Tools to Employ and Support Interveners
Updated September 2023
Skilled interveners provide consistent one-to-one support to help students who are deafblind gain access to information and communication and facilitate the development of their social and emotional well-being. An intervener is typically a paraeducator who is a member of the student’s educational team, working under a classroom teacher’s direction. Other service providers such as interpreters and nurses may also decide to seek training to become interveners. Oftentimes, individuals who are interested in intervener training are already working with a child who is deafblind in some capacity.
Deafblindness can severely limit access to visual and auditory information that forms the basis for learning and communication. This creates real challenges for educational systems, which are required by law to provide a free and appropriate education to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Intervener services are a way to meet the challenges of providing students who are deafblind with access to information they are unable to gather via vision and hearing. Likewise, interveners can help students with deafblindness compensate for the difficulties with communication and concept development that occur as a result of combined vision and hearing loss.
A Child Who Is Deafblind Without Intervener Support
- Can experience a profound lack of access to sensory information that limits their ability to know what others are communicating and predict what will happen
- Is cut off from meaningful information that sighted and hearing children receive incidentally
- Has difficulty attaching language and meaning to experiences
- May lack a sense of security and trust that others will respond to their needs, which can compromise their readiness to learn and achieve their potential
A Child Who Is Deafblind With Intervener Support
- Has greater access to sensory information that sighted and hearing children obtain incidentally
- Is better able to communicate their needs
- Has a greater awareness of what is occurring around them and is able to attach language and meaning to experiences
- Is better able to predict events
- Has more control over their life
- Is able to access the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment
What Others Are Saying About the Impact of Interveners
- Parent Perspectives on Interveners
- Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Blog: Interveners and Children Who are Deaf-Blind
Intervener Services - Roles and Responsibilities
Interveners are important members of IEP teams for many students who are deafblind; however, they are not teachers or experts in deafblind education. Every IEP team of a student who is deafblind should also include access to a professional educator who is an expert in deafblindness. Learn about the specific roles and responsibilities of interveners, their supervisor, and others in educational settings in the factsheets to the right.
Employment Tools and Materials
Because there are no standardized criteria for hiring an intervener, the resources in this section will help guide your decision-making during the employment process. For example, learn how to determine whether intervener services are appropriate for a particular child and access materials to help you more smoothly navigate the hiring process.
Intervener Training and Certification
The primary sources for intervener training in the U.S. are online university-based programs and a number of state deafblind projects. Regardless of the training program, coursework is based on the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC’s) intervener knowledge and skill competencies.
State or national certification and credentialing is a growing trend for individuals who have completed an intervener training program.
Review the programs linked to the right and contact your state deafblind project for more information.
University-Based Training Programs
- Central Michigan University Deafblind Intervener Undergraduate Certificate (can be accessed from anywhere)
- Utah State University Deafblind Intervener Training Certificate (can be accessed from anywhere)
- Shawnee State University Intervener Certificate Program (Ohio only)
- San Francisco State University Intervener Training (can be accessed from anywhere)
National Certificates/Credentials
- National Intervener Credential – National Resource Center for Paraeducators (NRCP)
- NIAA National Intervener Credential – National Intervener & Advocate Association (NIAA)
- National Intervener Certification E-Portfolio – PARAprofessional Resource & Research Center (currently not accepting new candidates)
State Deafblind Project Services
The availability of intervener services varies from state to state and district to district. Check with your state’s deafblind project for more information on interveners and the support services available in your area.
References
National Center on Deaf-Blindness. (2021). Intervener services and interveners in educational settings: Definition.
National Center on Deaf-Blindness. (2012). Recommendations for improving intervener services.