Terps visualize noise for deaf fans at Lollapalooza

Amber Galloway-Gallego has choosen not to use a traditional style of interpreting: Instead of avoiding movement that might distract from music performances or trying to represent the musical instruments, she and some other ASL interpreters hope to bring their work to life with a full-immersion style of communicating. Read the story here.

Hospital settles lawsuit over Terps

A south Texas hospital has settled a lawsuit out of court related to providing interpreters. The suit stemmed from complaints of a deaf couple, whose daughter was undergoing treatments for cancer. The hospital did not provide an interpreter for them and now, as part of the settlement, has agree to provide qualified interpreters when requested by patients, as required under ADA law. The Monitor has more details here.

No Terp for Jazz Fest

A deaf woman says it is "frustrating" that the Montreal International Jazz Festival denied her request for a sign language interpreter. Natasha Luttrell told the CBC, "I asked for one performance, only one performance to have an interpretation and they refused." Read the full story here.

Deaf Volunteer Firefighter Arrested Without Interpreter

Keri Dee says local police did not provide her brother, a deaf volunteer firefighter, with a sign language interpreter after his recent arrest. Little Rock's KARK-TV has a video report.

Terps at Chance The Rapper's concerts

image from ChancetheRapper twitter feed

Chance the Rapper is hiring his own ASL interpreters for all of his concerts. They are from DEAFinitely Dope. InTouch Weekly reports here that he is the first rapper to pay for his own terps.

Getting to Know: Certified Deaf Interpreters

image from Lydia Callis Facebook page

"As the sign language interpreting profession has evolved over the past couple decades, the interpreting community has come to better understand and embrace the role of deaf individuals as linguistic and cultural gatekeepers. Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDIs) are extremely effective at bridging the sometimes vast and persistent gaps that exist between people who are deaf and those who can hear," writes Lydia Callis. She answers some "Frequently Asked Questions About Certified Deaf Interpreters" here
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Suit: No Terrp for 3 Days in hospital

Myra Gill is suing Louisiana's Slidell Memorial Hospital. She claims the hospital failed to provide her an interpreter during an emergency room visit that turned into a three day stay. Her lawyer told WDSU-TV, "We know that you can't get an interpreter at the drop of a hat within 10 minutes but Ms. Gill was in the hospital for three days and never once received a sign language interpreter."  WDSU has more on the story here.

Deaf patients struggle to get interpreters in medical emergencies

A investigative reporting website that focuses on health issues says a "review of hospital inspection reports and court records found dozens of instances around the country when deaf patients said they were not provided adequate interpreter services." Particularly of concern is hospital dependence on Video Relay Interpreters instead of in-person ASL interpreters. STAT reports:

Many deaf patients have taken to social media to complain about the use of video interpreting services in emergency rooms. Numerous patients tell stories about a blurry video feed and describe having to set up the video interpreting service themselves when nurses don’t know how to operate the equipment, or being unable to focus on a small screen in a crowded room.

Read the full story here.

Deaf Woman Denied Terp at Airport

The ACLU has filed a discrimination complaint saying a deaf woman was stopped and interrogated at Honolulu's airport. Customs officials apparently refused to provide her with a sign language interpreter, despite her repeated requests. The ACLU quotes the unnamed woman (who didn't want to be named) as saying:

I was so scared and felt alone. For people with deafness, being cut off from our ways of communicating is terrifying. I have traveled a lot, but have never experienced anything like this at any airport ever. With this complaint, I just want to make sure that other deaf people coming through Hawaii’s airports are treated with basic respect and dignity, and that disabilities are accommodated.

Read the full story in HawaiiNewsNow.

Terp Services Lawsuit Goes Forward

An appeals court has overturned a ruling that would have prevented a lawsuit from going forward against two South Florida hospitals over interpreters. The hospitals used VRI (video remote interpreting) but Cheylla Silva and John Paul Jebian requested an in-person interpreter. When the hospitals refused, they sued. Read the full story from CBS Miami here.

Fed agency can't hire needed terps

The spy agency in charge of the most advanced imaging technology in the world has a budget of more than $5 billion. But "right now they have a position for a sign language interpreter that they’re not allowed to fill." Gizmodo explains why.

*update: The freeze was just lifted this week

Mom: School took away Terp

A mom in Huntsville, Alabama says her school district has taken away her 8-year-old son's sign language interpreter. Ryann Brown told AL.com, "He cannot benefit from any type of hearing aid or cochlear implant so he fully relies on sign language to communicate. Taking away his interpreter would provide him with no access to language in the classroom." Read the full story here.

Deaf student says University didn't provide interpreter

A visiting student researcher from Canada says UC Berkeley didn't provide her an interpreter until she was near the end of her time at the school, which left her sitting "in a classroom trying to read lips." KTVU-TV spoke with Nancy Barker and has a video report.

Court hears appeal of deaf patients

Two deaf people were in federal court today because a hospital refused to give them in-person interpreters. Baptist Hospital provided VRI but Cheylla Silva and John Paul Jebian are challenging that technology as inadequate to meet ADA requirements. A lower court judge dismissed the case but they are appealing and hoping the federal appeals court overturns the lower court ruling. Read the full story from the Miami Herald here.