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What is a Sign Support Professional?

ASL

A Sign Support Professional (SSP) is a fluent ASL user who assists d/Deaf, Deafened, Deaf-Blind, Deaf-Plus or Hard of Hearing individuals who require additional ASL language support. SSPs assess the needs of learners to help improve their communication skills. SSPs assist individuals using creativity and by adapting to environments to ensure support of language and communication connections. SSPs help people to build relationships with friends, families, professionals, and others.

 

 

Sign Support Professional Staff:

 

Krissy Haines (Saskatoon)

E-mail: krissy@sdhhs.com

 

Rae-Mairi Richardson (Regina)

E-mail: raemairi@sdhhs.com

 

What do SSP Services Include

ASL

Services that a SSP may provide are:

 

  • Helping individuals communicate with others.
  • Teaching ASL to clients connected to SDHHS.
  • Providing awareness training.
  • Adapting learning materials to a person’s abilities.
  • Creating opportunities to empower people to become more independent.
  • Hosting community events to promote inclusion.
  • Recognizing and respecting individual supports required.
  • Advocating with and for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing clients and the community.

What are other things that a SSP Does?

ASL

At SDHHS, SSPs promote equal access for d/Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Deaf-Plus, and Hard of Hearing persons. They provide leadership in developing goals and plans for individual clients. SSPs ensure that holistic supports are searched for, found, and implemented to achieve the goals and plans of the client. They encourage and model positive attitudes, support cultural awareness, enable learners to understand and communicate their thoughts and feelings, and recognize and promote the importance of inclusion. SSPs maintain a strict level of confidentiality and respect.

Sign Support Professional Also:

ASL

  • Respond to ever-changing needs of learners.
  • Teach, mentor, and coach daily to improve a learner’s skills.
  • Understand the role of others in a learner’s circle.
  • Establish and maintain working relationships with professionals such as Teachers, Assistants, Speech Therapists, and other Support Workers to strive for seamless services and partnerships.