Christina School District’s Post

Great opportunities

Two interesting reads on the shortage of ASL Interpreters: https://lnkd.in/eftJrQEJ https://lnkd.in/eMCXdFDi Personally, my journey in this field started virtually. For about 6 months, I interpreted through my laptop. In March, 2021, I began taking in-person work, and by August 2021, I was working almost exclusively in person. While I do take the occasional VRI (Video Remote Interpreting) job, I prefer to work with people face-to-face. Additionally, despite living in an area with many ASL-Interpreters and a large Deaf population, I have felt the shortage. On days when I work from sunrise to after dark, when I rack up over 40 hours by Sunday, when my commutes widen the radius of how far I need to travel to interpret for people who need to talk to each other - the shortage is felt in every part of my body and brain. I appreciate NDC's charge: "Short-term solutions may help institutions meet their legal obligations under the ADA, yet they are not providing equitable experiences for deaf students. It’s time for a change in practice and a commitment to equity for deaf students."

Deaf job seekers often face several barriers in the workplace, which can make it challenging to find and retain employment. Some of the common obstacles include: Communication Barriers *Lack of ASL interpreters *Inadequate captioning *Telephone communication Lack of Awareness and Accessibility *Employer misunderstanding *Lack of accessible technology *Interview Process Discrimination- Bias in hiring Workplace exclusion *Limited Access to Networking and Professional Development and Training Inconsistent Accommodation Practices *Lack of standardized accommodations Workplace Culture *Isolation *Reluctance to request accommodations **If you are a Deaf job seeker please post in the comments, with the industry you're looking for a job in and please add to the barriers you face** #HireDeafTalent #DeafAwarenessMonth #RecruitersNeedAwarenessTraining ID: A blue background with eight figures/icons: a person icon in the middle top left vibrating telephone, and ear with a line through it, a lightbulb, an audio speaker, a silhouette of a person speaking, an image of an ear receiving sound in another image of a person.

Yay, that is wonderful news for the Rehabilitation Council Of India teams! Thank you, Pallavi Kulshrestha, for sharing this on the WhatsApp groups. This is indeed a great feat, Pallavi Kulshrestha. Congratulations to you and all the deaf associations and allies for your consistent advocacy efforts to make sure this sees the light of day. It took almost a decade of advocacy, but we finally have an order from Rehabilitation Council Of India advocating for deaf teachers in teacher training institutes and deaf schools. This letter can be used to push for hiring deaf teachers in their respective states. Even I have visited deaf schools in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and across India—almost 400 deaf schools—but only hearing teachers are present. How can they effectively teach deaf children and help them grow their knowledge for future life and jobs? It is difficult, as my experience and proof show. But now, Rehabilitation Council Of India has accepted the need for deaf teachers to teach deaf children. This is an opportunity to hire deaf teachers for deaf schools all across India. Thank you, Rehabilitation Council Of India team, for understanding and providing jobs for deaf teachers. This is a great step towards accessibility, sign language inclusion, and improving professional English and sign language skills. #VictoryForDeafEducation #InclusiveEducation #DeafTeachersMatter #SignLanguageForAll #RCIAdvocacy #EmpowerDeafTeachers #EducationForAll #AccessibleEducation #DeafRights #BreakingBarriers

12 million adults in the UK are deaf or have hearing loss. We can all play our part to be more #deaf aware, both at work and in daily life. If you are deaf or have hearing loss, here are some tips from RNID you can use to help people better understand your communication needs. #DeafAwarenessWeek

i I have written extensively about disability and inclusion in both government and the private sector. In particular, I have reiterated that the deaf populace has always been disadvantaged for being "voiceless." By this, I mean that sign language is not "heard" (not loud enough), so whenever we try to air our grievances, they are often not taken seriously. It is not because the deaf populace lacks qualifications; it is because of society's perceptions towards persons who are deaf. It is common knowledge that deaf people are not given opportunities to sit in high decision-making departments or organizations because there is a belief that hearing people can speak on our behalf. Some believe that once policies and decisions are made, they can always hire an interpreter to help during policy launches, which is akin to the street saying, "Why hire a lawyer when you can pay the judge?" Such practices have often resulted in policies that are retrogressive to the gains made in inclusion and the betterment of the deaf populace. Don't get me wrong; I know interpreters play a very crucial role in breaking communication barriers and ensuring access to information. Moreover, I know there are individuals who have dedicated their lives to helping the deaf. However, no experience, not even an academic one, beats lived experience. As such, I always advocate for the employment or inclusion of deaf persons at the highest decision-making levels. This would help improve inclusion and participation of deaf persons in decision-making and the building of our country. In the developed world, the deaf are included in almost every important sector, as evidenced in the video accessible via the link I have attached at the end of this post. If only the Kenyan government could embrace such initiatives aimed at ensuring inclusion, our country would be competing with the Asian tigers. That said, I hear there are vacancies for Cabinet Secretary positions. If you happen to hear the president is headhunting, mention me to him... I would make an ideal candidate for the post of CS Education. Just saying! https://lnkd.in/dd3xZyGt #deaf #inclusion.

I will be hosting 2nd Deaf Job Seekers Virtual Meet Up. It will be on Wednesday February 7th, at 5 PM CST. What is it? This is a professional Deaf job seekers meet-up, this will help one another going through tribulations and frustrations of finding work as a deaf professional. You can be an oral person or an ASL user. (We are all in the same boat!!) (Will not use an interpreter). We can use chat box to communicate with one another if the auto-captioning doesn't understand some of our Deaf voices!! HA I will send out an email soon to the previous users that signed up. (If you want your name removed. Please let me know soon). And for any new users, please PM me with your email address so I can send you a link for the meet up. We will have around 10 spots available. Please PM me or leave comments if interested. Thank you. (And the virtual event will be on Teams. So thank you to Microsoft for helping sponsor this). #deaf #deafnetworking #deafjobseekers #disability

🌟 Deaf Awareness Week! 🌟  "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." - Mark Twain.   Love knows no limits, and trust is built on caring for one another. As we celebrate Deaf Awareness Week, let’s open our hearts, bridge the communication gap, and embrace the beauty of diversity within the Deaf community. (UK Council on Deafness) Deaf Awareness Week is an important time to promote understanding, inclusivity, and support for the D/deaf and hard of hearing community.   About 10% of the UK and Ireland population are impacted by hearing loss and oftentimes this means work environments and recruitment processes can be difficult to navigate.    Here are some resources for job seekers: Interview tips for deaf job-seekers: https://lnkd.in/d79zXB5X #deafawarenessweek #inclusiverecruitment