Ashley Fiolek overcomes deafness to excel as one of motocross racing’s elite

“At Parkview High, at least 120 students have listed sign language as a requested course for the next school year.  That interest from high school students — primarily without hearing impairments — helped spur the development of a proposed American Sign Language I course.”

from:  Parkview pushes for sign language class

Guidelines for Using VRI in Medical Settings

“Hospitals are not an easy place for deaf people to seek medical care. Too often, deaf people experience communication barriers in the hospital setting, preventing them from receiving appropriate medical attention. Many hospitals fail to provide sign language interpreters or attempt to use staff members with limited sign language skills to communicate with deaf patients. Some hospitals try to provide communication access through the use of video conferencing technology, equipment, and a high speed Internet connection to access an interpreter at a remote location (called “video remote interpreting” or “VRI” service). And some hospitals use a combination of methods to ensure effective communication. Is VRI service the answer?”

Full article…

Our take: In medical situations, on-site interpreters are preferred over VRI in most situations.  Instead of thinking on-site versus VRI, hospital staff needs to think in terms of on-site and VRI.

VRI takes more work than calling for an interpreter.  Staff needs to be familiar with the videophone or videoconferencing equipment, how to set it up, how to contact a video remote interpreter, and in which situations VRI is viable.

The goal for the hospital or medical facility should not be minimal communication to comply with the ADA but overcommunication to protect the deaf patient.