Shortly after the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July of 2010, Ocean wrote a letter to the Editor of the Evansville Courier and Press, which was printed in the paper a few days later. As a result, she was asked to to write a series of articles about accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing, to be posted on the city’s blog. The below is the first of such articles, in which she shares her views on the provision of sign language interpreters.
Back in 1989, I served on an advisory committee to offer my expertise in the drafting of a bill which would help to improve the lives of persons with disabilities here in the United States.
A year later, I joined with my colleagues in celebrating the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990.
As a Deaf person and an Advocate, I was pleased to see the law become reality.
But twenty years later, I’m forced to wonder how effective the ADA has truly been. A lot of people are still unaware of this law, and even those who have heard of it often are still in noncompliance with it.
This noncompliance especially seems to impact on the deaf and hard of hearing community, whose communication needs frequently go ignored.
Part of the problem stems from a lack of full understanding about those communication needs, and how to best go about meeting them.
For many Deaf people, communication means sign language, and sign language means interpreters – a service many people know little about and most balk at having to provide.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not mandate that sign language interpreters must be hired when dealing with Deaf people. What it does mandate is that auxiliary aids and services must be provided to assure effective communication. Such aids and services can include the provision of sign language interpreters.
So this begs the question…when are interpreters required?
This is not an easy question. The answer is…it depends. There’s just no easy cut-and-dried solution. Every individual will be different, every situation will be different, and every communication need will be different. The result being that every solution will be different. What works for me might not work for my friend Joe Deaf. What works for me today for my one-on-one meeting with my attorney might not work next week when I have to go into the courtroom and stand before a judge and jury.
Every situation has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and discussed with the deaf or hard of hearing individual to determine what the needs are and how to assure that effective communication is indeed taking place.
And yes…in some cases that effective communication does require providing a qualified sign language interpreter.
Not all people with hearing loss know sign language or use interpreters. But if American Sign Language is indeed their primary language and/or communication mode, most likely the deaf person will request an interpreter.
If the individual does in fact request a sign language interpreter, your best bet is to honor that request. Most people with disabilities are the experts on what their needs are. Don’t presume that you know better than they do. Most likely you will be wrong, and you’ll be opening yourself up to the potential of a lawsuit… which will probably cost thousands of dollars more than the original interpreting request did.
Yet in spite of this fact, every year the Department of Justice and/or the National Association for the Deaf’s Law and Advocacy Center (not to mention local deaf agencies all around the country) receive hundreds if not thousands of complaints from Deaf individuals regarding the denial of interpreting services. Such refusals are spread across the board – from employers to city/state government offices to courtrooms to hospitals to businesses to nonprofit agencies…all of which are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. All of which are supposed to be in compliance with the law, but which after twenty years, the majority still have yet to develop a policy or procedure on how to secure and provide interpreting services.
One area of frustration I have noticed when doing research on the issue of providing interpreters and assuring effective communication is the limited information pertaining to such on the internet, which often tends to only discuss specific topics related to providing interpreters and touch on certain areas regarding the “effective communication” mandate.
For example, much of the information I’ve found tends to focus on Title III, which relates to Public Accommodations – a private entity that owns, operates, leases, or leases to, a place of public accommodation. Places of public accommodation include a wide range of entities, such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, banks, pharmacies, retail stores, auto dealerships, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, and day care centers. I suspect this focus on Title III is because the greatest numbers of complaints or lawsuits filed are in fact against public accommodations.
However, the problem is equally if not more prevalent amongst employers. We just don’t learn about it as often. Especially in today’s economy with its high unemployment rate, Deaf people may not want to make waves in the workplace…so they suffer in silence even as their civil rights go unmet. The result is that they end up being denied interpreters (and thus effective communication), and the employers get away with noncompliance.
As a general rule, if a person needs an auxiliary aid or service in order to assure effective communication, they need to request such in advance (although some types of aids and services should be readily available – such as captioning of videos and other media, visual means of providing information given via audio announcements, visual alert systems, etc.) If I need a sign language interpreter, I have to say so and request such from the employer, public accommodation, or public/governmental entity.
This can become problematic, because it forces Deaf individuals such as myself to become clairvoyants, able to predict that on such and such a day I am going to need interpreting services at such and such a place at such and such a time. Thus we have to plan our life and schedule accordingly, and pray we don’t get the 24-hour bug twelve hours beforehand. It reduces the option of last minute planning or the level of spontaneity.
This “must request in advance” requirement can become a real sore spot when a Deaf person wants to participate in an open public event that s/he may have just learned about earlier than same day. An example could be an open “free to the public” theatrical performance in the park, or an open public meeting.
There has been a lot of debate about the question of interpreter provision for open public meetings, etc… the type of event where people can just show up. It’s easy to request an interpreter for a doctor’s appointment or similar type of situation that is scheduled in advance, generally involves services being provided which are billed to a specific party (not interpreting services, but medical services or legal services or the like), or when you’re on the job and something is scheduled (a staff meeting, job training, etc.)
But what happens when it’s an open meeting for the general public, and people can just attend without having to make an appointment, buy a ticket, RSVP or whatever? Then the lines are more blurred. Should the “must request in advance” rule still come into play? I’ve seen the argument made that if the meeting planners are required to make an effort to assure that the meeting is accessible to that portion of the general public that has a disability (such as assuring that the meeting is held in an accessible location), should not such efforts include the scheduling of an interpreter…regardless of whether such services have actually been requested? (Interestingly, a blind friend made a similar point in regards to whether large print and braille transcripts of printed materials should also be made available.)
This is a challenging issue, and I’m not sure it can be resolved all that easily. As I understand it, the Department of Justice basically states that each situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, for various reasons such as those explained above. I imagine that from a legal perspective, DOJ needs to say “the services have to be requested.” The rationale for this would be fairly simple… the Department and others who have to take on these complaints of discrimination can’t build a case if they can’t show that the services were denied (or were not effective). And they can’t prove denial if the services were not requested in the first place.
As I said…there doesn’t appear to be an easy answer. This is the type of situation where everyone is kinda caught between a rock and a hard place.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that we can’t all have our own views on the whole interpreter issue and our own opinions on such matters. In my humble opinion, if you’re holding a public meeting where there is reasonable cause for believing that Deaf individuals may attend – such as a disability meeting, budget cuts for a program which serves deaf/hoh people, or something along similar lines, you would be wise to go ahead and schedule an interpreter.
In some cities, all governmental meetings open to the public are automatically interpreted – Deaf people present or not. Admittedly, one has to wonder if that’s still the case, considering the current economy. It’s a harsh fact that when money is tight, providing accommodations tends to go out the window. Granted, providing an interpreter is no guarantee that a Deaf person will show up…but at least the entity has still covered all bases and assured that the meeting is accessible. One can look at it this way – installing ramps and accessible bathrooms is no guarantee a wheelchair user will show up either.
Bear in mind that ADA does not cover the federal government or federal funding – that’s covered under Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (almost twice as old as the ADA). This law does not pertain merely to the federal government itself… but also to federal financial assistance. Thus if an organization receives federal dollars, including Medicare or grants from a federal agency (such as the Department of Education, Department of Labor, Department of Justice or Department of Health and Human Services), then you have to make your programs and services accessible to persons with disabilities. If an employer receives a federal contract to build equipment for the federal government, then that employer has to provide reasonable accommodations – not just under ADA, but under Section 504. If a city government receives a federal grant to fund a program to provide services for its population…then it must comply with Section 504 in employment, public meetings and hearings, and program/service provision.
This includes the provision of auxiliary aids and services to assure effective communication.
But getting back to that “upon request” clause… it has been a real millstone around the Deaf Community’s necks, and commonly gets used by folks to justify why they didn’t arrange for such services:
Well, nobody requested one, so we didn’t bother to schedule an interpreter.
Then there’s the other line that we have all seen used over and over again:
We can communicate just fine via writing notes.
Ohhh yeah…I just love writing the Great American Novel on my nausea, diarrhea, fever and night sweats in the doctor’s office.
How many times have we experienced employers, public entities, or public accommodations trying to argue that the client can understand just fine without a sign language interpreter… while we sit there blankly, wondering what the heck is going on and what these folks are jabbering about.
The truth is…neither 504 nor the ADA are effective laws for the Deaf Community. It’s one thing to build wheelchair ramps and accessible bathrooms which will always be there when you need them…whether you request such or not. It’s a whole different ballgame to have to contract to hire interpreters to assure effective communication.
That’s the problem – these laws were written as disability laws… not as language access laws. Deaf people don’t really see themselves as being disabled so much as being culturally different, including the utilization of a separate language. Deaf people have more in common with the foreigner from Vietnam who only speaks Hmong than with the wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy, or the war veteran with traumatic brain injury.
It’s not that we can’t be sympathetic to the issues of access faced by persons with disabilities…we can and we are. But our perspectives are different, and our needs are different.
And getting those needs met often proves to be a bigger challenge than it ought to be.
~ Virginia L. Beach
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
Deaf Pagan Crossroads 
I think you should also include CART in with this discussion. CART Providers fill the gap between mechanical means of assistance (hearing aids,…) and ASL Interpreters for the late deaf/hh, the deaf and hard of hearing who haven’t yet learned ASL.
I agree that CART needs to be included in the discussion as a communication option. I haven’t forgotten about such, I just have to go one step at a time, or these articles will be way too lengthy…this one is long enough as it is. Because there’s been questions asked locally in regards to the provision of interpreting services, I wanted to start there.
Thanks for the reminder… I will be sure that CART is included in future articles, along with items such as captioning, etc. I was just at a museum the other day that features a lot of videos, movies, etc… and few of them were captioned. Not a good thing.
I totally agree! there is no great answer, but as a primary language ASL user, it’s really hard to be a part of the hearing world, fight for access for basic things, and come out as the cheerful loving person you really are!
I agree in a lot of ways that we are more like the person that only speaks vietnamese, or spanish. Except now spanish at least here on the west coast is ubiquitous, and you can find many stores that cater and provide spanish language. How many stores or places have people that know ASL? It’s VERY rare!
Thank you for your activism!
With Love,
Tara
Interesting point about the similarities with foreign speaking people rather than other disabled people. I had never thought of that.
Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored to death at work so I decided to check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the knowledge you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m amazed at how quick your blog loaded on my cell phone .. I’m not even using WIFI,
just 3G .. Anyhow, amazing blog!
I took a family members case as a deaf patient being denied access to informed medical care, communication with all providers including nursing staff, physical and occupational therapists straight to a very well known metropolitan hospital’s Ethics Committee! The dismissive nature, and the misunderstanding of “reasonable accommodations” seemingly is used as an attempt to evade providing a qualified interpreter for the patient. While the Ethic’s Committee argued this was not a case within the scope of “Ethics” or lack there of, I found that advocacy is my niche as I discussed how this breech of communication had delayed care, caused uneccessary physical harm, and made it impossible for the facilities staff to implement medical intervention(s) which included invasive procedures, tests, blood draws, adminastration of new medications, and most importantly it made the assessment of the patient by the Physcian and/or Nurse inaccurate and incomplete, violating the patients rights (whether deaf or not) this type of care was more than dangerous, it was absolutely unacceptable!
Furthermore, I did ask if it would be appropriate to only open the access to their wheelchair access during certain times of the day, as their suggestion was to provide an interpreter during a very limited blocked timeframe which included no interpreter made available for the patient on Sunday.
I have found that as soon as these violations are pointed out in hopes that they will be remedied a push for the patients discharge to another facility follows immediately, and the process begins yet again. However, I caught onto this and questioned why case management would suggest facilities that openly state they are not equipped to provide an interpreter (even on an emergent basis)! Is it really 2013???
-nurse megan
hello…..
for the last two years, i have been having meeting after meeting after meeting with my job. the reason…the need for an asl interpreter.
i work in education. you would think they would have their stuff together when it comes to ada. i have been working for the district for the past 15 years. i have been hard-of-hearing for half that time. and recently,(2 years ago) lost complete hearing in both ears(medical) so now, my means of commuinication with family and friends is through asl.
i have had accomodation meetings with principals, human resources, superintendants and outside consulting agencies hired though my work, and of course, because i have the ability to speak, they think nothing is wrong. even though i have taken audiology reports to them stating complete loss of hearing. they’re answer, “you can read lips and understand just fine.”
as many of you know, nobody can ever get immune to this process. the stress, anxiety, depression, tiredness, lack of sleep, feeling like a burden, etc… just takes a tremendous toll on our bodies.
i know absolutely nothing about law. never been in trouble with it, i always pretty much did the right thing. i have gotten a speeding ticket or two, but thats it. my family and friends tell me i need a lawyer to start going with me to these meetings.
has anybody out there had any luck when hiring a lawyer? is a lawsuit worth all the hassle? or am i just wasting my time?
your comments are greatly appreciated.
A couple of ideas come to mind here…
What these folks are doing is in violation of the ADA. Just because you can speak and lipread does not mean you don’t need communication assistance, and they do have to provide it.
One thing that people do need to understand – the ADA does *not* mandate that employers have to provide an interpreter…not all situations may require an interpreter. However, they still have to assure Equal Communication Access, and they do have to assure you are getting it, whether it be interpreters, CART, assistive listening devices, or whatever.
My suggestions are the following:
1) Contact your state Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and request their assistance.
2) Contact your state chapter of the National Assoc. of the Deaf, and request their assistance.
3) Contact your state Office of Civil Rights and request their assistance.
4) Contact the NAD’s Law and Advocacy Center for their assistance. http://www.nad.org/issues/about-law-and-advocacy-center
5) There are ten regional ADA Centers around the country which provide information and assistance regarding the ADA. Contact the center that represents your region: http://adata.org/contact-us
6) Don’t give up! Keep fighting and keep advocating. You may indeed need to file a complaint against your employer for not providing you with access. The resources I have given above can assist you with how to go about doing that. They can also help with information and advocacy which hopefully will get your employer on the right track.
Hi all, thanks for the opportunity to interact on this topic. I work for a nonprofit that holds a small conference every year. We are on a shoestring budget. We just got a request for interpreters for three attendees. Each attendee needs two interpreters to go to all the sessions with them all day (9 hours). That means six interpreters for three people – a total of 54 hours at $60/hr = $3,240. We want to provide the service, but how do we find that money? Does anyone know of granting entities that will provide funds for interpreters? We need to figure out how to make this happen so that we don’t have to give up offering conferences. Thanks for any help.
Hi ~
Thanks for asking an important question that I suspect is at the heart of this issue for many organizations.
I won’t lie… interpreters ARE expensive. Anyone who works in Deaf Services will tell you that. Interpreting services are a big chunk of our budget – that’s just the nature of the beast. But we value Equal Communication Access, and recognize the importance of providing such services, so we do so gladly and willingly.
I have written another post on this topic that I would encourage any and all who are dealing with this issue to read. It discusses this issue and provides some possible solutions. Please do take a couple of moments to go and read it:
https://deafpagancrossroads.com/2006/12/11/providing-interpreters-for-pagan-events/
I started to write a “Great American Novel” of other information for you, but realized that it would in fact make another good blog post. So I’m writing it up for you…and for others who are in your similar situation. I will be posting it in the next day or two…so stay tuned!
Thanks for asking!
Hi Ocean,
Thanks for your speedy reply. The numbers you used in your example are not what we would be dealing with, since each deaf participant will need two interpreters to stay with them all day as they go from room to room. We are also not finding interpreters for $25/hr, either. The least expensive is $60/hr. Our cost is 5 times what you calculated, and that is for three people. Unfortunately, we cannot raise the cost for all participants at this point because they have all registered and we just received the request for interpreters. The most helpful information would be where to apply for funds, as our organizations are all grant-funded. I’d be happy to write proposals and go begging if there were some likely sources. I’ll keep looking.
Hi ~
I do feel for you. It’s a tricky situation when you’ve done all the conference planning and then get a request you were not anticipating. Then you’re left scrambling to figure out how to meet the need, without breaking the budget.
I won’t lie…interpreting services DO cost money. That’s a harsh reality that anyone who works in Deaf Services is painfully aware of. The difference being that because we are aware of the need for such, we plan and incorporate that need and the incurring costs involved in the budget. This is something that more organizations need to think about and be prepared for, so that should such a request arise, they have the funds available. Should such a request not come, then the monies can be put aside for future accessibility needs.
I don’t say that to scold or make you feel bad or whatever…but only to point this out to all readers as something to consider when you’re planning your own conferences. Be aware that more and more Deaf people are taking a more active interest in participating in different types of events, conferences, etc. and you do need to plan accordingly.
My strong recommendation to all such conference planner is…WORK WITH YOUR DEAF ATTENDEES AND THE INTERPRETERS TO SEE WHAT IS POSSIBLE. Oftentimes if you demonstrate your willingness to try and come up with viable solutions, while at the same time expressing your concerns regarding budget limits and the like, we will try to do what we can to help and meet you halfway. Do your Deaf attendees have suggestions of persons who might be willing to provide interpreting services at a reduced rate? I have interpreter connections who will interpret for me at special events because they know me personally, recognize the need, and appreciate the struggles and limitations involved. Some of them have done so pro bono, requesting only for reimbursement of travel expenses. By initiating such communication and developing that working relationship, you could take what seems like an impossible issue and turn it into a win-win situation for everyone involved.
A couple of potential ideas and contacts that may be helpful:
1) Get in touch with your local/state chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Explain your event, your need for interpreters, your limitations, and your desire to make the event accessible while still remaining fiscally responsible. Ask for their assistance. They may be able to refer you to individuals who would be willing to take on the job at a reduced rate or negotiated reimbursement.
2) Contact Deaf or Interpreting programs at nearby college campuses. They may be able to also refer you to individuals who might be able to assist. While I do not recommend using interpreting students for conferences (they are students, and may not have developed the necessary skills), the programs may have staff or at least connections that could be of help.
3) Contact your state Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, or comparable agency. Again, they may be able to provide you with assistance.
4) Contact your state Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. If your conference is providing information that could be used in a career setting, they may be able to assist, or at least provide some suggestions of where money might be available. This is an iffy, but it’s worth checking out.
5) Send me a private email, give me some specifics on your event and your needs, and I will do what I can to assist. I may have some connections in your area I can refer you to.
I will email you privately to discuss some of the specific details of your situation to see what can be done, and to brainstorm with you on some possibilities.
In addition, I have discussed this with both an interpreter and a Deaf person, and it is the consensus of opinion that six interpreters may be overkill. While certainly it would be nice if each Deaf person could have their own personal interpreters for their own communication needs, this may not be realistic. Sometimes one has to be willing to compromise.
The important thing is to assure that two interpreters are provided for the main events of the conference that all/most conference attendees would be at: keynote speakers, banquet, opening and closing remarks, awards, etc.
Then for the workshops, have 3 – 4 interpreters available, so that the Deaf attendees have a choice of at least two different workshops, or maybe even three if the interpreters are willing to do a solo for an hour (most interpreters can handle a solo one hour assignment without difficulty).
Remember, it is not about providing personal accommodations for every single Deaf attendee… it is about about providing access to your conference. You should be able to do it with 3 – 4 interpreters. Six may be nice to have, but when funds are limited (as they usually are), it’s unrealistic.
Communication and compromise is the key.
Thanks for all those great ideas and suggestions. We will follow up on them and see what we can arrange with our attendees. I will let you know what we work out.
Most welcomed. I have sent you a personal email to your gmail address with some more ideas that might be helpful for your needs. Let me know how I might be able to further assist.