Month: October 2016

Today in Deaf History: IDEA was signed into law

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) also known as Public Law 101-476, IDEA was intended to replace the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) of 1975. It established “people first language” and extended special education services to include social work, assistive technology, and rehabilitation services. It also extended provisions for due process and confidentiality for students  and added the categories of autism and traumatic brain injury. It also required states to provide bilingual education programs for students with disabilities and to educate students with disabilities for transition to employment. It was signed into law October 30, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.

Learn more:

IDEA Act

So for those of us wanting to be certified interpreters, we are eventually going to have to take the National Interpreter Certification Test or the NIC. The NIC recently received a makeover and is now headed by the Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation (CASLI).  The NIC includes two parts; a written knowledge exam and a performance exam. After taking and passing the knowledge exam, the interpreter has 5 years to take the Performance Exam.

The Knowledge exam includes topics and scenarios pertaining to the Interpreter’s Code of Professional Conduct (CPC) . YouTube has an awesome playlist that includes scenarios and an overview of the CPC. Once certified, an interpreter is not limited to the field they can enter.

Video Link: NIC Practice

Now if you’re pre-certified and a little worried about the NIC, like me, I suggest taking the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA). It evaluates the skills of interpreters in regards to interpreting in the Educational field or K-12.  However, it is only limited to the Educational field, unlike the NIC. The text consists of voice to sign and sign to voice skills testing, and unlike the NIC, they provide feedback!! You are rated on a scale of 1-6 and Georgia requires a 3.5 to interpret in the state. Here’s some practice videos:

Video Link:

EIPA Practice 1

EIPA Practice 2

Practice makes Perfect!!! So before we practiced some educational interpreting, how about some medical interpreting?

To learn some Medical Interpreting Vocab, I suggest checking out Bill Vicar’s Series on Medical Interpreting Vocab. It includes a total of 33 videos. I’m going to post the first one and provide a link for the whole playlist.

Video Link: Medical Interpreting Playlist

If you’re pressed for time, ASL Interpreter S. Hansen provides a few terms and websites to visit for more info. I’ll provide them below.

Video Links:

Deaf Doc

Deaf Health

So you have some of the vocabulary, ready to practice?

Today’s Expressive Practice is a General Exam.

Today’s Receptive video is a Doctor’s Visit.

Everyone should already know Helen Keller, but do you know Laura Bridgman? Laura Bridgman, who preceded Keller by almost 50 years, was the first deaf-blind person to learn how to read and write. Born in New Hampshire, Bridgman, at age 2, got scarlet fever, losing her sight and hearing. She went to the Perkins Institution for the Blind taught by Samuel Howe. She was taught Braille, fingerspelling and English. She passed away at the age 59 at Perkins in 1889.

Learn more:

Laura Dewey Bridgman

Practice makes Perfect!!! Today’s practice includes Classifiers. I know as an interpreting student this is something that I struggled with. I never knew when to use it correctly. Here’s a few resource to help you better understand classifiers.

Watch Taylor explain the eight different classifiers:

For an example on how to use these classifiers, check out Chris’s classifier story “Pirates vs Ninjas”

Today in Deaf History: Julius Wiggins passed away in the year 2001.

Julius Wiggins was the creator of the first newspaper for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, The Silent News.

Born in Toronto, Canada, and attending the Bellville School for the Deaf in Ontario, Wiggins later transferred to a vocational school for tailoring. At age 20, he moved to Manhattan to further his skills in fur and the fur business and was very successful until the fur industry plummeted leaving him unemployed. Afterwards, he worked for a postal office. His career path changed on a family trip. On the family vacation, he saw a sign that said, “Who, What, Where, and Why.” That inspired him with ideas for the future of the deaf community. He was able to get 10 of his closest deaf friends together to organize and fund a paper company geared towards the deaf and hard of hearing community that would soon be known as Silent News. Each invested $250.00 into the company. Soon after, Silent News was born in January 1969. Each issue was 15 cents. His family played a vital role in the production of the newspaper in the first year. The headquarters for the newspaper were in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Wiggins held a huge role in connecting the deaf community and allowing them to be aware of upcoming events and news. The newspaper brought national and international news, latest technology, health and sports, and stories about successful and up in coming deaf people. Later he wrote an autobiography called No Sound, published in 1972, which recounted in depth about many hardships he encountered with hearing individuals and the oppression he felt throughout his life (Trudy). Silent News has left an everlasting footprint for the future of the deaf community. In the 1990s due to his failing health the newspaper was sold to Adele Wiggins. Soon after he died in October 13, 2001.

Learn more:

Julius Wiggins

Hey, Interpreters!!! So just to provide you guys with a few online resources for sign language, YouTube has a few playlist that involves subjects that range from Deaf Gain, Black ASL, Proximalization, and many different vocabulary. These are three that I thought might be helpful in your Interpreting Journey. Happy Interpreting!!

The videos embedded into the post include the whole playlist. The link will also be added.

This playlist includes topics such as Language Deprivation Syndrome, Deaf History with Martha’s Vineyard, ASL Rhyme, and an ASL poem on Bullying.

Video Link: ASL Resource 1

This playlist’s topics range from Redefining Deaf, Nonmanuals, Deaf Gain, and ASL Literature.

Video Link: ASL Resource 2

This playlist’s topic includes a mock VRS practice video, vocabulary for the field of psychology,and a few idioms in ASL.

Video Link: ASL Resource 3

Practice Makes Perfect!! Happy Mental Illness Awareness Week! October 5-9 is Mental Awareness Week, so I thought we should practice some terms relating to mental illness.

Today’s Expressive Practice is from Kevin Briggs and his Ted Talk “The Bridge Between Suicide and Life”. October 6th is also National Depression Screening Day. If you can, please make sure you go get screened. And if you’re struggling with depression, please know that you’re not alone.

Today’s Receptive Practice comes from Candace M. McCullough from the Deaf Counseling Center. Candace M. McCullough is the CEO of the Deaf-owned and operated psychotherapy and consulting practice. Staffed by Deaf licensed professional therapists, they specialize in work with Deaf people and their families through counseling sessions done in person or through videophone. Today Candace is discussing panic attacks.

Website: http://www.deafcounseling.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deafcounseling