American Sign Language is just a visual form of English.

Being able to introduce yourself in sign language can contribute to your agency being more welcoming for clients who are deaf.

Knowing some sign language means that you do not need to worry about providing other accommodations to clients who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of Hearing.

Which accommodation would generally be the LEAST effective for someone who is deaf?

If a client is deaf, but does not know sign language, which accommodation would most likely be appropriate?

What strategies might be appropriate for clients who are hard of hearing?
Choose as many answers as you feel are appropriate.

Now that you have looked at how learned about qualified interpreters and how to schedule one, here's an exercise to identify the characteristics of a qualified interpreter.

From the list below, please check all of the statements that you think describe a qualified interpreter.

OF THE FOLLOWING ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, DETERMINE WHICH IS THE BEST FIT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED:

A 78 year old male who is just starting to have more difficulty understanding voices - particularly soft-spoken women

A 82 year old woman who has always communicated through spoken and written English, is losing her hearing and has a hard time reading small print without a magnifying lens.

A 42 year old Deaf woman who has been deaf since birth and attended a residential school, is very immersed in Deaf culture, and uses American Sign Language as her primary means of communication

A 33 year-old man who has just lost all of his hearing due to a serious illness. He does not know any sign language nor any Deaf people and uses spoken English as his primary means of communication.

When communicating with a person who relies on lipreading, which of the following should you be sure to do:

Lipreading is a totally dependable way to communicate.

Listed below are strategies for checking comprehension on the part of the client. Please identify the strategies that are effective ways of doing this (There may be more than one.)

A public health nurse is meeting with a Deaf couple who recently gave birth. The meeting will take place at the client's home. In arranging the interpreting services, the nurse explains the topics that she plans on discussing with the couple so that interpreter will be prepared to know what types of questions will be asked. The nurse also asks if there is anything particular she should be aware of prior to working with an interpreter for this appointment.

A social worker is meeting with a Deaf couple about potentially becoming a foster care family. The meeting is taking place at the county office building. The worker asks the interpreter if she brought the family to the meeting. Later on in the meeting, the case worker asks the interpreter if she thinks the family would be a good choice for providing foster care.

A deaf person has applied to work as a county employee and a supervisor has arranged for an interpreter to be present at an interview for the position. The supervisor asks the interpreter to come 15 minutes prior to the scheduled interview time to be able to share the questions that will be asked and make sure that there is time for the entire interview team to learn how communication will happen during the interview. The discussion with the interpreter is focused on the process of the interview and communication.

A social worker is meeting with the adult children of an older client who is experiencing symptoms of dementia to discuss care options. One of the client's daughters is married to a deaf man and requests an interpreter for him to participate. The worker decides not to provide an interpreter because the wife should be able to explain it to her husband. Other spouses will be present at the meeting.