and hearing loss on learning, communication, social / emotional development.
• Describe strategies and techniques for encouraging visual and auditory development.

This course will look at the field of Orientation & Mobility (O&M) as it relates to those individuals with various etiologies of deafblindness. Students will learn the purpose and role of the Orientation & Mobility in the life of a person with deafblindness.

This purpose of this course is for information only and does not qualify the Intervenor or Educational Assistant as an instructor for O&M. Participants will need to sign a statement acknowledging that they are not qualified to teach O&M. 

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe the role of the Orientation & Mobility in the life of individuals who are deafblind
• Demonstrate Orientation & Mobility Techniques that apply to individuals with deafblindness
• Develop strategies for special situations in Orientation & Mobility, such as wheelchairs, adaptive mobility devices, and interacting with the community.

The primary role of the Intervenor is to provide the person with deafblindness with sufficient information to make informed choices and decisions about their own life. This cannot happen without an effective communication system that emphasizes both receptive and expressive communication. Communication flows and intertwines through every interactions, activity, and aspect of life. The Intervenor is an ongoing communication partner for the person with deafblindness, while constantly providing information and encouraging the person they support to be expressive. This course offers an in-depth study of the strategies and approaches used to teach communication. Participants will learn a variety of teaching approaches and strategies that will enhance their ability to to provide an effective communication environment for individuals with deafblindness. Opportunities for participants to problem solve and explore options around their specific needs will also be provided.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe the impact that congenital deafblindness has on an individual's ability to learn and communicate effectively
• Describe the approaches used to teach communication to children, youth and adults whose deafblindness is congenital in nature
• Describe the major goals for an effective communication system
• Demonstrate the practical strategies for establishing intentionality, choice-making, and expressive language
• Describe the importance of student-initiated interactions
• Demonstrate how to provide opportunities for the learner to initiate interactions
• Establish a communication environment

People born with deafblindness do not automatically learn about the common activities of home and community that their sighted/hearing peers take for granted. Watching and listening to others does not teach learners with deafblindness the necessary skills or even allow them to make sense of life's common activities. They must learn from hands-on experience of real-life situations, relevant to their own needs and interests. 

Everyday activities allow learners with deafblindness to grasp the world they live in and to become active, as physical and social doers. The Intervenor assists with information and access to the world of everyday life for the child and adult with deafblindness. The learner may then grow as an informed, active participant.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe the value and importance, for learner with deafblindness, of:
  • Learning within everyday activities to expand awareness of the world and engagement in it
  • Community-based activities, as well as home or school based
  • Recreational activities, as well as self-care and service and inclusion activities
  • Social and communication development as a normal component of activities of everyday life
• Describe:
  • Functional activities for individuals with deafblindness
  • Expanding participation in functional activities
  • The Four Stages of Learning for individuals with deafblindness and the Spiral of Participation
  • The PEO Model of Occupational Performance
• Demonstrate an ability to:
  • Plan, implement and document activity routines
  • Fully describe your learner with deafblindness for the purposes of adapting environments and modifying activities
  • Analyze and adapt environments
  • Analyze your learner's participation in activities, modify the activities, and identify learning goals for your learner within them
• Demonstrate effective strategies within Everyday Activities to expand the informed active participation of the learner
• Discuss the issue of inclusion and integration for learners with deafblindness as it relates to:
  • Curriculum that is centred in Everyday Activities
  • Academic learners with deafblindness learning skills of everyday life

Deafblindness is a diverse, low incidence disability that may or may not co-exist with other disabilities. Intervenors support students who are deafblind and have a wide range of physical, sensory, medical, emotional, and academic support needs in BC classrooms. In the introductory courses, participants focused on relating the course content to the student they currently support. In this course, participants will look more broadly at all types of students who have deafblindness and how to provide Intervention in the inclusive classroom.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: 

• Provide deafblindness Intervention for all students with deafblindness in the inclusive classroom.
• Work alongside teachers to adapt materials and curriculum for learning for students with deafblindness
• Develop a basic understanding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how to use the framework to support deafblind Intervention
• Develop a philosophy of inclusion
  • Understand that all students are learners and have a right to education delivered in ways that make sense to them.

This practicum experience will give the Intervenor, who is currently and directly supporting someone with deafblindness, an opportunity to assess their skills, identify skill areas they need to work on, and benefit from constructive feedback from a specialist in the field of deafblindness.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate their ability to create a responsive/reactive environment
• Demonstrate their skills in providing anticipation, motivation, communication, and confirmation
• Demonstrate their ability to present receptive communication in a way that works for the individual they support
• Demonstrate their ability to encourage and foster expressive communication
• Demonstrate their ability to foster skill development through the use of the Stages of Interaction
• Demonstrate their ability to follow through on program implementation
• Demonstrate a sense of professionalism