Recover5302

I was raised in a family who didn't voice. JUST SIGN. Although I have the ability to speak I never used my voice as much. On top of this crazy year in college...I have one interpreter who forces me to speak for myself. I DONT LIKE VOICING sometimes..Yeah I can but I perfer not to. I think she does that because I can voice. I will if I have to but I have never been comfortable with voicing...how can SHE MAKE ME VOICE? Alot of people don't understand what I say anyway. What is her point :/. She has this Deaf pride thing going on, she wants me to advocate or something lol... I think she means no harm but PEOPLE LAUGH AT MY VOICE!!! CMON

Deafness

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shel90

That interpreter crossed the line. It is not her job to tell you what to do.

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Etoile

Is this the same one who refuses to sign ASL and only uses Signed English?

If so...is she certified?

If she is RID certified, report her to RID immediately. This is a serious breach of ethics.

If she is not RID certified, demand another interpreter. I know you said there's a shortage in there area, but this woman is obviously BAD and needs to be GONE. She should not be a professional interpreter, PERIOD.

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"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." -Gandhi

Glenn

Unethical. It is NOT her job to force you to use your voice. That is solely your choice. She should not have an agenda on the job.

CSign

I agree with everyone above. The interpreter is there for you, and she needs to meet your needs which in your case includes voicing for you. Be firm and clear with her that you want her to translate what you said into spoken English. If she doesn't, send the person who hired her an email stating the problems you've been having. It definitely should be documented, and ask them to hire a different terp.

jillio

Exactly. She is an interpreter, not a life coach. She is there to interpret, and to interpret on the client's terms, not her terms. The client tells her what the client needs and wants...not the other way around.

Definately an ethical violation that needs to be reported.

Frisky Feline

agreed with everyone's.

Speedy Hawk

I agree with others. You are meant be in charge HOW you want to communicate and HOW you want interperter to sign to you. If you let this carry on, it will becomes harder and harder to say no and stop because this interpreter may say something like this "She did it before, why not now?", etc. Best to try get it sorted soon as possible.

Anij

You need to file a complaint with the disability services office and request another terp ASAP.

You should also find out if they're certified and if they are report them to RID (etc).

This is not only "over the line" it's actually illegal in many (if not all) places.

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Cricket's

It sounds bulling and degreading....Also it could mess up how you intend to represent yourself Where you would sound competent and sure of yourself if she would just translate what you are saying, you may feel unsure and out of your element....it could change the whole outcome of the exchange!

Mountain Man

I do not agree with this interpreter's choices. First of all, if she believes in empowerment of Deaf individuals then that means letting them make their own decisions, which includes the decision to speak through an interpreter. Secondly, she needs to be aware of the resulting interpersonal demands that arise from her decision to encourage you to voice for yourself and use the appropriate controls to correct the situation.

Is she even aware of your feelings on the matter? I think it would be appropriate to confront her, and if she is unwilling to accommodate you then you should ask for a new interpreter. At the very least, your current interpreter needs additional training in the professional standards of conduct and ethical decision making.

But really, I'm hesitant to come down too hard on the interpreter at the moment because there simply isn't enough information here for us to understand why she made the decision she did.

Beowulf

Agreed. Actually I am skeptical the incident really happened. No offense, it is just me. *shrugs*

Recover5302

Well she isn't certified the college just hired her or whatever. I found that out today. Why are you doubtful..I do take that as an offense lol..any ways maybe that's why she did this. I'm not one of those people who express my feelings but OK! I will let her know. It's just when I try to tell her something, she has a high and mighty attitude. That's why I am usually quiet.

Recover5302

What information would you like? I did try to hint around but she didn't pay attention. I guess straight foward is best.

jillio

Go to your college's disability services office and tell them this terp is not qualified and you are requesting a qualified interpreter under the ADA.

Recover5302

Thanks, that's what I thought.

Recover5302

She isn't certified none of the terps at my school are.

Recover5302

Maybe because I can get my point across with speech she doesn't think I need voicing. People can understand me a little but not THAT much. Maybe that's why. I guess if you can voice fine then they don't expect you to need that. Like I said though, we only have 2 and neither is certified.

Banjo

You'll be surprised.

Beowulf

I am sorry for having doubted you. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, not the negative aspect. I am known to be blunt at times but it was not my intention to hurt your feelings.
As for that "interpreter," stomp her, stomp her, stomp her!

Beowulf

If I ever run into one of them, they'd be surprised!

coolgirlspyer90

Don't wait at the last minute like i did when i had problems with my interpreter. call RID NOW! Because if you don't, they won't get rid of her, or him. You need to be able to build up that confidence and say: "I need an qualified interpreter. period. and if you aren't able to do that, we'll discuss this in court." If you have to threaten them, do it. There are some people who are afraid to do that, but we have to be able to stand up for ourselves, i mean in college, our parents aren't going to be able to fight for us because we're going to be adults now. I mean i'm currently 17 years old, and I had to litterally fight for my right when i had problems with my interpreter and when i did, my interpreter resigned, and i got what i needed--and wanted. So, don't be afraid to get a qualified interpreter, you deserve to have one. Plus, its under ADA law too. ADA law states that If they do not give you an qualified interpreter, its basically discriminating you. I've done my research. But I agree with everybody else here. DO.NOT.BE.AFRAID.

plus, screw the interpreter for telling you to voice for yourself. She is not you. You are You. Tell her no! or tell her to stop it. Being straight-forward would be better. Truth is, theres going to be a 50-50 chance that one of you is going to be hurt. Sometimes, hearing the criticize is going to hurt, but it will make you a better person, and that interpreter needs to learn a lesson too.

Recover5302

It's okay, I need to speak up more. I remember asking her was she certified. I went on to ask her why not. She said that she doesn't want to become certified because you would have to be strict. I think that she doesn't lack the skill to be certified actually. She said she likes to get involved with the students. So, if she was certified she'd have to leave and do strictly interpreting.lol THATS WHAT TERPS R SUPPOSED TO DO! lol

Recover5302

It amazes me schools these days will pick up anyone who knows sign enough. They could get the point across but they have nasty attitudes. I've seen more WE know more than the deaf people attitudes this year, than any year before. Do I have a right to request them to hire a certified one? I have heard it's a hassle to pay terps in college. I guess I don't want to cause trouble. Most of the terps that I have met at this college weren't certified. They also were staff at school for office work as well. So it wasn't strictly for that purpose. I also think they need to know about the culture as well. I am amazed at some of the comments that I hear coming from a few terps.

Recover5302

WOW! well I felt like I was suffering in SILENCE..loL..Anyways I ned to work on my confidence. Yah I know they are human, but I have rights!
50/50 chance? I agree, what was ur situation? Was it the same?

coolgirlspyer90

Kind of, with my interpreter, she never signs, she yells at me and she always leaves and arrives late to and from my classes. Shes always texting, and complaining about her personal life, plus eating during my classes. But I had an IEP meeting with the school principal, the special education, and my parents before spring break started. They said to me, by surprise that my interpreter has resigned. Probably because she knew that she was going to get in trouble with the school. I currently have an interpreter (temporarily) until school is over so the school can find me a qualified interpreter over summer break. My interpreter whose working with me right now is one of my friend's mom who used to be an asl interpreter, I met her last year, their family moved from California to Ohio. She's really nice, and I'm trying to understand her because their ASL is different compared to mine.
But yeah, do what other people and what i said. Call RID, do not hesitate to call them.

coolgirlspyer90

Plus, people here on alldeaf.com has gave me advice when i was in that situation. It helped alot. What I did was i copied some of the comments from the thread and printed it out to show the school what they have said and what they need to know. Most mainstreaming schools does not know anything about our deaf rights and our deaf culture. And we need to teach them that. They may think they know everything about our culture, but truth is, they don't. So, we need to show them that. I'm not going to take their word about "not getting an qualified interpreter when you already have one", because they might say that, and i heard it a ton before. also in my situation, the school basically said that my interpreter and i was in a "sister" relationship kind of thing. heres the thing, she is not my sister. and i got sick of her so i had 2 choices, i was either going to suck it up, or fight against the school for not having a qualified interpreter for me. I picked fighting against the school. And i got what i needed.

Glenn

Certified terps generally are paid more. So she turned down a pay raise.

Etoile

Your advice is great except for this. RID can't do anything about uncertified interpreters. Certified terps are subject to RID sanction if they violate ethics. Uncertified terps are not. So because these aren't certified, RID can't do anything.

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Etoile

But yeah, I would demand a qualified terp ASAP...and yeah I'm sure she doesn't have the skills to be certified! I have only met a few terps who "didn't want" to be certified and they are mostly snobs without the skills to get certified anyway.

Keep in mind though, the ADA doesn't guarantee you a certified terp, it guarantees you a qualified terp. However, your terps are obviously not qualified. Refusing to use ASL? Demanding you speak? They both need to leave NOW. It doesn't matter what the school has to do to provide you with another one. They are REQUIRED to.

Can I ask where you're located? Like what is your college, or what is the nearest major city (and how far is it)?

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"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." -Gandhi