Bonnie Middlemiss
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ANDREW LOVE MEMORIAL AWARD – INTERVENOR OF THE YEAR
Bonnie started working for CDBA-BC for our Summer Intervention Program in 2009, supporting a young boy with deafblindness. At that time she was working as an Education Assistant with another family who’s child was homeschooled. At the end of the summer Bonnie was asked if she would like to support the child in his home getting him ready for school every morning, to which she quickly accepted! During that year Bonnie developed a better understanding of the differences between an education assistant and a deafblind Intervenor. She worked with him again through our Summer Intervention Program in 2010 and enrolled in the first Certificate of Intervention course offered by the Provincial Outreach Program for Students with deafblindness (POPDB) and Douglas College, here in B.C.. In the fall of 2010 the child’s parents decided to homeschool and asked Bonnie to be his Intervenor – she had caught the ‘deafblind bug’!
Over the years Bonnie has continued to support this young man and has taken all but one of the Certificate of Intervention POPDB courses. They are now in their final year of school and are looking forward to the young man’s transition to the adult world!
Bonnie has also been an integral part of our Intervenor Resource Team, which was developed in response to the Covid19 pandemic. The team coordinates and presents our Virtual Recreation Program activities for the children and youth we support and their families. Bonnie has been a true asset to our team, both in planning and preparation, as well as in presenting the activities.
Throughout the pandemic, Bonnie has continually thought of how she can best support her student remotely. She has incorporated the knowledge and benefit of having ‘hands-on’ siblings within the student’s home and has taught the siblings that they are ‘to be her hands’, while she supports and teaches via Zoom from afar.
Recently, Bonnie presented her Sensory Experience Book and Concept Bags for our first US-Canada Community of Practice ‘Munch and Learn’ Workshop. She has so much to offer that others can learn. Thank you, Bonnie, for all you do![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
