10 minutes
Deaf, DeafBlind and hard-of-hearing people Arrange real communication access, know the difference between an interpreter, captioning and relay, and stop asking family members to interpret.
What you’ll be able to do Arrange effective communication for Deaf, DeafBlind and hard-of-hearing people, including a qualified interpreter, captioning or relay as the person prefers, and explain why a family member or lipreading is not a substitute. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: What should the panel chair have done? Draft An interview confirmation that expects access requests for your work, including access line, format, logistics. A language, a preference and a duty Deaf people who use American Sign Language are using a full language with its own grammar, not English on the hands. For many, written English is a second language learned without hearing it, and reading it under pressure in an interview or eligibility conversation is harder than staff assume. That is why a request for an interpreter cannot be answered with a notepad. Lipreading is unreliable even for skilled lipreaders; most English sounds look alike or are invisible on the lips, and masks, accents and side conversations make it worse.
Not everyone who cannot hear well uses ASL. Hard-of-hearing people, people who lost hearing later in life and many older adults rely on residual hearing, hearing aids, a clear view of your face and captions. For them the useful adjustments are a quiet room, facing them with the light on your face, normal volume, rephrasing rather than repeating, and key facts, names, numbers and dates, in writing. DeafBlind people may use tactile sign, close-vision sign, large print or braille; ask, and book the support they name.
Under the ADA, public programs must communicate with people with disabilities as effectively as with anyone else, and must give primary consideration to the aid or service the person asks for. In practice: ask what works for the person, book it through the responsible office, and if the schedule and the access conflict, move the schedule. In Minnesota, DHS has a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division that can be a resource for staff who are unsure what an arrangement should look like.
Know the options ASL interpreter Video remote interpreting Captioning (CART) Relay services Written and visual
A qualified, usually certified, interpreter who renders spoken English into ASL and ASL into English, in person. The standard for interviews, assessments, planning meetings, hearings and anything with consequences. Book through the responsible office; allow the notice period it needs.
An interpreter on a screen. Useful when an in-person interpreter is not available quickly. It needs a reliable connection, a large clear screen, good audio, and a room set up so the Deaf person can see both you and the screen. It is not a good fit for long, complex or emotionally difficult conversations, or for many DeafBlind people.
A trained captioner types speech into text in real time, on a screen or in a meeting platform. Preferred by many hard-of-hearing and late-deafened people who do not sign. Automatic captions are a convenience for everyday meetings; they are not accurate enough for eligibility, legal or medical content.
Dialing 711 connects to relay services that let a Deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-disabled person use the phone through an operator or a video interpreter. If a call comes in through relay, talk to the person directly; the operator relays everything, including your side comments.
Fine for short, simple exchanges the person chooses to have in writing: a room number, a rescheduled time. Not a substitute for an interpreter or captioner when the content matters or the person has asked for one.
Move the date, not the access What you can change You control whether a scheduling problem is solved by changing the schedule or by downgrading the communication access someone requested.
What to watch for Do not answer “we cannot get an interpreter by Thursday” with “can you bring someone.” Answer it with “which day can we get one?”
Your next step Add the interpreter and captioning booking route, with its notice period, to your unit's interview and appointment checklist.
An interview confirmation that expects access requests The lines that make a request routine instead of a scramble.
Access line If you would like an ASL interpreter, real-time captioning, materials in another format or any other arrangement, tell us by replying to this message or calling the number below. We will confirm what is booked.
Format The interview questions are provided in writing at the start of the interview to every candidate.
Logistics Step-free entrance, the room location, the platform and the fact that captions are on by default for video interviews.
Contact One named person, an email address, a phone number that accepts relay calls, and a text option.
Add these lines to every interview and appointment confirmation your unit sends, and keep the interpreter booking route next to them.
Browse and download only. Staff notes are not typed or saved on this page.
Download this published draft Do this, not that When the person arrives with an interpreter
Face the person, talk to them at a normal pace, pause naturally. The interpreter will handle the rest and will interpret everything you say, so say only what you mean the person to hear.
When someone is hard of hearing
Quiet room, your face visible and lit, normal volume, rephrase rather than repeat, and confirm names, numbers and dates in writing.
When the family offers to interpret
Thank them, and book a qualified interpreter. A relative is not neutral, may not be fluent, and should not be the channel for a person's own interview, assessment or appeal.
When a relay call comes in
Speak to the caller, not the operator. Say “go ahead” when you finish a turn if the operator asks you to. Do not hang up because you hear a pause or an unfamiliar voice.
When the interpreter cannot come Thursday
Move the interview. The applicant's access is the fixed point; the date is the variable.
Carry this forward American Sign Language is a language with its own grammar; written English is a second language for many Deaf people, so notes are not a substitute for an interpreter in an interview or eligibility conversation.
Public programs must give primary consideration to the communication method the person asks for, and the person, not staff, is the expert on what works for them.
Hard-of-hearing people usually need a quieter room, a clear view of your face, and key facts in writing, not a louder voice.
A scenario decision about an interview request, a knowledge check and a confirmed access arrangement for one upcoming meeting or interview.
Find out today how your unit books an interpreter or captioning, how much notice it needs, and who pays. Write it on one card and share it with your team.
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Reset this lesson
Previous lesson Next lesson Carry this into practice Adapt how you communicate for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, people with speech disabilities, blind and low-vision people, people with cognitive disabilities and people with anxiety, without patronizing anyone.
Return to the experience: What did you notice or try, whose perspective informed it, and what would you keep or adjust?
Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.
