I decided to interview a CART provider for students with hearing impairment. She was also my CART provider several times in the past three years.
I chose her because she was in school studying to become a court reporter. She was not deeply familiar with the deaf community, but she became influenced by an instructor who recommended her to be a translator for the hearing impaired.
CART Provider Takes Action
Q:
How did you get involve with the deaf community?
A:
When
I
was
a
pre-teen,
I
wanted
to
grow
up
to
be
a
marine
biologist.
While
on
that
kick,
I
discovered
that
the
dolphin
trainers
at
Sea
World
used
sign
language
to
communicate
with
the
dolphins.
That
fascinated
me.
Upon
entering
high
school,
I
had
to
sign
up
for
a
foreign
language.
While
all
of
my
friends
signed
up
for
Spanish,
I
knew
I
wanted
to
learn
ASL.
I
found
that
I
had
to
justify
my
reasons
for
going
with
ASL
to
everyone
I
knew.
“You
will
not
wake
up
one
day
in
Mexico
needing
Spanish
to
communicate.
You
can
wake
up
one
day
without
your
hearing.
By
taking
ASL,
I’ll
be
prepared
for
that.”
Of
course
they
all
thought
I
was
crazy.
While
being
drawn
to
take
sign
language
because
of
dolphins
is
quite
silly,
once
there
I
learned
many
things
about
the
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
population
and
culture
that
demanded
my
respect.
Fast
forward
eight
years
and
I’m
in
court
reporting
school
(the
marine
biology
plan
didn’t
pan
out).
While
nearing
the
end
of
my
schooling,
an
instructor
began
telling
stories
about
providing
CART
(Communication
Access
Realtime
Translation)
services
to
college
students,
which
entailed
writing
everything
that
is
said
in
a
college
classroom
for
a
single,
hearing
impaired
consumer
reading
along
on
a
laptop
as
it’s
said.
I
knew
immediately
that’s
what
I
wanted
to
do.
Though
at
a
very
different
point
in
my
life,
once
again,
I
have
my
run-in
with
the
deaf
population.
I
knew
then
it
was
in
my
cards.
So
I
inquired,
researched,
and
worked
to
get
to
a
point
to
where
I
could
be
a
facilitator
of
language
between
the
“hearing
world”
and
the
hearing
impaired.
Q:
What
service
do
you
provide
for
the
deaf?
A:
I
provide
CART
(Communication
Access
Realtime
Translation)
services
in
a
variety
of
situations
including
for
students
in
college
classes,
professionals
at
work
or
in
training,
and
at
group
events
and
meetings,
including
church.
I
am
also
employed
as
a
broadcast
captioner.
Q:
What
type
of
skills
do
you
use
to
communicate
with
the
deaf?
A:
I
use
direct
eye
contact
when
I
voice
in
a
one-on-one
setting.
I
also
rephrase
if
what
I
have
said
seems
to
not
be
understood.
I
know
some
sign,
but
I
do
not
assume
that
the
deaf
people
I
come
across
know
ASL.
Q:
The
majority
of
deaf
children
lack
the
same
education
level
as
their
hearing
peers.
What
do
you
intend
to
do
to
help
deaf
children
get
a
better
education?
A:
I
would
like
to
make
CART
services
more
known
all
around,
but
especially
for
kids
in
primary
schools.
By
having
to
read
and
follow
along
all
that
is
being
said,
I
feel
as
though
CART
services
may
help
to
increase
the
reading
level
and
vocabulary
of
those
who
take
advantage
of
it.
Understandably,
there
can’t
be
a
sign
for
every
word
in
the
English
language.
With
CART
services,
words
can
be
translated
as
they
are
said
so
as
to
not
use
a
more
generic
substitute
word,
thereby
potentially
increasing
the
recipient’s
vocabulary.
If
started
at
an
early,
but
appropriate,
age,
I
think
this
method
could
increase
the
reading
level
of
students
with
hearing
impairment.
While
I
can
agree
learning
ASL
is
appropriate
in
certain
situations,
I
don’t
believe
it’s
as
much
the
cure-all
for
those
with
hearing
impairment
as
is
led
on.
(To
expound,
I
have
found
that
people
who
are
unfamiliar
with
deaf
culture
assume
all
deaf
people
know
sign
language.)
Q:
What
legal
issues
do
you
assist
deaf
people
with?
A:
While
not
versed
enough
to
assist
anyone
legally,
I
do
try
to
encourage
people
who
receive
CART
services
to
advocate
for
the
services
and
quality
they
are
entitled
to
receive.
Q:
What
concern
do
you
have
with
the
deaf
education?
A:
I
am
concerned
about
the
overall
quality
of
education,
especially
the
low
reading
level
of
hearing
impaired
students
upon
high
school
graduation.
With
ASL
and
English
being
two
different
languages
grammatically,
it
stands
to
reason
that
part
of
where
this
lower
academic
achievement
could
be
stemming
from
is
the
fact
that
while
ASL
is
the
standard
taught
for
deaf
students
to
communicate;
books
are
not
written
in
ASL.
They
are
getting
two
different
languages
at
once.
These
students
are
communicating
with
their
peers
in
ASL,
but
having
to
read
the
same
textbooks
English
speaking
students
are.
While
I
certainly
haven’t
the
slightest
clue
as
to
a
solution,
that
is
my
concern.
Q:
What
is
your
goal
to
ensure
better
service
for
the
deaf?
A:
I
would
like
to
continue
to
encourage
recipients
of
CART
and
captioning
services
to
advocate
for
the
services
they
are
entitled
to.
I
also
intend
to
stay
on
top
of
all
continuing
education
so
I
can
to
keep
myself
abreast
of
the
latest
in
technology
in
order
to
best
assist
the
hearing
impaired
people
I
may
encounter
in
my
career.
