Deafblind Children Need Intervenors Like Helen Keller Had in Anne Sullivan

by Wesley E. Wright and Molly Dear Abshire

College graduate, author, lecturer, social activist – these accomplishments are seemingly impossible for someone lacking the most basic fundamentals of communication: hearing and vision. Yet, all are familiar with the extraordinary story of Helen Keller, deaf and blind from 18 months old, but able to overcome her debilitating condition and become one of the most prominent figures in history. The subject of countless movies, books, and recently emblazoned on the Alabama state quarter, she remains a legendary symbol of human achievement.

Inseparable from her accomplishments is her teacher Anne Sullivan, who, although also visually impaired, brought Keller out of the silent darkness and gave meaning to the world around her. Beginning with learning the concept of water by running water over Keller’s hands and drawing the word on her palm, Sullivan helped Keller discover her surroundings, learn Braille, and even learn to speak.

Sullivan’s role in Keller’s life was what is known today as an intervenor. A deafblind intervenor has special training to deal with the extremely challenging needs and obstacles that deafblind people must overcome to make sense of their world. They can provide the education that parents and schools cannot, teaching deafblind children to effectively communicate for the first time and alleviating stress on the family. An intervenor can help a deafblind child develop basic skills – getting dressed, for example – to become more independent and break free from their isolation. The sad reality, however, is that most deafblind children are not afforded this special education required to reach their full potential. Even more unfortunate, the United States doesn’t recognize intervenors as a vocation, and federal funding is not currently available to develop intervenor education on a national level.

There are resources available for the deaf and for the blind separately, but the deafblind are often disregarded or lumped into an ill-fitting program. With around 45,000 deafblind in the U.S. alone, the lack of available intervenors and intervenor training, coupled with the high cost of paying a full-time intervenor, many deafblind and their families are struggling to cope. Currently, the George Brown College in Toronto, Canada is one of the few schools in the world with a formal curriculum for training deafblind intervenors. And although schools in Texas offer education programs for the deaf and blind respectively, there is not a deafblind teacher certification.

The outlook for the future is beginning to change, as steps are being taken to give more deafblind children access to intervenors. In 2006, George and Liz Hooker, parents of deafblind triplets Zoë, Emma, and Sophie, founded the DeafBlind Children’s Fund to provide trained intervenors for deafblind children in the U.S. Their cause received national recognition when the triplets were the focus of a Dr. Phil segment in the spring. They were also the subject of a Houston Chronicle article last July and a forthcoming story in Reader’s Digest next March. Their plight has even been mentioned in Congressional debate in the latest session in Washington, hopefully spurring more legislative pressure for funding.

The mission of the DeafBlind Children’s Fund is straightforward, holding fast to the belief that what worked for Helen Keller will work for so many more deafblind children. Funding for this cause is ongoing and there are always families in dire need of intervenors for their deafblind children. Every deafblind child should be given the opportunity to have their own Anne Sullivan so that they, too, can discover the world and accomplish the impossible.

For more information about the DeafBlind Children’s Fund, please visit www.deafblindchildren.org. Donations are accepted online, or by contacting the organization directly at their mailing address: The DeafBlind Children’s Fund, P.O. Box 11234, Spring, Texas 77391-1234 or calling 1-877-DEAFBLI(ND) (332-3254).