Items

• I DON'T DO DEAF-BLIND
  The purpose of this article is to recruit interpreters to become skilled in working with Deaf-Blind people. The shortage of Deaf-Blind interpreters is discussed. The author encourages interpreters to attend an American Association of the Deaf-Blind convention or attend a Deaf-Blind workshop or training opportunity to experience this type of interpreting. Also listed are eight additional ways to get started in the field. VIEWS, vol.14, #11, December 1997, p.1
• THE DILEMMA OF DEAF-BLIND INTERPRETING
  This article highlights some of the differences between the services offered by special support providers (SSP) and Deaf-Blind Interpreters. The author coordinated interpreting services for meetings during the 1996 National Association of the Deaf Biennial Convention in Portland, Oregon, and uses situations from the convention to illustrate the different tasks of SSP and Deaf-Blind interpreters. VIEWS, vol.14, #11, December 1997, p.20
• CHALLENGES IN DEAF-BLIND INTERPRETING: Then and Now
  This article describes the growth in the field of interpreting services for deaf-blind people. Increased demands in an increasing array of settings have created the need to use new skills. Flexibility is necessary to provide a broad range of services to meet the unique and diverse communication needs of individuals who are deaf-blind. VIEWS, vol.14, #11, December 1997, p.16
• FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS & ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS WITH STUDENTS WHO HAVE USHER SYNDROME
  This is a list of tips for teachers, interpreters, students with deafblindness, family members, classmates, and members of the community to take into consideration in their relationships with deafblind people. Environmental tips for the classroom, lighting, and reading are included as well. Also available in electronic format.
• USING INTERPRETERS WITH DEAF-BLIND CLIENTS: WHAT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS SHOULD KNOW
  This article provides recommendations for using interpreters with deaf-blind clients. It describes the importance of using professional interpreters and not accepting an unqualified "signer" with good intentions. The communication process suffers without professional interpreters. RE:VIEW, Vol. XXVII, #4, Winter 1996, pp.149-154
• NATURAL MORAL LAW AND THE RIGHT OF DEAFBLIND PEOPLE TO THE SERVICE OF GUIDE-INTERPRETERS
  In this article the author answers the question, "why do deafblind people need the services of guide-interpreters?". The author gives information on guide-interpreters, discusses a person's environment, and addresses the rights of people who are deafblind. Also outlines how legislation should address the issues of deaf-blind people. DBI REVIEW, #32, July-December 2003, pp. 26-27.
• THE INTERPRETER, OUR BEST AND MOST IMPORTANT AID FOR COMMUNICATION
  Author is Swedish. She describes the need for adequate interpreters internationally. Then she goes on to describe the way interpreters are used in Sweden to help the deaf-blind. The article concludes with the idea that there are still not enough interpreters for all those deaf-blind who could use them. THE INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER FOR THE DEAF-BLIND, 1
• A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE STAFF INTERPRETERS AT THE HELEN KELLER NATIONAL CENTER
  Describes the challenges of coordinating interpreting services at a center-based program that includes consumers and staff who are deaf-blind, Deaf, blind and hearing. Includes the logistics of interpreting in a variety of individual and group settings as well specific adaptive equipment and techniques for facilitating individual styles and preferences. VIEWS, Vol. 22, #11, December 2005, pp. 35-36
• COMMUNICATION SERVICES WITH DEAFBLIND PEOPLE IN MIND: Some Perspectives from the USA
  Guest briefly presents the main points of a talk given by interpreters Susan Brooks and Rita Jo Scarcella at HKNC. She notes the increase in the need for and the availability of training of interpreters for people who are deaf or deafblind. The article includes a list of suggested criteria for any service agency setting up a communications and interpreting service. TALKING SENSE, vol. 41, no.1, Spring 1995, pp. 16-17.
• DEAF-BLIND INTERPRETING WORKBOOK: Student Readings and Worksheets, 2nd Edition
  This workbook is an updated version of the original 2000 book. It includes information designed to help more people become prepared and have confidence in their ability to work with deaf-blind individuals. The workbook is divided into 12 units focused on communication techniques, interpreting environments, considerations for types of vision loss, hearing loss or limited language capacities, tactile interpreting, code of ethics, deaf-blind culture, and adaptive equipment. It is intended as a supplement to classroom and community discovery. To order contact: Washington State Deaf-Blind Citizens. Publisher's web site: http://www.wsdbc.org This document is available on the web at: http://www.wsdbc.org/interpworkbook/interpworkbook.htm
• TACTILE INTERPRETING - ARE YOU READY?
  In this article various types of tactile interpreting are depicted illustrating possible work assignments an interpreter might encounter. Typing skills may be required if clients use laptop computers that have Braille output devices. Issues such as transportation needs and regulations; multiple roles; and team support for longer interpreting assignments, all need to be considered and planned for in advance so the Deaf-Blind person's needs will be met. Opportunities for obtaining more experience in these areas are listed. VIEWS, vol.14, #11, December 1997, p.12
• BEING IN TOUCH: Communication and Other Issues in the Lives of People Who Are Deaf-Blind
  This book is aimed at interpreters, teachers, and other professionals who work with deaf-blind people. It provides basic information about deaf-blindness and devotes a large section to interpreting. The appendices cover organizations, agencies, and schools serving deaf-blind people; training for teachers and interpreters; manual and braille alphabets; and characteristics of vision loss; recommendations for those looking for more information.
• INDEPENDENCE WITHOUT SIGHT OR SOUND: Suggestions for Practitioners Working with Deaf-Blind Adults
  This book was written to help service providers in working with persons who are deaf-blind. There are numerous examples from actual experience and discussions of practical applications. Sections on service needs, communication, orientation and mobility, sensory deprivation and a survey of dog guide schools. Available from: AFB Press, Customer Service, P.O. Box 1020, Sewickley, PA 15143. Phone: 800-232-3044. Fax: 412-741-0609. Cost: $39.95. Specify print or braille.
• GUIDING TASKS FOR INTERPRETERS WORKING WITH DEAF-BLIND TRAVELERS
  Article includes specific techniques and guidelines for human guides working with travelers who are deaf-blind. The author is certified in O&M, interpreting and low vision. VIEWS, Vol. 22, #11, December 2005, pp. 17-13
• INTERPRETING THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT FOR DEAFBLIND PEOPLE
  The role of the ‘interpreter’ in any situation is critical. They will be the eyes and ears of the deafblind person and will need to transfer vast amounts of information to that person. In this presentation the author has focused on the adaptations to the environment which will enable the deafblind person to function more effectively. This will enable the person to be more self sufficient, with the environment being supportive, rather than (as usually happens) providing barriers. The author believes that how well a person is able to cope in any given situation, or environment is determined largely by the amount of information they are able to gain from it. Article identifies and describes key considerations in designing any environment. This document is available on the web at: http://www.deafblindinternational.org/standard/ publications_interpreting.html
• A GUIDE FOR PRESENTERS AT INTERPRETED CONFERENCES
  Article discusses the difficulties an interpreter faces when trying to interpret for speakers at conferences. Suggestions are offered as to how the speaker can make the sign language interpreter's task easier. This document is available on the web at: http://www.tr.wou.edu/tr/dbp/pdf/may94.pdf DEAF-BLIND PERSPECTIVES, vol. 1, no. 3, Spring 1994, pp. 4-5.
• STUDY OF THE TACTUAL AND VISUAL RECEPTION OF FINGERSPELLING
  The purpose of the study reported here was to examine the ability of experienced deaf-blind subjects to receive fingerspelled materials, including sentences and connected text, through the tactual sense. A parallel study of the reception of fingerspelling through the visual sense was also conducted using sighted deaf subjects. The study concluded that tactual spelling is sent and received with excellent accuracy at 2-6 letters per second. Visual reception, on the other hand, with the use of variable speed videotape playback, could be shown to be much faster than the sender can form the letters. JOURNAL OF SPEECH AND HEARING RESEARCH, vol. 33, no. 4, December1990, pp. 786-797.
• A PROCESS MODEL FOR DEAF-BLIND INTERPRETING
  This paper addresses the need for a theoretical model of interpreting for people who are both deaf and blind, lays out a version of a process model based on the works of Colonomos, Cokely and Seleskovitch, and then expands this model, viewing it through the lens of Deaf-Blind interpreting. A checklist is included as an appendix for use in interpreter training. Journal of Interpretation
• Proceedings of an international symposium on developments and innovations in interpreting for deafblind people
  The third annual conference of its kind aimed at identifying what was happening in interpreting for deafblind people in Europe and to share ideas, information and materials on this subject. Three key issues were examined in a comparative study during the conference; the role and function of the interpreters, models of interpreter training, and the rights of deafblind people to interpreters. Three overview papers are presented addressing the interim results from that study in the areas listed above. Additional technical papers review recent research, developments and models of training are included in the proceedings as well. Held at Leeuwenhorst, The Netherlands, June 1999
• DEICTIC POINTS IN THE VISUAL-GESTURAL AND TACTILE- GESTURAL MODALITIES
  This book chapter begins by reviewing the similarities and differences in signed language between blind and sighted signers and then describes a study that examined the use of deictic points in narratives produced by two deaf-blind adults as compared to their use in two deaf-sighted adults. Nonmanual signals (e.g., eyebrow shifts, head and torso movement, and eye gaze) are integral to sign language as it is used by deaf-sighted signers. This study found that sign language production by deaf-blind individuals differs from that of sighted deaf individuals in that deaf-blind signers do not use nonmanual signs extensively. Additionally, sighted-deaf signers utilize deictic points for referential purposes while deaf-blind signers use other strategies to accomplish the same task. The ability to perceive eye gaze appears to be a crucial component in the realization of deictic points for referential purposes. Modality and Structure in Signed and Spoken Languages. Richard P. Meier, Kearsy Cormier, & David Quinto-Pozos (Eds.), pp. 442-467
• DEAF-BLIND INTERPRETING: Interpreters' Use of Negation in Tactile American Sign Language
  This article describes a study performed to document prevalent signs used during the interpreting process, specifically relating to negation in tactile sign language. The project focused on American Sign Language (ASL) to tactile ASL only. The author intended to document specific signs that pertain to the way deaf interpreters express negation in deaf-blind interpreting. The results of this research are intended to help achieve greater understanding of what seasoned interpreters are doing in the deaf-blind field today. SIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES, vol. 2, #2, Winter 2002, pp. 169-180.
• CORTICAL PROCESSING OF TACTILE LANGUAGE IN A POSTLINGUALLY DEAF-BLIND SUBJECT
  Neural networks of the brain have been reported to have a certain plasticity, an ability to be remodeled and transformed when one sensory function (e.g., hearing or vision) is absent. However, it is unclear which neural networks are involved in language processing when hearing and vision are lost simultaneously in adulthood. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and positron emission tomography (PET), this study analyzed the neural activations in a post-lingually deaf-blind person reading tactile language as compared to 6 normal volunteers. The study found that tactile language activated the brain's language systems as well as higher order systems in the deaf-blind person. Some of these same regions were activated in the 6 normal volunteers but none of them had the same activity distribution as the deaf-blind person, suggesting that enhanced cortical activation of cognitive and semantic processing is involved in the interpretation of tactile sign language. NEUROREPORT, vol. 15, #2, pp.287-291
• AUTONOMY AND LINGUISTIC STATUS OF NONSPEECH LANGUAGE FORMS
  Nonspeech language forms, above all sign language and writing, are discussed with respect to phylogenesis, ontogenesis, and acquisition as well as with respect to neurophysiological and psycholinguistic processes. Speech has not been demonstrated to be phylogenetically or ontogenetically prior to gestural expression. Especially the evidence of the linguistic ability of deaf and deaf-blind people demonstrates that the various expression forms (delological forms) of language are neurophysiologically and psycholinguistically parallel. A terminology is proposed for the linguistic description of these forms. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 1980 Mar;9(2):121-45
• ADVERBIAL MORPHEMES IN TACTILE AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
  Discusses an aspect of linguistic use of adverbial morphemes as applied to a single case study of Tactile American Sign Language (TASL) as used by some American Deaf-Blind signers. TASL, a variation of the visual language recognized as American Sign Language (ASL), is not visually based. In ASL adverbial morphemes occur on the face and are non-manual signals that the Deaf-Blind signer does not see. This requires the ASL signer to make a slight modification, from these “invisible” non- manual morphemes to a tactile morpheme. Accrued data concentrates on six fundamental features of adverbial morphemes intrinsic to TASL: manner/degree, time, duration, purpose, frequency, and place/position/direction. A doctoral dissertation submitted to the Graduate College of Union Institute and University, May 2004.
• INTERPRETING FOR THE DEAF-BLIND
  NAT-CENT NEWS, October 1979, pp. 1-4