Dilemmas Related to Support Service Providers: How will you handle these situations?

  1. You offer to pick up and drive a DB woman to do some light shopping. You have never been to her place before. When you find the address. There was no one waiting on the street. Parking is difficult. How will you inform this person you have arrived?
  1. You volunteered to SSP for an elderly woman at their Deaf-Blind Senior Citizens outing to a local garden park (arboretum). As you walking in the middle of the park. The DB woman asked to go to the restroom. You are not familiar with the layout of the park. You cannot find others in the DBSC group to ask. What do you do?
  1. You volunteered to SSP for a DB person for a Deaf-Blind group outing to a chocolate factory. You were told that you will only be guiding the person with some light interpreting. When you got there, you realized there will be a lecture and there will be a lot of interpreting. You asked for an interpreter to replace you but they were short on interpreters. What do you do?
  1. You are SSPing for a Deaf-Blind woman you met for the first time. You arrive 5 minutes late for your appointment because of traffic. Even though you apologized, she blew up at you for being 5 minutes late. You tried to lead her inside a store that is really crowded because of the holidays and she bumped onto a corner and bawled at you for this accident. When it was time to drop her off at home, she said in the car, I change my mind to pay you for gas because you are a lousy SSP, what will you say to her?
  1. You are SSPing for a Deaf man for the first time. After some time, he would rub your arm, rather than tap on it for attention, ask to feel your face and your shoulders to “get to know you”, and started asking you very personal questions such as, “Are you married, do you have a boyfriend?, how would you feel about dating a Deaf-Blind man, etc. You are starting to feel uncomfortable SSPing for him. Would you consider this as hitting on you or as part of the “Deaf culture thing”? How do you know the difference and what will you do or say to him? (and vice versa for the opposite sex)