[1:42 p.m.] [2001-06-28]
[The "Deaf Question"]

Hey I just sent this out to a listserve that I am involved with. Does anyone on Diaryland have an opinion to share?

Dear everyone,

My comments are in italics and the Law cut and pasted from U.S. Department of Justice are not. The law was taken from http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

I had the opportunity to speak about this very subject with some people, I think Roanoke, at Slammaster’s this year. We were discussing how a Deaf poet would be received at Nationals. I was in an interpreting program for the Deaf for two years and worked, albeit briefly, at a school for Deaf children. My interest in this subject is deep. I am currently in the planning stages of a documentary about Deaf poets and their poetry. So enough about my background, here is what I have found out from The ADA and the MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

First the Law:

Paragraph (b)(1)(vii) prohibits the public entity from limiting a qualified individual with a disability in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving any aid, benefit, or service.

The Americans with Disabilities Act only applies to persons who fall under the definition of having a disability. This is defined as a person who:

·Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as walking, seeing and hearing;

·Has a record of such an impairment;

·Is regarded as having such an impairment

Title III of the ADA covers places which are privately - not publicly - owned, but which are open to the public. Some examples of this: restaurants, stores, doctors' offices, libraries and museums, day care centers and private educational facilities, cinemas and theaters.

Title III also covers commercial facilities to the extent that any new construction or alteration must be made accessible; however, it does not cover religious organizations or private clubs. In the case of religious organizations, there are some very limited exceptions; consult an attorney for specific information. In the case of private clubs, the clubs themselves are not obligated to provide reasonable accommodations, but they can be held liable if the facilities they rent or lease out to the public are not accessible.

Under Title III, public accommodations must provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication access. This includes ASL and oral interpreters, assistive listening devices, CART services, closed - caption decoders or TV's with caption capability, TDD's and amplified telephones, among others. It is important to keep in mind that the law recognizes that the D/LD/HOH person has the choice of which accommodation best fits his/her communication needs; an equally effective substitute may be provided if the original request is unreasonable, unfillable, or fundamentally alters the nature of the program or service provided. For example, while providing a dialogue script to a hard of hearing person on a factory tour would be considered reasonable and effective, doing the same for a Deaf ASL-user who has given advance notification of attendance would not be acceptable because it fails to provide effective access. However, the same Deaf person showing up unannounced and expecting to be provided with an ASL interpreter cannot argue that accommodation was denied, since it would be unreasonable to expect the factory to hire a full - time ASL interpreter in case a Deaf person shows up.

Similar to Title II of the ADA, a place of public accommodation must provide services in an integrated setting. A D/LD/HOH person cannot be excluded from taking part in any activity offered by a place of public accommodation; unless it is unreasonable or fundamentally changes the nature of the activity or service provided then whatever modifications are necessary to include a person with hearing loss must be made. Of course, there is no obligation to include a D/LD/HOH person if such inclusion would present a tangible and immediate threat to others; however, this cannot be based on speculation or stereotypes but must have a foundation in fact.

*Paragraph (b)(1)(vii) prohibits the public entity from limiting a qualified individual with a disability in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving any aid, benefit, or service.

Does PSI have to make accommodations or is it left up to each individual venue? I have a call into the Mass Comm for the Deaf on this issue, but it is something we need to talk to a lawyer about. Because we do not have a physical space that we occupy on a regular basis we might be exempt, but that does not exempt the venues from the regulation. It would probably be best if PSI could come up with a way to provide interpreters to each Nationals so venues will not be burdened beyond giving up their space for us. (I know there are grants out there to pay for this!)

The Interpreter:

In order to clarify what is meant by "qualified interpreter" the Department has added a definition of the term to the final rule. A qualified interpreter means an interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. This definition focuses on the actual ability of the interpreter in a particular interpreting context to facilitate effective communication between the public entity and the individual with disabilities.

Public comment also revealed that public entities have at times asked persons who are deaf to provide family members or friends to interpret. In certain circumstances, notwithstanding that the family member of friend is able to interpret or is a certified interpreter, the family member or friend may not be qualified to render the necessary interpretation because of factors such as emotional or personal involvement or considerations of confidentiality that may adversely affect the ability to interpret "effectively, accurately, and impartially." {35.104 Definitions. Of DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 28 CFR PART 35

Fees:

The fees quoted below are approximate ranges; fees are set by the individual interpreters for jobs in the private sector.

Freelance interpreter a minimum fee ranging from $50 to $90 for the first two hours or any part thereof; for non-legal jobs: $25 to $45 per hour

http://www.rid.org/home.html Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

About ASL:

Is sign language universal?

Sign language is no more universal than spoken languages. American Sign Language is the language used by a majority of people in the Deaf community in the United States and most of Canada (LSQ is used in Quebec). Certain Caribbean countries and areas of Mexico also use ASL. England uses British sign Language and Australia uses Australian Sign Language.

What is the difference between ASL and English-type sign languages?

American Sign Language (ASL) is a distinct visual-gestural-kinesthetic language. While it borrows elements from spoken English and old French sign language, it has unique grammatical, lexical and linguistic features of its own. It is not English on the hands. Because ASL is not English, educators have developed a number of signed codes which use ASL vocabulary items, modify them to match English vocabulary, and put them together according to English grammatical rules. These codes have various names including Signed Exact English (SEE) and Manual Coded English (MCE). Additionally, when native speakers of English and native users of ASL try to communicate, the "language" that results is a mixture of both English and ASL vocabulary and grammar. This is referred to as PSE (Pidgin Signed English) or contact signing.

How long does it take to become fluent in ASL?

How long does it take to become fluent in Japanese? Russian? Language fluency, be it spoken or visual, requires time, study, immersion in the language community, and constant practice. After taking three classes, you may be able to handle communication of simple concepts of daily life. To be comfortably fluent in native conversations at normal rates discussing complex topics may take years.

ASL can be compared to foreign languages. So the argument can be made that a Spanish speaking person has the same rights as an ASL user, but the law does not apply to people because of the language they use. It is based solely on accommodation to public places. It is a catch-22, some Deaf people do not like to be grouped in with people with disabilities, but they still take advantage of the Americans with Disability Act. We have a legal obligation to be address here.

I am not even going to go into my personal opinions because according to the law we have to provide an interpreter if they are requested within a reasonable amount of time.

The logistics of this is huge. Here are questions/topics of discussion I pose to you:

1. We must address the fact that other poets will feel that the Deaf person is receiving special treatment and will want their poems interpreted for the Deaf person. (Note: this would be EXTREMELY difficult for an interpreter to do unless they used Signed English or received a copy of the text before the bout and we all know that sometimes until we step on stage we ourselves don’t know what poem we are going to do)

2. Prop/Dual Voice – We use the argument that if a poet must use a prop to make their poem better, than they should write a better poem. We cannot use this same argument with an interpreter it is a fundamental difference between poor writing and accessibility. Dual voice? I don’t know about that and I think we need some more discussion on it.

3. If we allow interpreters for Deaf people why not Spanish speakers or French speakers? Because the law does not require us to make accommodations for them. Would be nice, but practically we would begin to look like the UN with our headsets on.

4. Giving heads up to judges – Why?

5. “Sympathy scores” – Sometimes we all get sympathy scores.

These are only a few thoughts for discussion. If anyone would like to discuss this back channel with me please use p0etik@hotmail.com

Thanks for your time,

Rebecca Henderson

Team Worcester 2000

Team Providence 1999

|<<| - |>>|