Advocacy – Page 56 – Delaware Association of the Deaf (DAD)

October 20, 2022

Charlotte city council move broadens access for deaf community

ASL interpreter shown in upper right corner of Charlotte City, NC council meeting. Screenshot from the news channel video for an example.

The Charlotte city council started providing ASL interpretation during their bi-monthly meetings in September.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – American Sign Language, or ASL, interpretation is now available during Charlotte city council business meetings.

A city spokesperson, who said the change went into effect in September after the new city council was sworn in, explained this was a way to connect more with the deaf and hard of hearing community here in Charlotte.

Donna McCord-Smolik, who is deaf and communicates with ASL, says it’s a game changer.

“I’m thrilled!” she signed.

October 20, 2022

Inside Zoom’s Sign Language Interpretation Feature

See Zoom’s new Sign Language mode in action. Watch how the meeting host sets it up, how viewers can activate the feature, and see some of the issues interpreters have to work around to partner effectively. For more information including a detailed how-to and deeper discussion of the issues raised in the video, visit: https://www.tealanguagesolutions.com/inside-zooms-sign-language-interpretation-feature.

For a more accessible version with fewer zoom-ins that put the ASL interpreters out of view, watch: https://youtu.be/0UI52TMRDwA Thank you to ASL interpreters Tailyn Kaster and Amber Tucker for their excellent work and insight.

A screenshot of the video below showing one ASL interpreter on a ‘post it’ (aka: sticky note) that stays on top of zoom to ensure you do not loose sight of the interpreter. Do note that there are some limitations of the new feature especially the lack of saving the zoom video with the interpreters visible as the interpreters are lost then when using the new feature. See the PDF file on their website for details and instructions.

Zoom example showing one ASL interpreter on a 'post it' on top of the zoom video program/app.

October 20, 2022

BE THE CHANGE FOR TOTAL ACCESS!

Videos explaining some issues and how you can tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) what you want to see changed! https://totalaccess.org/

TELL THE FCC YOUR RIGHTS:

WHY?

BECAUSE YOUR VIDEO CALL EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE THE SAME AS ANY HEARING PHONE CALL.

BECAUSE IF IT’S NOT EQUAL, HOW WILL YOU HAVE THE SAME ACCESS TO EMERGENCY SERVICES, AT THE SAME SPEED AND LEVEL OF SUPPORT AS HEARING PEOPLE RECEIVE?

COMMUNICATION EQUALITY IS YOUR RIGHT!

CAN WE FIX THIS? YES!

FILL OUT THIS FORM TO JOIN THE THOUSANDS WHO NEED THE FCC
TO FULLY SUPPORT AND FUND YOUR COMMUNICATION SERVICES.

In the Proceeding(s) field enter 10-51 and select that item from the list, then enter 03-123 and select that item

1 | UNDER “PROCEEDINGS” TYPE NUMBER: 10-51 AND THEN ANOTHER NUMBER 03-123

2 | ENTER YOUR NAME, EMAIL, ADDRESS

3 | IN THE COMMENT SECTION, BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHY YOU BELIEVE EVERY DEAF, HARD OF HEARING AND DEAFBLIND INDIVIDUAL SHOULD HAVE TOTAL ACCESS NOW!

Call us on your Video Phone to leave a Video Mail message and we will complete the form for you if you prefer to use ASL. 877-903-9111

The Charlotte city council started providing ASL interpretation during their bi-monthly meetings in September.

Videos explaining some issues and how you can tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) what you want to see changed! https://totalaccess.org/

TELL THE FCC YOUR RIGHTS:

CAN WE FIX THIS? YES!

FILL OUT THIS FORM TO JOIN THE THOUSANDS WHO NEED THE FCC TO FULLY SUPPORT AND FUND YOUR COMMUNICATION SERVICES.

FILL OUT THIS FORM TO JOIN THE THOUSANDS WHO NEED THE FCC
TO FULLY SUPPORT AND FUND YOUR COMMUNICATION SERVICES.