Workshops

This workshop will examine the concepts of power, privilege, and oppression and how they relate to our field. It will discuss why interpreters must study them and actively work to incorporate understanding of these principles in our work. Through group discussion, participants will examine scenarios describing the harm caused when these principles are not considered. It will challenge participants to unpack their privilege and work to avoid harm in their practice.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Define and describe power, privilege, and oppression

2. Identify the impact of various decisions on the communities we work with

3. Describe a plan for unpacking their privilege and actively working against oppressive practices in their work.

Whether you struggle with getting the right words out or you have anxiety in putting English to the signs that you see, this workshop is a discussion, facilitated by two professional interpreters who make the same mistakes as you do.

We all do it, we all say things in our interpretation that do not exactly sound right; it may not technically be wrong, but it’s enough to make it sound like it's being run through Google translate.

In this workshop, we will dive in and take a closer look at how choosing translations in our work should be driven by meaning, discuss certain phrases or words used far too often, that make us cringe and discover coping skills around those anxious times when we feel our English equivalents aren’t quite there.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify appropriate lexical substitutions when presented with ASL phrases.

2. Employ strategies for working at the sentential or textural level.

3. Differentiate between lexical, sentential, and textual levels of work.

9 out of 10 interpreters do NOT disclose known conflicts 100% of the time (Smith, 2016). Let that sink in. When we know there is a conflict, the majority of us do not always disclose it. This workshop will help us develop the skills needed to first, identify a conflict, second, determine if the conflict requires us to recuse ourselves, and third, disclose the conflict appropriately. We will also discuss the ethical implications of not disclosing and the ramifications of not disclosing appropriately.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the types of and severity of conflicts recognized by the courts

2. Explain to whom the conflict should be disclosed.

3. Demonstrate how the conflict should be disclosed for the record.

4. Explain how disclosing is not a violation of the RID CPC.

Frequently interpreters arrive on a job to find that the consumers have a variety of additional cultural identities that may be unfamiliar to the interpreter. This workshop will begin with a discussion of the building blocks of cultural competence. Then participants will analyze their own cultural competencies and gaps in knowledge. The session will conclude with group discussion to share ideas for increasing cultural competency.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Define and describe cultural competencies

2. Identify cultural competencies they already have and areas for growth

3. Create a plan for continuing to develop cultural competencies in areas where they have a rudimentary understanding

In this workshop we will review interpreting ethics since the conception of RID. We will discuss what ethics and ethical lenses are, and how interpreters have used and misused the CPC as an ethical standard in the field. We will consider questions such as how do we want to move forward? What is the next evolution of interpreting ethics? How do we navigate the minefield of ethical dilemmas in the interpreting field in a truly ethical way? What should our focus be when we discuss case studies? This workshop will not directly answer any of these questions, but will instead lead participants to the path of ethical change.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify what it means to have ethics from a philosophical standpoint.

2. Define "ethical lens" and how explain how philosophers use various lenses in the pursuit of ethics.

3. Describe the difference between ethical analysis and applying the tenets of a Code of Professional Conduct.

4. Apply tools, such as the CPC, ethical lenses, & case studies to evaluate, affirm, challenge, and when needed, to change their ethical viewpoints.

Storytelling has the ability to transport the participants to another world. By looking past the words of a story to the meaning, an interpreter can ensure the same experience for Deaf audiences. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the analytical process utilized by ASL storytellers to ensure concept retention and character personification. The presenter will discuss the importance of developing a meaning based interpretation and the use of character perspective. Group practice and video discussions will help awareness of clarity of the message.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe an analytical process used by storytellers

2. Define the term "surrogate" and demonstrate at least 2 examples that can easily be incorporated into their everyday work

3. Explain the difference between a "form based" interpretation and a "meaning based" interpretation

In our work as interpreters, we are sometimes faced with a je ne sais quoi moment when we need a modus operandi to serve the Deaf community most effectively. This workshop will introduce foreign words and phrases that often arise in various work settings. These words and phrases will be translated into English, and collectively we will discover their deeper meanings and subsequently translate them into ASL. Through small group discussions and hands on practice, participants will engage in a safe and comfortable space while putting to use newly learned concepts.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Through small group discussions and hands on practice, participants will engage in a safe and comfortable space while putting to use newly learned concepts.

2. Explain the benefits of being familiar with commonly used foreign words and phrases.

3. Deconstruct foreign words and phrases and identify their specific language of origin.

Educational interpreters often face an identity crisis because their role is viewed differently by various school personnel. Educational interpreters are often employed by a third party with a direct report to someone within the district and building to which they are assigned. Typically, the district/building personnel don’t fully understand/appreciate the roles and responsibilities of an educational interpreter. In this workshop, we will discuss the application of the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct, the National Association of Interpreters in Education (NAIE) Code of Ethics and the guidelines from Boystown/EIPA to identify the correct roles and responsibilities of an educational interpreter. We will review posted job descriptions and consider options for navigating potentially conflicting responsibilities.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the relevant professional guidelines (CPC, NAIE and Boystown) relating to competing roles/responsibilities of an educational interpreter.

2. Define 3 responsibilities unique to working with the K-12 population.

3. Identify 3 conflicting roles experienced by educational interpreters and suggest 2 controls for each (using Demand-Control Schema).

4. Articulate 3 ways that working with a Deaf Mentor benefits educational interpreters.

There is currently a need for further research in the interpreting field for working in support group settings for mental health and addiction recovery. This gap in the research leaves many unanswered questions of how best to provide services to deaf consumers in these settings. With the rate of substance abuse amongst individuals with disabilities being double that of those without a disability, there is a need for accessible addiction recovery and mental health support groups (Anderson, Chang & Kini 2018). In order to achieve successful outcomes of treatment, deaf clients must have access to these services much like their hearing peers. This presentation will discuss the needs identified by both deaf clients and hearing interpreters who have been involved in these settings. By recognizing the challenges faced we are able to develop better practices as a profession.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the importance and purpose of support groups for mental health and addiction recovery.

2. List five common types of support groups and important vocabulary that is needed in those settings.

3. Recognize phrases and words that may need to be adapted in these settings to more accurately interpret them. The interpreter will also be able to show alternatives to signing these phrases depending on context.

4. Define self care vs. coping and apply new self care strategies in their daily lives.

"Research shows that when policy is enacted unequally in schools, marginalized students are often disproportionately affected which can have life-long negative consequences. And when special education policy is more suggestion than legislation it creates the impression of protection, what Tefera (2019) calls “the illusion of equity in educational policy,” especially for intersectional Black and Indigenous students. Although interpreters have been supporting diverse DHH learners in classrooms for 40 years, many states continue to play with policy resulting in interpreters who are unprepared to support DHH students. Many also work autonomously without the support of supervisors knowledgeable in ASL, interpreting, or the complex linguistic needs of signing DHH children.

In this session, the presenter shares their research on interpreter supervision, including results from two studies examining how interpreters are supervised and evaluated in K-12 settings. Results indicate significant concerns about the lack of “meaningful” job evaluations leading to questions about the quality of services provided to DHH students. Under federal special education law (IDEA, 2004), states are responsible for related service personnel in schools, but individual interpreters are responsible for their skills as well. Activities and discussions will address how the lack of oversight in K-12 interpreting serves to further marginalize DHH students, and how stakeholders can work collaboratively to re-center the needs of students rather than maintaining the oppressive status quo.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify specific aspects of K-12 interpreter supervision (qualifications, evaluations, professional development) as policy issues with practical ramifications for DHH students.

2. Analyze and compare supervision models for K-12 interpreters and community interpreters to understand how policy contradictions hurt DHH students and can affect the broader Deaf Community.

3. Summarize basic features of critical policy analysis frameworks (policy reflects goals and biases, and affects practice) and how it applies to K-12 interpreting.

4. Utilize the presenter’s research findings on K-12 interpreter supervision to identify policy weaknesses in their schools and leverage data to advocate for organizational change.

Hearing speakers in classrooms, at meetings and in other settings rely heavily on visual information as a medium for conveying their message. However, both interpreters and deaf consumers face challenges in readily accessing and making sense of the visual information. In this workshop, participants will closely examine the role, value and types of visual information which speakers display, e.g. facial cues, body language, electronic slides and videos. The challenges -- interpreters generally work “blind,” with their backs to the visual information and deaf consumers have to cope with “Visual Split-Attention.” The presenter will describe and demonstrate techniques participants may use for effectively receiving and incorporating visual information into English to ASL interpreting.

Dr. Susan Mather and Dr. Diane Clark described “Visual Split-Attention” as a “situation that requires splitting visual attention between visual linguistic information.” Spring 2012 edition of Odyssey published by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. List 3 inadequate working conditions and describe how they negatively impact interpreting performance.

2. Define “Visual Split-Attention” and its impact on deaf consumers of interpreting

3. Describe and implement 3 ways to readily view speakers’ visual information

Common interpreting policies and practices often marginalize people (intentionally and unintentionally). This is a systemic problem. This workshop will discuss oppressive policies and practices in the interpreting field, our part in them, and how we can actively fight against them. Through examples and group discussion, we will commit to actions that will bring change.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify systemic oppressive policies and practices in the interpreting field.

2. List 2 personal contributions to systemic oppression and identify personal strategies to stop supporting systemic oppression.

3. Identify next steps to collaborate with peers in the work of dismantling systems of oppression in the interpreting field.

When it comes to working as an independent contractor or ‘freelance’ interpreter there are various skills that go beyond just knowing two or more languages. This workshop was inspired by years of frustration, trial and error and having conversations with various colleagues. In our time together, we will explore efficient and ethical business practices used by colleagues. Such topics covered are: marketing and how we exist on social media, what invoicing elements are necessary for billing and a brief discussion about tax information. We will also discuss helpful organizational systems, contract negotiating and will touch on retirement and insurance options. This workshop is intended to be a free flow of ideas and an information sharing session among colleagues.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Cite and apply 6 organizational tools for a successful business model as freelance interpreters.

2. Identify 3 terms and conditions that are key for service agreements within independent contract work.

3. Leave with steps to use when negotiating assignment logistics, service agreements, and when choosing a hiring entity.

4. Leave with a list of possible deductions and documents to discuss with their personal tax accountants.

5. Name the 3+ basic insurance policies that are strongly encouraged for freelance interpreters, as well as 2 basic options regarding retirement.

6. Self-report one characteristic that they plan to incorporate into their freelance work.

7. Analyze the pros and cons of social media engagement and how it relates to the freelance interpreting business.

8. Identify 2 ways that assignment information can be breached and 2 ways to keep confidential information secure.

9. Define the differences between being an employee and being an independent contractor, as it relates to the interpreting profession.

Workshop presenters/authors will describe a Deaf-centric book project from a multidimensional Ohio collaborative group. Activities during the workshop will consist of: short lecture; online polling; and small group discussion. The four main themes of the book (the Ethics of Care, Binary thinking-the CI ‘debate’, Cultural identity development, and plausible deniability re: communication access among deaf/hh persons) will be presented to spark discussion and further consideration of issues interpreters strive to clarify in their work. Application to student and practitioner readers will be explored.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify how a narrative will encourage Deaf cultural information retention and higher order thinking skills (HOTS)

2. Elaborate on salient characteristics of the four themes of the book: list salient characteristics of the four themes of the book - the Ethics of Care, Binary thinking (example applied – the CI ‘debate’), Cultural identity development (in book characters), and plausible deniability (lack of communication access of some of the deaf characters in the book)

3. Analyze examine how a narrative may encourage student learning as they reflect on their own experiences in Interpreter Education Programs or preparing to become an interpreter

4. Assess analyze how higher order thinking could be accomplished through a Deaf-centric narrative after experiencing the three objectives above and create a list through online polling.

The Emergency Department can be a confusing and intimidating place to interpret, but being prepared can make it better. Knowing the processes and patterns can help alleviate some common fears and concerns while preparing us to provide the most effective interpreting services for patients and caregivers. ASL Interpreter, Olivia Krise & ED Nurse, Elisabeth Zerkle will walk you through a trip through the Emergency Department. The workshop will discuss the typical route an ED patient follows, common chief complaints addressed, and who the providers are. Throughout the workshop, participants will dialogue about how these processes may affect our work as interpreters and some options for interpreting the medical concepts.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the typical route and orders a patient experiences when going to the ED.

2. Identify and explain common chief complaints encountered in the ED.

3. Identify areas for interpreting considerations/demands and control options.

4. Define common medical jargon used in the Emergency Department

Interpreters everywhere play a part in the community from a county or municipal level to an international level. In this workshop we will learn how to unpack the identities we carry, understand the amount of impact we have on the decisions that we make, and how we can apply that impact in a positive way. We will also examine the Code of Professional Conduct and discuss ways in which our identities, at an individual level, and the CPC, at a professional community level, intertwine and influence our decision-making processes.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Analyze their unique identities as individuals.

2. Explain how their unique identities as individuals impact their roles as interpreters and impact their decisions as professionals.

3. Apply the Code of Professional Conduct, specifically tenets 4 and 5, and the understanding of their identities to common practical and ethical decision-making practices.

Interpreters regularly work in settings with inadequate seating, sight lines, sound and lighting. The presenter will describe how poor physical working conditions negatively impact interpreters and the work produced. The presenter will discuss the origins of these challenges and participants will discover that their own placement and a variety of equipment provide possible solutions. In this highly interactive workshop, participants will collaborate, design and experiment with techniques to ensure effective physical working conditions in classrooms, the workplace and worship services, walking away with an actionable plan to improve working conditions and performance. Participants are encouraged to bring and demonstrate any equipment they use while interpreting.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. List 3 inadequate working conditions and describe how they negatively impact interpreting performance.

2. Identify 3 possible solutions to inadequate working conditions.

3. Describe a plan for implementing solutions in their personal work environment.

Come and be a part of an impactful conversation, and discover how to be A.L.L.I.E.S. in the field of Interpreting. In this workshop, participants will be able to identify their role in encouraging a more diverse and inclusive Interpreting community by:

*Acknowledging the past through a small lecture, and an interactive activity comparing and contrasting “equity and equality”. Covering topics such as, systemic racism, discrimination, oppression, and the history of interpreting.

*Understanding your impact. This will be demonstrated through small group/ hands on activities to highlight how individual actions as a supportive “Ally or a Bystander” can have an impact on an entire community.

*Executing the change. We will collaborate with discourse to create an action plan on how to support and encourage a more equitable field in interpreting.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Evaluate past issues and how they apply to current events surrounding diversity and inclusion by open discourse.

2. Identify and analyze the benefits of diversifying the field of Sign Language Interpreting through lecture.

3. Recognize opportunities to support interpreters of color while working with a team, participants will focus on analyzing a variety of real life situation that influence how we react when we witness injustice towards a BIPOC Interpreter or a member from the Deaf community in the workplace

4. Defining characteristics of Allyships. Participants will be able to build the foundation of Allyship by forming an action plan based on the framework of the Johns Model of Reflection (MSR) as it relates to Interpreting.

5. Successfully demonstrate the skills that will aid them in becoming an Ally to B.I.P.O.C Interpreters, and members of the POC Deaf community

In interpreting, 30% of our work involves working with other interpreters; everyone comes to the assignment, but how does team interpreting actually work and how do we do it? In this workshop we will be able to see how team interpreting came to be, how far we have come, and look into what tools we can use for effective team interpreting. The National Association of the Deaf and Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Code of Professional Conduct outlines respect for our consumers and colleagues. We will learn different techniques in how to provide feedback in a neutral and tactful way.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify three teaming techniques when working with other interpreters, students, interns, colleagues and Deaf communities

2. Identify three historical facts related to the development of team interpreting.

3. Describe how tenets 4.0 and 5.0 of the Code of Professional Conduct apply to the teaming process.

4. Identify one technique each in the areas of pre-conferencing, working, and post-conferencing.

The landscape of interpreting has changed in recent years. Has our approach to ethical problems and principles in the professional world has adapted to these changes? Through group discussion, participants will discuss historical and current application of ethics in the signed language interpreting field. We will then analyze the ethical schema and practices from fields such as nursing and human service professions and use these to discuss how other professions compare to how signed language interpreters are doing ethics. Participants will leave with an understanding of ethics, the historical and current application of ethics, identify their own values and ethical decision-making process, and to apply this knowledge to enact a paradigm shift within the culture of interpreting in their local community. While this workshop can be beneficial to the novice interpreter, the discussion is intended to draw on the experience and practice of those who have worked in the field for more than 5 years.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the ideas of values, ethics and morality in a multicultural context using a range of ethical standards from other professions to highlight similarities and differences.

2. Identify the historical and current ways interpreters do ethics.s

3. Critically assess the relationship between theory and practice in the application of ethics using the rubric provided in the group discussion.

4. Create a plan to identify one's own ethical awareness, the ability to do ethical reflection, and the ability to apply ethical principles in decision-making.

This workshop will emphasize content rich interpretations that promote patient understanding and engagement with their healthcare providers and treatment plans. With a mixture of lecture, large group skill building activities, and small group hands-on practice, the learner will be able to confidently fingerspell the most common medications, as well as describe in English and ASL the purpose of those medications, and practice language cues to facilitate medical exams occurring in both inpatient and outpatient encounters

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the therapeutic purpose and common side effects of three mainstream medications.

2. Express three different manual signs that cue a patient to transition from passive to active engagement with information.

3. Participants will be able to describe key characteristics of effective expressive fingerspelling when conveying medical terminology or medication names

"As interpreters we work in a myriad of settings. There are times we find ourselves working in a professional environment as a lead interpreter, a member of a designated interpreting team, or as a substitute interpreter. This workshop explores some of the common ethical considerations when working with Deaf professionals and their colleagues. Through lecture, small group discussion, and self-reflection, interpreters will explore how ethical decision making in the moment impacts not only the Deaf professional, but it also affects their colleagues, the office environment and the interpreting profession itself. This workshop will analyze the Code of Professional Conduct and its direct relationship to interpreting in this specific setting. The workshop will also incorporate the principles of the Hierarchy Of Competence as we consider decisions in real time.

Interpreters will leave this workshop having discussed ethical options while working in professional situations. They will gain a better understanding of decision making and be better prepared for when they must consider ethical implications in the professional interpreting environments where they work.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Apply tenants of the Code of Professional Conduct from the perspective and frame of working in Deaf professional environments.

2. Have the acumen to address ethical violations as they come up in real time with colleagues

3. Make ethics decisions based on the hierarchy of competence and can speak to colleagues about ethical decision making using this model.

4. Recognize and describe the potential impact of their decisions on the Deaf professional, hearing colleagues, the organization / company as a whole and the Interpreting profession

This workshop introduces Deaf-Hearing teaming, where Deaf and hearing interpreters combine their abilities, knowledge, and skills to support effective interpreting. Participants are oriented to identifying situations best supported by a Deaf-Hearing team using red flag indicators of settings, consumers, and stakes. Strategies will be shared on requesting a Deaf Interpreter and advocating for consumers. Participants will walk through the mechanics of DI/HI teaming including different interpreting techniques used by DI/HI teams from the process of developing swift trust to co-constructing the interpreted message through shared message processing. Case studies will be provided for participants to analyze and strategize while working as teams in applying best practices.

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the need for a Deaf-Hearing team based on red flag indicators of settings, consumers, and stakes.

2. Educate consumers on the process and benefits of deaf/hearing teams.

3. Explain and apply teaming strategies frequently utilized by DI/HI teams.

4. Explain the roles and responsibilities of each interpreter (HI/DI) with associated accountability for the overall message between consumers.