ASL interpreting 101 for hearing people | Andrew Tolman & Lauren Tolo | TEDxBend

"I have no idea what you were saying up there, but it looked so beautiful!!" Hearing American Sign Language interpreters Andrew Tolman and Lauren Tolo briefly explain the history, process, and role of ASL Interpreters, hoping to inspire hearing people to do what they can daily to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing parties. Community building starts with educating the general population about how hearing privilege can be used to leverage change and promote full accessibility and inclusion in all spaces.

Andrew Tolman is a 29-year-old musician and ASL interpreter currently living in Portland, OR, on historically Clackamas Chinook and Molalla land. Inspired by their time working for the historic Philip J. Wolfe Portland City Council campaign, OCCUPY ICE PDX, Don’t Shoot Portland, and the Central American Refugee Caravan (among many others) as a sign language interpreter, Andrew found himself joining the unbroken chain of resistance thousands of years old and invigorated by a new mission. Currently, Andrew finds himself working closely with both Hearing and Deaf activists and fighters to bring accessibility to the front lines. Through the founding of their group "FingersCrossedInterpreting.com," Andrew hopes to continue to build bridges by making it easy for community-based Hearing activists to reach into Deaf and Hard of Hearing activist spaces and make meaningful connection, empowering both communities with resources and information to strengthen the fight for equality. The fact is that accessibility benefits everyone because everyone has a story to share. Andrew hopes to continue serving his community in solidarity for as long as possible and to inspire other interpreters and communities to proudly do the same.

Lauren began working in the classroom at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind as an intervener, working one-on-one with DeafBlind students providing information that the individual is unable to gather on their own. She was inspired to dedicate her professional life to facilitating communication and bridging the gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds. Out of this experience emerged her career as an educational interpreter. Now living in Central Oregon, she interprets for a Deaf student in a general education classroom. Lauren is committed to providing full inclusion, and strives to always empower deaf and hearing children, regardless of their identity otherwise, with the knowledge to advocate for themselves, discover themselves, broaden their horizons, and accomplish their dreams.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Andrew Tolman: So imagine
you're getting all settled into your seat,

nice and cozy.

Maybe you're at the theater.

Maybe you're at the book tour
of your favorite author.

Lauren Tolo: Or maybe a TED Talk!

AT: When you're getting
settled in, you notice

there's a sign language
interpreter at the front.

How many of you saw that and thought,

"This is gonna be really cool"?

"Sign language is so beautiful!"

and got a little more cozy?

Right?

Yes, for sign language!

(Cheers) (Applause)

Sign language is beautiful,
let me tell you.

And the interpreting
process is absolutely cool.

But, interpreters are not performers.

Interpreters are an important part
of accessibility and inclusion.

And think about
the deaf people that are there.

They're the ones that requested
the accommodation,

but they rarely get the same attention
in those kinds of spaces.

Being an interpreter is not glamorous.

It's actually very, very, very hard work.

And just as much as it is our job to
provide our skills to the deaf community,

it is equally if not more important

for us to work alongside
hearing people like yourselves

who do not know American Sign Language,

and often need crucial information
from deaf or hard of hearing people.

A doctor needs to know exactly
what's wrong with their patient.

A teacher needs to know

that their student comprehends
all lectures and homework.

An interpreter in those situations
is given a lot trust

to facilitate all of those
dynamics effectively.

LT: According to the 2011
American Community Survey,

roughly 11 million individuals
consider themselves deaf

or have serious difficulty hearing.

Many of these people identify culturally
as Deaf with a capital D,

not hearing impaired.

Deaf people as a cultural identity
are richly diverse,

and today they are making
strides in every field,

developing new medical advances
and inventing new technologies.

They are lawyers, and CEOs,
and political candidates,

and they are revolutionizing
the idea of universal access.

But if certified, qualified, interpreters

are not provided alongside
other forms of accommodation,

then there's an issue.

AT: You're missing out on 11 million
game changers, revolutionaries,

co-workers.

Here's the thing.

Historically, ASL interpreters
were just friends and family members.

The children of deaf adults, or CODAs,

were often the ones responsible
to facilitate language for their family.

Other people were just friends
who happened to know the language

and had a big heart.

And our career is still very young.

American Sign Language
didn't even start to be recognized

as its full, own, autonomous
language until the '60s.

And interpreters didn't start receiving
any sort of training until the '70s.

Those programs were typically
only a few weeks long,

and focused on vocabulary building,

but there was very little discussion
on the vicarious effects

that interpreting process
can have on the interpreter

and how serious the consequences can be,

mostly on the deaf
and hard of hearing community

when those language facilitators
are ineffective.

LT: A hearing interpreter strives
to neutrally and judiciously

facilitate both cultural
and linguistic intent

between deaf and hearing parties.

We are not just dealing with words

but the intent and emotion
behind and around those words.

We do not give a word for word

or a watered-down summary
of what someone is saying,

but actually sign language interpreting
is mostly done simultaneously.

So as you can see on stage,
the interpreters are producing

a linguistically, culturally,
and dynamically equivalent message

in American Sign Language, live,
with just a few seconds of lag time.

American Sign Language is rich
with its own culture, and grammar,

and regional accents,

and it uses the face and the body
to create richness and context

that would otherwise
be just a simple hand movement.

It changes and flows
with the culture around it,

and in the case of simultaneous
sign language interpreting,

there are two processes happening
in the brain: visual and auditory.

According to studies,

there are literally too many complex
processes in simultaneous interpretation

for even the world's best supercomputer
to run at the same time.

Interpreters must understand
context along with tone, body language,

facial expression, emotion,

and produce a dynamically
equivalent interpretation

without disrupting
the flow of conversation,

no matter how intense it might get.

Just imagine the difference
between interpreting for an argument

versus a boring lecture.

Or, imagine the difference
of an interpreter for President Obama

compared to President Trump.

(Laughter)

AT: Today, interpreters are professionals
that have to deal with all of that.

(Laughs)

We graduate from bachelor
and master programs,

and we are required
to continue our education after that -

going to workshops and engaging with
the deaf and hard of hearing community,

talking about research that comes out
about our field almost every single day.

We now realize that the interpreting
process is incredibly nuanced,

and very complicated.

There's vicarious trauma involved,
power and privilege dynamics,

and interpreters must be very cognizant

of the effects that we can have
on people's lives

as we navigate those dynamics.

Interpreters work in a variety of fields

so we're learning new things
from the deaf community all the time

and developing new types interpreting

like protactile interpreting
alongside the DeafBlind community

or working alongside Deaf people
who are native speakers

and act as certified deaf interpreters,

adding cultural context

that hearing people like ourselves
typically are unable to produce.

And while all of this amazing,
amazing progress is happening,

we still have a really,
really long way to go.

Certified does not always mean qualified,

because agencies are still placing
interpreters to match accommodation needs

without directly asking
deaf people what they need.

An interpreter could show up
and have no idea what we're doing,

and that can have serious
consequences on people's lives,

and can affect that interpreter.

Everyone involved is at risk
when that happens.

LT: So overall, interpreters
are called to work at a level

that is both professional and ethical.

This standard comes from
our Code of Professional Conduct, or CPC,

that works to set the standard
for interpreting practices

and keeps certified interpreters
working ethically.

Certification alongside
accountability systems

like Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

protect working professionals
as well as the rights of deaf individuals.

However, the US currently has
only one nationally accepted test

to certify hearing people
as American Sign Language interpreters.

As of 2015, there is no nationally
recognized exam for legal interpreters,

and there has never been
a nationally recognized exam

for healthcare interpreters
in the history of the profession.

Another major problem
is that some states, like Oregon,

this national certification test
is not mandated by law.

So anyone who can prove
they "know sign language,"

can potentially be hired by an agency
and sent to work out with a deaf person,

even in medical settings.

Many agencies who contract interpreters

cannot, or do not, effectively screen
their interpreters for quality and skill.

This lack of services can be worse in
rural areas like here in Central Oregon,

where resources are already limited.

Deaf people often have to choose
between subpar access or no access at all,

and then have no place to file a complaint
that will actually make a difference.

AT: When hearing people like ourselves

are collaborating directly
with the deaf community,

we know how to use
our privilege and our access

to support deaf people's creation
of inclusive spaces for themselves.

When we are all included, everyone wins.

For example, this could even be important

in a community grassroots
activists setting,

like in 2018, when I was called to serve
by the deaf community at Occupy ICE PDX.

For 38 days, protesters fought
to shut downs the DHS office in Portland,

and protested the separation of families,
and the abuses happening at the border.

And as we all know, here in Oregon,
political action like that is nothing new,

but Occupy ICE PDX was very unique

because for the first time,
an entire camp in all its complexities

was made accessible

because deaf and hard of hearing
community members and activists showed up

and put themselves on the front line.

And that camp kept its commitment
to fighting for all people

by providing sign language interpreters

and other forms of accommodation
and accessibility.

I was fortunate enough to be involved

and helped coordinate a team
of roughly 10 sign language interpreters,

who showed up for vigils, direct actions,
community meetings.

We had interactions with armed officers,

and we interpreted live arrests.

This type of inclusion was new

for deaf people
and sign language interpreters.

But what came of it was beautiful.

New, specialized vocabulary
was discussed by the deaf community

for the first time ever.

That language empowered them to create
their own narrative in those spaces

and helped interpreters like Lauren and I
know exactly how to match those needs.

When everyone is involved
in that work, everyone wins.

We're still doing
that activists work today

because of the creation
of vocabulary and concepts

that the deaf community
were able to make for themselves.

And not only just talk about
the deaf experience,

but be included enough
to engage on any topic they wanted.

LT: But let's be honest,

the modern world revolves around
auditory information gathering,

and most people who have
the privilege of hearing

don't think twice about it
and are able to partake at ease.

There are many situations in which you
may all have never thought about life

from a perspective other than hearing.

But I want you to take a moment

and think back to your favorite class
in elementary school,

or think back to your first job interview,

maybe a time you were scared
to receive some news,

or maybe your first court appearance
for a speeding ticket.

The birth of your child,

or a funeral.

Interpreters are often
a rotating cast of strangers

in these, and so many other moments
of deaf people's lives.

Andrew and I have been those strangers
in the room, and those extra bodies,

and on the video screen.

We are privy to stories
that are not our own,

and experience moments in people's lives

that we would never
otherwise have knowledge of.

Professional interpreters
are called to work

for respect for consumers and co-workers,

while also prioritizing
confidentiality and privacy.

Those stories, good and bad,
belong to the deaf community,

and are not for interpreters to tell.

AT: That's right.

The thing is,

when you see an interpreter,
we are not here to teach you cool signs,

or talk on the side.

It's not a performance.

We are working hard to provide
accessibility to hearing and deaf people.

The ADA states that places
of public accommodation

must allow people with disabilities
to participate in, and benefit from,

equally in any service.

So, what is the best way
for all of you to know

that you're providing
the right kinds of accommodations?

You can start by researching locally.

Start in the places that you work
or places that you frequent.

Are they able and ready to provide
a number of access points

including sign language
interpreters upon request?

Also, please start
to push your legislators

to put certified, qualified interpreters
into the legislation here,

and start demanding
that that certification

and that standardization

make its way to Oregon.

Also, find deaf organizations
that are already doing that work,

and throw your full weight behind them

because those accountability processes

must be in the hands
of the deaf community.

LT: But most importantly, ask deaf people,
engage with them directly.

Support deaf professionals
and organizations

that are already doing the work.

Ask them what makes a good interpreter.

Inspire them and empower them
to give own experiences

and more of their own TED Talks.

Our time on this stage has been
an honor, but we want to be clear:

Interpreters are only
one part of the story,

and only one option in a myriad
of different kinds of accommodation

and access.

The work of an interpreter exists
symbiotically with the deaf community.

Because if they are not empowered
to regulate, and educate,

and keep accountable the interpreters
that you all depend on,

then we as interpreters
are not able to grow our field

to match the ever changing world.

It is simple: the best way to ensure
that your work is successful

is to make that work
accessible and inclusive.

AT: And accessibility in itself
is not revolutionary.

But again, when everyone is involved,

I think you'd be surprised
at how extraordinary it could be.

Please don't just take our word for it.

Go get yourself an awesome interpreter,

and ask the deaf community
what they're already doing.

Without that kind of accessibility,

how would you ever know
what you have been missing out on?

Both: Thank you.

(Applause) (Cheers)