Taught by William Ross
Workshop Synopsis: Hearing children of Deaf parents often find themselves moving between worlds. Frequently growing up in a society that is culturally and linguistically different than that of their home. Their ability to hear puts them in a unique position; that of a native, but not a member of the Deaf community. Ironically, these natives do not always gain mastery of the culture or language used by the majority culture or Deaf culture…they grow up in-between worlds. The children who experience this phenomenon are referred to third culture kids as children raised in a culture other than their parents’ or the culture of another “country” for a significant part of their early years. Are they bicultural and bilingual – sometimes, but not always. How do they identify themselves…as hearing, as Deaf or CODA? Come to this facilitated forum to discuss, to share, and to understand that one size does not fit all! This workshop often provides a platform for others who have grown up abroad but return to their country of citizenship, expatriates, and so many others.
Bio: William F. Ross III, a child of Deaf parents, has been interpreting for more than 36 years and holds dual certification (CI/CT) from the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf. He has a Master of Science Degree in Special Education from Missouri State University. Currently, Bill is the Curriculum Development Specialist at Deaf Bible Society (DBS); developing trainings and resources for individuals who work on Bible translation into Sign Language. Prior to coming to DBS, he was the Program Director of the Carlstrom Interpreter Training Program at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Ross was previously the Director of the Communication Access Support Services Department at North Carolina School for the Deaf (NCSD); where he established the NCSD Mentorship Project and Distance Learning Mentoring Program to provide ongoing support to educational and freelance interpreters. He is passionate about building mentoring relationships, studying ASL and accompanying interpreters on the journey of perfecting their craft.