Disability Accommodations and Resources

[abbyloliva]

Hello,

I am a member of a ward in Baltimore, Maryland. I want to inquire in terms of the availability of disability resources and accommodations for members who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. I am also inquiring in the process of hiring a certified professional interpreter to interpret church meetings for members who are deaf and only use sign language to communicate and comprehend. If you could share those or direct me to the appropriate person at the Church Disability Office, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Abigael

[rmrichesjr]

... If you could share those or direct me to the appropriate person at the Church Disability Office, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Abigael

Just to make sure expectations are set to match reality, this is a user-to-user discussion forum. There's nobody here acting in an official capacity to share any information from the forums to Church leaders/managers/employees or to reply in any official capacity. Using the 'Feedback' link on the Church website might get you in contact with someone who could help. Another possible option would be to talk with your stake president and have him run the idea up the ecclesiastical chain of command.

[russellhltn]

You can find some information at disability.churchofjesuschrist.org. But looking though it, I'm not seeing an answer to your specific questions or who to talk to about getting resources.

I also found Quick Tip: Finding Church Resources in American Sign Language.

I suspect the starting point is to call a ward Disability Specialist and have them connect to higher resources. The stake may have to consult with their coordinating council for more information.

I know we have a deaf group in my stake. Years ago, we were sent a deaf missionary. He and his companion taught ASL classes. From there, we "grew our own" ASL interpreters that are still active today. I'm sure there's signs particular to church language that a professional interpreter would need to learn. (I found a list here.)

Note that most webcasts from church headquarters have a ASL version. But that still leaves you with dealing with local meetings. The church does have equipment for the hard of hearing, but that may not be useful in your situation.

But ultimately, I suspect the trick is to make the need known to higher levels and have them check with their "upline" on what resources might be available. It's possible there's already a deaf group in a neighboring stake. Also, someone in the ward leadership could make a call to SLC and see what's available.