The ADA s a federal law established to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. People who are deaf or hard of hearing are generally protected under the ADA, which requires that businesses and agencies remove barriers to communication.

A qualified interpreter facilitiates communication between people having hearing loss and people who are hearing. Qualified interpreters are proficient in their ability to meaningfully and accurately comprehend, produce, and transform ASL to and from English.

In general, doctors are required to provide a qualified interpreter for medical visits and other medical-related situations if the deaf or hard of hearing individual believes that he or she needs a qualified interpreter to achieve effective communication.

Tips for using and Interpreter:

If an American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter is required, the healthcare provider must pay for the interpreter, even if the cost is more than the cost of the visit, unless it can be proven that the cost would impose an undue burden on the healthcare provider. Interpreter services should be considered a cost of doing business, and are often not an undue burden for medical facilities.

No surcharge may be imposed on the patient to offset the cost of the interpreter.

American Sign Language (ASL) is the Native language of many persons who are deaf in the United States. It is not a simplified or abbreviation of English. ASL is a manual language and does not have a written form. Writing notes is not likely to provide effective communication for a sign language user.

Because interpreters are expected to be confidential and impartial, in some circumstances, a family member or friend may not be qualified to render the necessary interpretation “effectively, accurately, and impartially”.

When scheduling an interpreter with LIFE Inc., you will need:

• Date of appointment

• Start-time and duration of appointment

• Location - Include address, name of business, room number, etc.

• Name of main contact

• Nature of appointment

• Materials, if any (e.g., PowerPoint, speech, handouts, etc.)