Careers: Intervenor

Who are intervenors?
An intervenor is a professional who supports deafblind children and young to develop new skills, communicate, and do as much for themselves as possible. The idea of using intervenors with deafblind and multi-sensory impaired (MSI) people was first introduced in Canada in the 1980s.

Working alongside parents and carers, intervenors aim to promote trusting and secure relationships with the child, encourage effective communication and enable the reception of clear information, and support their social and emotional needs. Intervenors also work to help develop a child or young person’s potential for learning and building of relationships, and increase their confidence. They gather and analyse information about the child’s preferences, skills and needs and use this to develop and review individual plans.

What skills do intervenors require?
Intervenors need a good understanding of a child’s disabilities. They also have to be able to understand things from a child’s perspective, and interpret the environment in a way that is accessible to the deafblind learner. An understanding of the need for consistency and repetition is very important, because deafblind children may not be able to reinforce what they have learned through other parts of their environment. Intervenors need to be skilled at communicating and enabling communication, both in relation to the child they are working with and in order to communicate that child’s needs to others. They must be flexible in order to adapt learning activities to a child’s needs, and have an open mind and a sense of humour.

Who employs intervenors?
The charity Sense provides an intervenor service in some areas (see box). Some local authorities also employ intervenors, as do other organisations, such as specialist schools and children’s centres. Intervenor schemes are usually funded by direct payments, individual budgets, social services, local health or education authorities. Intervenors will work in a variety of settings, such as the child’s home, nursery or school.

What training and qualifications are required?
Sense runs a five-day intervenor course aimed at intervenors and others who work one-on-one with congenitally deafblind children and adults. People who acquire deafblindness later in life work with communicator guides rather than intervenors. The course includes teaching, tutorials, discussion, workshops and DVDs, and costs £450. Participants can opt for accreditation, worth 20 credit and accumulation transfer scheme points, which costs an additional £180 and is offered in partnership with the University of Northampton.

How many intervenors are there?
There are around 400 in the UK. The Centre for Disability Research estimates that there are around 4,000 deafblind children in the UK, but local authorities have only identified 549.

Is current policy affecting the role?
Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to identify deafblind children and provide one-to-one support services and equipment. However, the forthcoming Care and Support Bill, currently published as draft legislation, will abolish all existing statutory guidance on deafblind support. Any reissued guidance under the final Care and Support Act will apply only to adults not children. The charity Sense is lobbying for the Department for Education to include children’s deafblind guidance in the draft Children and Families Bill, to be presented to parliament imminently.

Are there any professional bodies for intervenors?
The National Organisation for Intervenors holds an annual conference, runs workshops, and provides information and support.

What about hours and salaries?
Part-time work is common with some roles offering a few hours a month and others more. The role is likely to include out-of-office-hours work. Sense is currently recruiting for intervenors at £8.09-£9.19 an hour, while another recently advertised role offered salary of £9,856-£11,026 a year for 25 hours a week.


My Job: Clark Mullen, intervenor, Anne Wall centre, Barnet

Clark Mullen has worked as an intervenor at Barnet’s Anne Wall Centre, run by the charity Sense, for two and a half years, after completing his intervenor accreditation course with Northampton University. The centre has a family room, toy library and classroom with sensory toys and equipment, a sensory room and a hydrotherapy pool.

Mullen had worked at the centre for two and a half years before becoming an intervenor, and previously completed a diploma in sports science. He says: “My job is to act as the eyes and ears of a deafblind person so they can communicate and understand the outside world. I became an intervenor because I really enjoy supporting other people to make sense of the world.”

Mullen says the rewards of the job include the chance to make a clear and measurable difference in people’s lives. “My advice to anyone thinking about becoming an intervenor, particularly other men, is to go in with an open mind. The job gives you the opportunity to change people’s lives for the better, and you will be surprised and amazed every day by the determination of deafblind people and what they can achieve while you are supporting them. It’s such a rewarding profession to be in.”