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Support Service Provider White Paper

June 2021

NCDB is delighted to host on our website, Deafblind People and Support Service Providers in the 21st Century, a white paper by

  • Paul Deeming, DeafBlind Services Minnesota
  • Katherine Gabry, DeafBlind Community Access Network of New Jersey
  • Mark Gasaway, Disability Advocate & DeafBlind Community Access Network of New Jersey
  • Beth Jordan, Helen Keller National Center
  • Randall Pope, DeafBlind Individual
  • Elizabeth Spiers, Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired

As defined in the document, support service providers (SSPs) provide "a connection between someone who has a combined loss of vision and hearing and the surrounding environment.” Specific roles include

  • Providing access to visual, situational, and environmental information
  • Serving as a human guide
  • Facilitating brief casual exchanges of spoken and/or signed conversations

This paper is the most comprehensive publication to date on SSPs. It includes information about the role of SSPs, how SSP services developed in the United States, what is currently known about how to establish and operate SSP programs and train SSPs, and challenges that exist in ensuring that high-quality SSP services are available in communities.

Document Versions

The white paper is available in both Word and PDF formats. For users utilizing a screen reader, we recommend downloading the Word version for the best user experience. Users accessing the PDF document with a screen reader should use Adobe Reader.

PDF DocumentSupport Service Provider White PaperPDF Document|595.2 KB DocumentSupport Service Provider White PaperMicrosoft Word Document|708.1 KB