Blog

I am presenting two workshops at the RID Region V conference in Hawaii June 13–17:

Lend me an ear. And a hand. And a black shirt: What you need to know about deaf-blind interpreting.

Have you ever had consumers who asked you to “sign small” and “wear a black shirt”? If you have done video interpreting, chances are you have interpreted for deaf-blind “low vision” consumers at least a few times. Less likely is that you have interpreted for low vision consumers in person, and even less likely is that you have ever done tactile interpreting— which technology has not yet made possible over VRS. This workshop will introduce you to various kinds of blindness and teach you how to accommodate your signing space to the resulting kinds of “low vision.” You will also learn the basic techniques of tactile interpreting and informing the consumer about the environment. Come expand your repertoire. No black shirts required.

Read my lips: Making English visible through oral transliteration

This workshop provides an overview of oral transliteration: what it is, who uses it, and how to do it right. Come and learn: Why some deaf people want to read your lips; How you can be pro-Deaf culture and still respect and serve oral deaf people; How you can transfer what you’ve learned in ASL interpreting to oral transliteration. Have you ever been sent to a job where the person didn’t know sign language but wanted to read your lips, and you didn’t know what to do? Here’s a good place to start. Unlearn some of the “good habits” in sign interpretation that are “bad habits” in oral transliteration. Increase the number of consumers you can serve. People of all knowledge levels are welcome.