Resources: Interpreting

No discussion regarding hiring qualified interpreters is complete without an understanding of the definition of "qualified," as it pertains to the Americans With Disabilities Act, state regulation, and the concept of "effective communication."

Although visual language interpreters have become more visible and prominent in the classroom since the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, they have been a part of the educational landscape since the early 1970s. Still, their role is often confusing and distracting.

The role of the interpreter appears to be very straightforward—to effectively facilitate communication between deaf individuals and those who are hearing. However, the complexities of the task, the varieties or types of visual interpreting, and the enormous range of qualifications brought by the interpreter make it anything but simple.

Regardless of one's role in administering an assessment—as a professor in a college course or a psychological examiner conducting an evaluation—test providers recognize the importance of obtaining an accurate measurement of student learning, knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and skills.

Interpreting and speech-to-text services are commonplace accommodations for an audience that comprises several deaf individuals who rely on different communication modes (e.g., ASL, lip reading). This type of dual accommodation most often occurs at large magnet events such as conferences. Dual accommodation for an individual student in a postsecondary setting occurs less frequently but is appropriate under certain circumstances.

With technology always seemingly one step ahead of us, it's easy to confuse the various telecommunication services used to visually connect hearing and deaf individuals who wish to communicate with each other. Three primary telecommunication services are in use today: (a) video relay service (VRS), (b) telecommunications relay service (TRS), and (c) video remote interpreting (VRI). VRS and TRS are free programs regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, and VRI is a fee-based service that satisfies the communication-related mandates of the Americans With Disabilities Act. As their names suggest, VRS and VRI are video-based services, and TRS is text driven.