F.A.Q’s
Our Rates And Policies
Why are the Rates Lower than the Competition? Because our focus is on a limited geographic area allowing for an increased number of appointments per day. A state-of-the-art scheduling system and a sizeable number of contractors who can “pick a job” off the announcement board, allows the office to run with minimal management. QuickBooks interfacing with our scheduling system means no need for a bookkeeper.
How will I get Billed? Typically, the paying party is the business entity. If you are the paying entity (usually the requester of services) you will receive an invoice via email following the assignment. Payment is due Upon Receipt. You can pay via credit card online, third-party app, bank transfer, or hard check.
Why do I have to Pay for Cancellations? When you make a request, the interpreter reserves a block of time for the appointment. During this reserved time, he or she is unable to confirm any other appointments as they are already booked. If there is a cancellation less than 48 hours before the appointment begins, there is not enough time for the interpreter to schedule the now available block of time.
Interpreting
What is Interpreting? “Interpreting is the transfer of one spoken or signed language to another. Interpreters work in a wide range or different settings – from international conferences and business meetings to courts and doctors’ surgeries.” What is interpreting? – National Network for Interpreting
Where would I go to get started? Since a college degree is required in most states to work, one should start in high school by taking sign classes, which will be introductions with chapters on Deaf Culture, Language, Jobs, etc. ASL Request recommends that before you even consider the profession, study this widely recommended text “So You Want To Be an Interpreter” Humphrey and Alcorn. So You Want To Be An Interpreter? Fourth Edition — H & H Publishing (hhpublishingonline.com)
What Qualifications do Interpreters have? Qualified interpreters must have near-native language competency, complete a college degree, obtain national certification through a testing process, and meet continuing education requirements as well as membership in the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). In many states a working interpreter must also have a license to practice interpreting. This is much like a license in any other professional field. Maryland recently passed a state license law that requires interpreters to be Nationally Certified by RID or The BEI. Dues to RID must be current, and CEU requirements for each certification must be current. There is a fee for the state license and a review process in the likely event of a complaint involving skills or behavior.
What are the “dangers” of working as an interpreter? Many Interpreters are not able to work long hours or even for that many years due to the high number of incidents of repetitive motion injury. Since interpreters tend to work as independent contractors, though more and more they opt for staff employment for stability, insurance (of all kinds), paid holidays, and retirement money. Since the early 1990s interpreters have demanded to be hired in teams of 2 or more to prolong their career.
RID - The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
What is RID? www.rid.org
Founded in 1964, it is a member-driven, professional organization focused on “Serving equally our
members, the profession, and the public by promoting and advocating for qualified and effective
interpreters in all spaces where intersectional diverse Deaf lives are impacted.” RID 2023
How does RID help interpreters?
RID maintains a searchable database of Interpreters, Agencies, Workshops, Presenters, State Laws, etc. To put it simply, they are the resource clearing house for interpreters and the “sales” force when an individual seeks to hire an interpreter. The organization also tracks Continuing Education Credits, Membership,
Certification, Dues, and Complaints are both technical and ethical. There is a committee called Ethical Practice
Standards which is the investigatory body and ultimately the judge and jury in applying the standards of the Code of Professional Conduct against the complaint filed. They also decide what consequences the interpreter will face and set a timeline to complete the tasks, if any.
Sign Language
What is Sign Language? www.youtube sign language lessons
Dictionary noun - A system of communication using visual gestures and signs, as used by deaf people. American Sign Language is a unique language with specific rules of grammar. There are hundreds of unique signed languages in the World. Like any other language interpretation from language A to language B, there are not 1:1 correlations but rather an equivalent message in each language.
William C. Stokoe Jr. – changed the course of American Sign Language history. Before Stokoe, ASL was not seen as a real language. It was seen as meaningless gestures or pantomime and because of this, ASL wasn’t even considered for use in the education of deaf children–a type of education they so greatly need. And not only did Stokoe prove that ASL was a language at that time, his books also proved that Deaf culture is a real culture! Stokoe truly played a major part in the history of sign language. Start ASL .
Cued Speech
What is Cued Speech? cued language - - Video Search Results (yahoo.com)
Cued Speech is a visual system of communication used with and among deaf or hard-of-hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system that makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of hand shapes, known as cues (representing consonants), in different locations near the mouth (representing vowels) to convey spoken language in a visual format. Wikipedia
ADA Law
What is the ADA law and when was it passed? Americans with Disabilities Act became law in 1990 and it mandates that private companies provide interpreters and other support based on the individual's need. The goal of the law is to provide equal access to all goods and services regardless of disability.
Why do we need to Pay for Interpreters? Please see the question and response related to the qualifications of an interpreter. Most Interpreters work full-time based (full time for interpreters is 25hrs per week) on the demands, carry professional liability insurance and pay for their own travel expenses as well as invoicing costs and services including legal and tax professionals.
Why Must we provide Interpreters for our Deaf Patients? The Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically Title III related to communication access states that any private business, for-profit or not-for-profit enterprises are treated equally under this law. All entities must provide qualified interpreters to their Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, patients and employees.
The Deaf patient should bring a family member to Interpret for them, shouldn’t they? Just as patients should not be related to their doctors due to a risk of conflict of interest, lack of patient privacy, and impartiality, the interpreter should not be a family member of the patient. In very rare situations we may find a situation so unique that a family member or close friend might be relied on to support the professional Interpreter. One such case would be a family member who is deaf and blind and completely unaware of formal sign language and has relied on family-created signs which are termed “home signs”. They may use their voice to speak the language they used in their home country and we would work to find a spoken language interpreter to work as part of the team. It would be impossible to find an interpreter with knowledge of the signs used by the family. There are CDIs that might be called to assist in the process as well. Please see the notes about CDIs in the services we offer.
Deaf Culture
What is Deaf Culture? Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and use sign language as the main means of communication. Wikipedia
Deaf culture in the United States tends to be collectivist rather than individualist; culturally Deaf people value the group. Culturally Deaf people have rules of etiquette for getting attention, walking through signed conversations, leave-taking, and otherwise politely negotiating a signing environment. (American Academy of Pediatrics) Deaf culture meets all five sociological criteria (language, values, traditions, norms, and identity) for defining a culture. (Padden, 1980)