Our last few blogs had to do with taking advantage of online tutoring and hopefully inspiring you through humor to finally learn American Sign Language. Yet, let’s say you already know American Sign Language as a deaf person in a hearing world… what then? Many of you may have wondered how deaf people arrange interpreters in a society with so many tasks, errands and other demands. As you can imagine, it is something that members of the Deaf Community deal with on a regular basis.
First, there are interpreter agencies that deaf people can contact and make a connection to meet that need. Thankfully, companies are becoming more aware of the importance of having interpreters handy, so they may set one up or perhaps contact an independent contractor or freelancer to accommodate deaf clients. Having an interpreter that may be unknown to them for routine things is usually okay, but what about special personal events? Can you imagine what it might be like to have a stranger tagging along at a wedding or another family function? Luckily deaf people don’t have to worry about that because they can make a request for a specific interpreter if need be. So, although it may seem a challenge, there are options out there for deaf people that make life in a verbal environment more manageable.