Course Description

This practicum experience will give the Intervenor, who is currently and directly supporting someone with deafblindness, an opportunity to assess his/her skills, identify which skill areas s/he needs to work on, and benefit from constructive feedback from a specialist in the field of deafblindness.

Participants will receive a transcript from Richmond Continuing Education upon completion of the course.

Prerequisites

• Participants must be currently supporting a student with deafblindness under an education authority in the province of British Columbia
• Participants must have successfully completed a minimum of 7 (seven) courses from the Deafblind Intervention Certificate Program
• Participants MAY need to submit to a Criminal Records Search

Learning Outcomes

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

• Demonstrate his/her ability to create a responsive / reactive environment
• Demonstrate his/her skills in providing anticipation, motivation, communication, and confirmation
• Demonstrate his/her ability to present receptive communication in a way that works for the individual s/he supports
• Demonstrate his/her ability to encourage and foster expressive communication
• Demonstrate his/her ability to foster skill development through the use of the Stages of Interaction
• Demonstrate his/her ability to foster a sense of self-worth in the individual with deafblindness
• Demonstrate his/her ability to follow through on program implementation
• Demonstrate a sense of professionalism

Instructional Methods

The Intervenor will meet with the Instructor (POPDB Consultant) 6 times throughout the 6 month practicum. The Instructor will observe, then sit down with the Intervenor to discuss the topic of th emonth. In each session, the Intervenor will prepare ahead of time by filling in the section from the Competency Guide to be discussed. The Instructor will gove over the points with the Intervenor, and will lead the Intervenor in a discussion of how s/he accomplishes these points, and how the Intervenor might improve on the points that s/he feels needs work.

Evaluation

Assessment will be based on the Intervenor's participation in filling out the self-evaluation in an objective and honest manner, his/her willingness to engage in open discussion, and his/her performance as an Intervenor based on the self-evaluation guide. A "PASS" or "NEEDS IMPROVEMENT" grade will be given based on the Instructor's observation of the following areas:

• Providing anticipation, motivation, communication, and confirmation
• Receptive and expressive communication
• Skill development
• Self-worth, Self-Care
• Program Implementation
• Professionalism

Course Hours: 60