When people hear the term “accessibility,” it spreads misconceptions. And then, these misconceptions make getting proper accommodations even more difficult for these who actually needs them.
Yes, accessibility can seem challenging because it truly is a vast spectrum with varying factors. The ultimate thing to remember is that all Disabled folks are equally humans and that each person navigates the world a little differently.
When you advocate access for Deaf/HoH/DeafBlind folks, it creates a safer space for folks who do not hear at the standard level. If you have decent or perfect hearing, it is easy to assume that closed captions are better than a sign language interpreter. That’s far from the truth because many Deaf/HoH/DeafBlind feel comfortable using ASL interpreters over captions. Just like how written English is for you, ASL is often the primary language for these prelingually Deaf people.
In the last decade, captioning services have increasingly become popular. While that’s great because it does provide a degree of accessibility, please remember that it doesn’t mean that it works for everyone. And let’s be honest, some of the captions are CRAPtions due to the frequent typos, especially during live shows. The fast pace of dialogues can often cause the translations to become lost, which can add frustrating, humiliating, or belittling feelings to the caption user. It pretty much becomes an exhaustive task of lipreading, sifting through the errors in the captions, and then filling in the blank. It’s tiring, indeed.
With that being said, some native signers are much more attuned to ASL than English. Therefore, a certified ASL or CDI* interpreter will clearly and straightforwardly provide the information.
If you are offering accommodations for an ASL user, please be flexible and willing to provide whichever they ask. ASL interpreters, captions, or even both in some scenarios.
*CDI – Certified Deaf Interpreter (you may also see QDI = Qualified Deaf interpreter)
Donations may be allocated to support Certified Deaf Interpreters, DeafBlind interpreters and support, ASL interpreters from marginalized communities, as well as fund requests for event access for Black Lives Matter (BLM) and various marginalized community events.