How do we create a more equitable society?
Communication Access
Communication Access means that everyone can get their message across, regardless of how they communicate.
Communication accommodations are essential to ensure that we all have access to the same opportunities and resources. Let’s review some common forms of accommodations.
The traditional means of providing interpretation between American Sign Language and another language, where participants and the interpreter are conversing in the same location.
A form of sign language interpreting that allows Deaf individuals and hearing individuals to communicate through a live videoconferencing platform.
The instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and realtime software.
Sign language interpreting and captioning are added to videos after they are recorded to make them accessible.
A form of telecommunications that allows a Deaf or hard-of-hearing person to make and receive telephone calls through a qualified American Sign Language interpreter.
These services help us to ensure effective communication for everyone in our society. We can all help to make communication more accessible, whether that is by providing a sign language interpreter for a Deaf employee, captioning public videos on our social media platforms, or creating a process for Deaf customers to easily request accommodations.
You got it! Always ask a Deaf individual how they prefer to communicate.
Never assume how a Deaf individual prefers to communicate.