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Interpreting Industry Insights: A challenging climate
Posted by: Staff Writer on Dec. 15, 2015 | Comments
The interpreting field is a dynamic one, growing and evolving. This can be most dramatically seen with the creation of Linguabee by Deaf founders Chad Taylor and Patrick Boudreault and Vineya by Communication Services for the Deaf which challenged the old interpreting agency model by connecting consumers and interpreters directly, eliminating the broker - the traditional interpreting agency.
Read MorePlanning a Festival? Tips to Provide a Deaf-Friendly Experience
Posted by: Staff Writer on Aug. 11, 2015 | Comments
It’s summer! There are music and theater festivals happening everyday, all day, all over the country. Have you received a request to accommodate a Deaf theater or concertgoer whom uses American Sign Language (ASL)? Making sure your event is accessible to them not only improves your customer service, it also fulfills your obligation under the civil rights law, Americans with Disability Act (ADA). If you are unsure how to provide a deaf-friendly experience at your festival for Deaf ASL users, here are some useful tips to get you started.
Read MoreFounders Corner: The Long Path to Advocacy
Posted by: Staff Writer on July 29, 2015 | Comments
One of the most disempowering moments we experience as Deaf consumers is when we face relinquishing control over interpreters to those who don’t know our needs, are driven by corporate profits, and serving personal interests. It requires a leap of faith, every time when we request an interpreter at an unfamiliar doctor’s office or agency, in hopes they know how to secure an interpreter, that they use a reputable agency, and that the agency in turn uses qualified interpreters that fit our particular needs.
Read MoreHow To NOT Be That Annoying Hearing Person in A Place of Business
Posted by: Staff Writer on June 11, 2015 | Comments
If we had a dollar for every time a hearing person in a place of business annoyed us, we’d be making a pretty penny. Sometimes hearing people mean well, sometimes they’re a tad ignorant, and sometimes they can be downright irritating, without even knowing it. We usually respond with practiced brevity and frosty politeness, but now and then we lose our cool and let you have the full, unvarnished truth - y’all making annoying an Olympic sport sometimes.
Read MoreInterpreters For Your Family Function: A Checklist
Posted by: Staff Writer on Sept. 30, 2013 | Comments
Christmas? Family Reunions? Weddings? It’s a perfect storm; near-strangers who might not have a close relationship are stuck together for hours at a time. There’s constant interaction and you’re often away from your own bed, your home, and your comfort zone. Even the closest of families run into this kind of tension from time to time.
Read MoreIn The Marketplace: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals
Posted by: Staff Writer on July 30, 2013 | Comments
Have you heard of the term “Deaf Community?” You may have limited exposure to deaf and hard of hearing (hh) individuals, but let me attest, with over 35 million deaf/hh individuals in the United States alone, it’s very much alive and thriving!
Read MoreGive me Liberty ... Or Give Me Deafisms
Posted by: Staff Writer on July 1, 2013 | Comments
The year was 1776: A noisy culmination of musket gunpowder, tarring, feathering, and three shiploads of tea tumbling into the Boston Harbor. Fast forward 237 years as a free country, and it's easy to say that We, the Deaf or Hard of Hearing people of the United State of America, have become more independent.
Read MoreWhat is Paddy Ladd’s “Deafhood” and Have We Found It Yet?
Posted by: Staff Writer on Nov. 12, 2012 | Comments
It has its own Wikipedia entry. It has a custom sign (“DEAF” + “BELLY”). It literally gets on some peoples’ skin, in the form of tattoos and printed sweatshirts, and under the skin as our consciousness. “Deafhood” is everywhere. But on September 24, we – an audience of 200+ - got the inside scoop straight from the hands of the British guy who invented the term.
Read MoreDeaf-Friendly Showcase: Salon of Shame, Seattle
Posted by: Staff Writer on July 23, 2012 | Comments
If you had to write a recipe for cathartic comedy, it may look like this: Adolescence, 3-ringed notebooks, beer … and sign language. This is the winning formula Ariel Meadow Stallings created in 2005. Ask her some of the ASL she’s learned as the founder of Salon of Shame, and she’s not shy to dish. Topics ranging from hormonal urges to wine coolers are fair game as courageous locals bare their teen souls on-stage.
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