Interpreter

An interpreter provides real-time Sign or Visual language interpretation.

Who is this for?

An interpreter accommodation may be necessary to support equitable learning and class participation opportunities for Deaf or Deafblind learners or learners with a hearing impairment such as those that are hard of hearing.

This accommodation supports students to:

  • Equitably access audio or verbal content in real-time that would be missed due to hearing impairment.
  • Access or process information by providing visual equivalents to audio or verbal content in real-time.
Hi, I’m Steven. I am deaf. For live, including remote, classes I have an interpreter to access lectures and participate in class.
Drawing of Steven sitting at a desk with drafting supplies strewn about.
“Steven”, by Sue Doner is licensed under CC BY 4.0

What it is

  • Sign or Visual language interpreters present in class.

What it’s not

  • A barrier that prevents students from working with peers or in experiential settings.
  • A change to course or program requirements.
  • A service students are required to pay for.
  • An interpreter is not a translator.

How can I support this in my classroom?

To facilitate an interpreter accommodation, you may be asked to:

  • Meet with students, interpreters, and accessibility services staff.
  • Share materials (lectures, handouts, etc.) with service providers in advance to allow them to prepare by learning terminology, key terms, etc..
  • Identify audio/visual material (videos, recorded lectures, podcasts, etc.) used in your course and verify they are accurately captioned or transcribed.
  • Accommodate requests for students to sit where they can see the presented material, instructor, and interpreters.
  • Work collaboratively with student, service providers, and accessibility services offices.

Remember to address the student, not the interpreter.

License

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Academic Accommodation Fact Sheets Copyright © by Luke McKnight is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.