The Work of the SKI-HI Institute & NIAA in Developing, Promoting,
and Implementing the Intervener Movement in the United States
The focus of these efforts has always been to elevate and professionalize the intervener practice above the level of the paraprofessional, similar to what has been accomplished with sign language interpreters. Through university/college based training, interveners are highly trained and highly skilled in providing specific intervention to students who are deafblind and should be recognized systemically at the level of related service providers. *
Interveners: A Path to Professionalism
1983-1984
Dr. Tom Clark, of Utah State University’s SKI-HI Institute began discussions with John McInnes of the W. Ross Macdonald School, Brantford, Ontario, Canada and visited to learn more about Canada’s use of interveners with children who were deafblind.
1984
The SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University began using the services of interveners in the homes of six preschoolers (birth – three) who were deafblind as part of the Intervener Service Model.
1989 – 1994
Project Validation of the Intervener Program(VIP) was a federally funded project to study the effectiveness of the Intervener Service Model in Utah. It documented the effectiveness of the Intervener Service Model and the data strongly supported the need for intervener services for young children who are deafblind and their families.
1993
Understanding and Interacting with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool Age Children with Deafblindness was created by Hope Publishing, SKI-HI Institute. This 576-page manual was the earliest training material for interveners, early childhood professionals and families to work with infants and young children who were deafblind or who had both vision and hearing impairments.
2000
The Intervener in Early Intervention and Educational Settings for Children and Youth with Deafblindness was the first professional paper published discussing the role of an intervener and how they provide access to a child who is deafblind.
2002
The National Intervener Task Force formed as an informal network comprised of a variety of individuals representing state or multi-state deafblind projects, higher education institutions, agencies, and parents. The focus of the Task Force was to develop a consistent understanding of issues and services related to the training and use of interveners in educational and early intervention settings.
2002
The Understanding Deafblindness: Issues, Perspectives, and Strategies curriculum was created by Hope Publishing, SKI-HI Institute. This 918-page 2-volume curriculum for parents, interveners, and service providers working with children and young adults who are deafblind and their families. It covers all aspects of deafblind programming including communication, concept development, vision, hearing, family issues, touch, sensory integration, intervener role and services, physical education, additional disabilities, orientation and mobility, community support, and evaluation. It contains clear and informative presentations with helpful summaries and many illustrations.
2004
The first Competencies for Training Interveners to work with Children and Students with Deafblindness, were developed by the National Intervener Task Force. They were vetted by the field and finalized.
2004
Recommendations on the Training of Interveners for Students who are Deafblind was published. [Please note: these recommendations only reflect inservice training issues and were developed before an Intervener Training Program was established at Utah State University.]
2004
SKI-HI Institute and the National Technical Assistance Consortium for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness (NTAC) facilitated the development of a National Community of Practice focused on interveners.
2005
Intervener.org was developed as the first website focused on interveners.
2005 – 2007
The first University Intervener Training Program was developed by the Deafblind Division of the SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University(USU) and funded by a federal FIPSE (Funds for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education) Grant. In 2008 the program was officially adopted by USU Distance Education and has been offered continuously since then.
2006
The National Deafblind Intervener Initiative (NDBII) Parent Group formed to advocate for interveners for individuals who are Deafblind in the United States.
2007
Interveners in the Classroom, Guidelines for Teams Working with Students who are Deafblind booklet was developed by members of the Intervener Task Force as a resource for IEP teams.
2008
For the first time, Intervener language was included in the March 25, 2008 Federal Register related to the funding for State Deafblind Projects.
2008
The U.S. Office of Special Education Programs recognized interveners through their first Intervener Community of Practice.
2008
Collaboration started with the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP) to work on credentialing interveners. Although the Intervener Credential was approved by the ACVREP Board, the costs for establishing it were prohibitive.
2009
A Deafblindness and the Role of the Intervener packet of information was disseminated to all the State Deafblind Projects and Parent Training & Information Centers by SKI-HI Institute at U.S.U.
2009
The National Intervener competencies developed in 2004 in the Recommendations on the Training of Interveners for Students who are Deafblind, were presented to the Council for Exceptional Children(CEC) with a request for their approval and implementation under the CEC guidelines. They then approved and adopted the Intervener Competencies under the title: Specialization Knowledge and Skill Set for Paraeducators who are Interveners for individuals with Deafblindness.
2010
The National Intervener Credential and the process for obtaining it, was developed in collaboration with the National Resource Center for Paraeducators and Related Service Providers (NRCPara).
2011
The Interveners and Deafblindness Facebook Page was created.
2012
A Family’s Guide to Interveners for Children with Combined Vision and Hearing Loss was developed by the National Deafblind Intervener Initiative parent group and disseminated to parents, State Deafblind Projects, and Parent Training & Information Centers.
2013
The National Intervener Association (NIA) was formed by a group of credentialed interveners at the National Resource Center for Paraeducators conference in Salt Lake City.
2014
The Credentialed Interveners and Deafblindness Facebook group was created.
2014
The first I-News electronic newsletter was distributed to interveners, parents and professionals and continues to this day.
2014-2022
The Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act was expanded to include Title III which covered deafblind educational issues and interveners as related services. This bill was introduced in the 114th congress, 115th Congress, 116th Congress, 117th and 118th Congress. Ongoing advocacy efforts continue.
2017
The U.S. Department of Education put out a request for comments related to the Code of Federal regulations to simplify language. 180 individuals responded regarding adding Interveners as a related service.
2019
The National Intervener Association (NIA) became the National Intervener & Advocate Association (NIAA) to be inclusive of interveners, parents and anyone interested in the intervener practice. It’s main goal is to have Interveners recognized as related service providers under IDEA and professionalize the intervener practice.
2019
The National Intervener Credential Renewal guidelines were established and disseminated to all credentialed interveners.
2020
A Policy Paper on Interveners was submitted to the membership of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education(NASDSE) and discussed at their annual business meeting.
2020
As part of elevating the intervener practice, the National Intervener & Advocate Association (NIAA) developed a professional development division. NIAA will now offer a National Intervener Credential that does not include the term paraprofessional.
2021
The new Intervener.org website was launched.
2022
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) approved the Initial Specialty Set: Deafblind Intervener competencies which are aligned to the 2020 Initial Practice-Based Professional Preparation Standards for Special Educators.
2023
The Cogswell-Macy Act is reintroduced in the 118th Congress.
2023
Federal 2023 Appropriations included: “an increase of $1,000,000 for OSEP’s State Deaf-Blind Projects and the National Center on DeafBlindness to strengthen support of the abilities and needs of children with deaf-blindness, including through intervener services. The Department is directed to provide an update on actions and plans to ensure that intervener services are available when recommended by the Individualized Education Program team and parents and families are aware of such services as early as possible in the fiscal year 2024 Congressional Justification.” (From the 12/20/22 Congressional Record)
* This is not intended as a comprehensive history.