Working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students and Accommodations
Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students communicate in different ways depending on several factors such as the amount of residual hearing, type of deafness, language skills, age deafness began, speech abilities, personality, environment, and education background. The causes and degree of loss vary as do the methods of communication and attitudes towards deafness.
General Information about Working with Students
It is the student’s responsibility to give you their accommodation letter. Common accommodations for DHH students include sign language interpreters or real-time transcribers, assistive listening devices priority registration, note-takers and closed captioned videos.
The inability to hear does not affect an individual’s native intelligence or the physical ability to produce sounds. Most DHH students who use interpreters or real-time transcribers will use note taking accommodations to received maximum benefit from their classes.
Some students’ native language is American Sign Language (ASL); others do not sign at all.
If the student is not present when class begins, the interpreter or real-time transcriber will wait 15 minutes. The interpreter or C-Print transcriber is not responsible for the deaf student(s) in your class. The interpreter or C-Print transcriber has no control over classroom attendance or behavior of the student.
The interpreter or C-Print transcriber is not an academic counselor. If you have a question or statement about the student and/or about his/her works, please direct that question/comment to the student and not to the interpreter or C-Print transcriber. This allows the interpreter or C-Print transcriber to remain in their respective professional role, and acknowledges the student’s responsibility for their work.
Please provide the interpreter or C-Print transcriber with the syllabus and any handouts that you give to the students. This helps them follow along. The interpreter or C-Print transcriber in your classroom does not necessarily specialize in the content are in which you teach and therefore may need to prepare for class just like your students do.
Working with ASL Interpreters
The interpreter facilitates communication between deaf and hard of hearing student, faculty, and staff on campus through the use of sign language. Interpreters are a communication link between the deaf student(s), the instructor, and the other students in the class.
The interpreter is most often seated in front of the class, opposite the student. The interpreter will try to maintain a position that will allow the student to have a view of both the speaker/instructor and the interpreter at all times.
Your normal rate of speech is acceptable and preferred.
If you want to communicate with the student, maintain eye contact and address him/her directly. Avoid saying “tell him/her” to the interpreter.
There will be a few seconds “lag time” between your spoken message and its interpretation into sign language. Therefore, if you ask a question or request a “show of hands”, the student might have a slightly slower response than the majority of students in the class.
The interpreter will interpret environmental noises and may, at times, interpret overhead conversations before class begins.
If the classroom needs to be darkened, be aware that the student must be able to see the interpreter in order to access the information presented in an auditory format. Please adjust the lighting so that the interpreter can be seen by the student.
Working with Speech-to-Text Service Providers (C-Print Transcriber):
C-Print captioning/transcribing is a method of using specialized software to convert spoken language into visual text onto a laptop computer screen or tablet. Students read the transcript using a standard Web browser on a mobile device. Overall, successful real-time transcribing in the classroom depends upon the ability to hear, understand, and keep pace with the speaker. Access to the class syllabus, general vocabulary from required textbooks, and materials posted on your class website are important.
Speech-to-Text Service Providers in the Classroom
The transcriber will set up equipment upon arriving to the classroom. If the student is absent, the transcriber occasionally might be rescheduled to a different class. In such cases, they will break down the equipment and exit the classroom as unobtrusively as possible.
Lecture material, class comments, questions, and social interactions among the student’s peers are all captioned.
The use of two linked computers (or tablets) allowed the student to type questions and comments to the transcriber during class. The transcriber can then read (“voice”) for the student, if that is the student’s preference. If you find the student’s speech difficult to understand, you are encouraged to request that the student type his/her questions and comments for voicing.
The transcribing process involved a slight lag time. Therefore, please be aware that if you ask questions, the student using the service may require a few additional seconds in order to respond and/or participate in class discussions.
Within 24 hours, the transcriber will edit out non-subject related and confidential material and will provide a copy of the transcript to the student. Students are not permitted to share the transcript with any other person and will not receive transcripts of classes they do not attend.
Similar to sign language interpreters, C-Print captioners follow a Code of Ethics.