Deaf Consumers Profiles: Expectations of Interpreters
Whether you are a seasoned ASL interpreter or an aspiring one, you work closely with many different types of clients who are deaf. How do you adapt to meet the communication needs of each one? How does a client’s knowledge of civil rights and their capacity to advocate for themselves influence your approach to interpreting? You may also have expectations of your deaf clients, but do you know what they expect from YOU? This session will delve into the top 10 expectations that clients wish their interpreters were aware of, and on the lighter side, explore the 5 common profiles of people who are deaf that qualified ASL interpreters encounter in their work.
Deaf UNCLE Sam’s Workshop
The shared use of a spoken or sign language is key for mutual communication between deaf and hearing communities. However, failure to communicate at the same level between shared languages can obstruct the delivery of information during interpretation. Hence, the goal of this workshop is to teach attendees how to correctly identify communication and language skills within an interpreter’s audience (sender and receiver) using case (CBL) and team (TBL) -based learning strategies. We will review theory and exercises of universal and non-conventional language expression (UNCLE) commonly used by the deaf community. Finally, we will teach how to apply UNCLE, communication, and language skills on-site during pre-session interviews (PSI) to establish more effective communication channels.
Interpreter’s Toolkit: Multi-Language Access & Medication (ASL/ English/ Spanish/LSM)
Interpreters provide services to a large and linguistically diverse population that of deaf people. This includes deaf persons who may speak or sign more than one kind of language, with or without a preferred primary language to communicate. Hence, the goal of this workshop is to provide a professional toolkit to improve broad multi-language access and mediation theory, and specific practice towards underrepresented Hispanic/Latino minorities. We will review general principles of multi-language access and mediation during interpretation using case (CBL) and team (TBL) -based learning. We will practice transferable linguistic principles to interpret beyond English/ASL and include good practices to interpret in Spanish/Mexican Sign Language (LSM). Together, this workshop will promote personal and professional tools for interpreters to improve their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) practices during multi-language interpretation services.