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We, at Sign
Language Resources, are not attorneys, therefore we will not council you in the law. However
we will help get you started in the search for information about providing
communication access as required by American With Disabilities Act, ADA, and other disability laws. Take a look at the information below.
If at any point you wish to ask questions about the
laws, give us a call and we will attempt to point you in the right direction.
See
CONTACT SLR.
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
Is your business at risk of being sued due to inaccessible communication? Are
you placing undue hardship on some Deaf individuals? Read the following
examples.
FOR
EMPLOYERS OF DEAF INDIVIDUALS
Do you...
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Provide a Video Phone in a suitable location for telephone access? |
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Provide a pager or some way to notify employees in the event of an emergency? |
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Have a flashing light system in connection with the fire/smoke alarms to alert a
deaf employee of the need to evacuate? |
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Provide
Sign Language interpreters and/or captioning services for business, personnel
meetings, and trainings? |
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Ask the deaf employees what kind of accommodations work best for them? |
FOR BUSINESSES THAT HAVE DEAF CONSUMERS
Do you...
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Attempt to provide a complicated service, say a medical appointment to discuss
an involved procedure, or a mortgage closing, with a deaf individual without the
use of a qualified Sign Language interpreter? |
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Have visual alarms in your building in the event of an emergency evacuation? |
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Offer classes or a public event to the community, and if a Deaf individual
wishes to participate do you tell him to bring a friend or do you arrange the
necessary accomodation based on his
communication needs? |
FOR
EMERGENCY SERVICE PERSONNEL
(emergency medical technicians, hospital emergency room, police, fire
personnel)
Do you...
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Shine your light in the eyes of a Deaf motorist when asking him to produce his
license and registration, rendering him now blind as well as deaf? |
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Respond to the scene of a traffic accident
involving a Deaf motorist and a hearing motorist
and only get the statement from the hearing
motorist? |
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Remain patient when the Deaf victim of a crime waves her arms in an attempt to
gesture to you, or do you see that as a threat or aggressive behavior? |
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Realize that an injured Deaf person is probably more frightened than a person
who can hear your words "it will be all right, we'll take you to the hospital
now" and do you forget to look directly at him and speak clearly? |
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"Borrow" an employee from another area of the hospital who knows a
"little bit of sign" to interpret
instead of hiring a professional Sign Language
Interpreter
in a serious medical situation? |
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Leave the Deaf patient in the Emergency Room waiting area for a long period of
time, not knowing what is happening to herself or around her, and delay in
calling for a Sign Language interpreter? |
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Have a prepared list of qualified
Sign Language interpreters,
and/or a reliable agency, not a staff member
who can sign a little, who can be there within the hour? |
These are only a few examples.
We at Sign Language Resources don't profess
to be experts in the the laws of disability rights and be able to answer all
of your questions or solve all your problems. Only the good council of a
qualified ADA attorney can do that. We do, however, know how to help you
determine what avenues you should take in making your business accessible for
communication with Deaf individuals. You can call us to discuss some of these
concerns, and if necessary we will come to your location, help you set up a
program of communication accessibility, and provide training to your staff on
what to do when a Deaf person needs interpreting services.
CONTACT SLR
AMY ROWLEY V. BOARD OF EDUCATION
This is a
case about a deaf child, Amy Rowley, whose parents had requested
interpreting services from the school district. Amy, who despite her
deafness, but because of her intelligence and support from family, did
well in elementary school. They were turned down by the school, then the
district court, as well as the United States Supreme Court because they
felt that Amy was "keeping up" even though she was missing 50% of the
information due to not having an interpreter. To read this landmark case
click here.
You can also
order the book
A Case About
Amy by R. C. Smith
from Amazon.com
Deaf students sued
the University of California in 1999 over lack of interpreters.
READ ARTICLE
The
following information is from the Pages of National Association of the Deaf located
at
www.nad.org.
For a complete description of each topic you may click on each one below.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
BUSINESSES AND PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS
EMERGENCIES
HEALTHCARE
EMPLOYMENT
EDUCATION
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS
HOUSING
The following links are from the US Department of Justice website at
www.usdoj.gov. Here are a few that are related to deaf persons requesting a
sign language interpreter but there are many more. You can find a wealth of
information on this site regarding disability in general, and this site has a
powerful search tool where one could find information on many subjects.
For
a complete description of each topic you may click on each one below.
The Federal Dept of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has
an Office for Civil Rights that investigates complaints
related to discrimination on basis of disability among
other things.
If you feel that your civil rights have been violated,
you may
contact them.
To learn of books available specifically about "The Deaf
Experience" see our
BOOKSHOPPE.
In addition
Amazon.com
has many books about "Disability Rights" in general.
Two noteworthy titles are:
Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood,
Christopher Reeve and the Case Against Disability Rights
by
Mary Johnson
Why I Burned My Book
by Paul K.
Longmore
Also see
"The Ragged Edge",
a newsletter for the disabled.
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