The other day, I had a meeting about a partnership opportunity to be mentoring and teaching school-aged children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. It is indeed a great opportunity because I value giving back to the community. As a Deaf person who communicates using American Sign Language (ASL), I express my thoughts and ideas in profound ways and want to be able to share this, especially with the person I’ll be collaborating with. During this meeting, some things did not go smoothly, and I had to adjust and repeat for the sign language interpreter. The person I was collaborating with had profound questions and I had profound answers but because these were beyond the interpreter’s ability, I had a sense the conversation had to be “dumbed down” (or a lack of a better word). At the end of the meeting, it left me with some things that could have been better stated or could have been signed differently… could have this, could have that…
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that an interpreter was booked for this opportunity. Even more so, they booked the interpreter through the agency. However, the one thing that could have been done to prevent this from happening was to ask me who or which agency I prefer rather than making the booking without checking in with me. My rationale for this is that certain agencies and interpreters I have confidence in click with me, understand my thoughts and more so, have the appropriate skill level to work with me. I believe that Deaf folks should have control over who they want as their interpreter rather than the other way around. This will create an authencity where they have interpreters that are well-suited for the client. By not checking with Deaf folks, the conversation may not be as authentic for both parties. So, when working with Deaf folks, please check in with them about the interpreter they want or the agency they trust. As for the interpreters accepting the assignment, that’s another post for next time.