- Research on best practices nationally
- Interviews with people, individually and within focus groups, who currently are SSPs or wish to become SSPs
- Interviews with deaf-blind persons, individually and within focus groups, who have experience using or wish to use SSPs
- Assembled information on availability and use of SSPs in both urban and rural regions of Washington State with focuses on Seattle, Spokane, Yakima and Bellingham
- Development of a draft curriculum for training SSPs and deaf-blind persons
In collaboration with deaf centers in Yakima and Spokane (representing rural and small urban areas), we trained new SSPs in a pilot test of the draft curriculum, along with deaf-blind persons residing in these areas. A more advanced pilot test was conducted in Seattle with experienced SSPs. Information from these pilot tests and critical reviews by well-known trainers and consultants in the deaf-blind community were incorporated in the final draft of the curriculum.
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