Interpreting Services and Telecommunications for Persons with Hearing or Speech Disabilities

Interpreting Services
Requesting Interpreting Services
For interpreting service needs related to curricular credit courses offered through the Boulder campus, email the interpreter coordinator at Barbara.Slopey@Colorado.Edu. State your name, the student's name, time, location, and purpose of the meeting. Make your request at least 5 business days in advance of the event.

For interpreting service needs outside curricular credit courses, the hosting department is billed for interpreting services. Click here to find a detailed description of our policies.

Interpreter Role and Responsibilities
Interpreters are highly skilled professionals with specialized education, training, and experience. Not everyone who knows sign language is capable of interpreting.

Interpreting is a complex process requiring:

• A vast array of world knowledge.
• Knowledge of and sensitivity to both deaf and hearing cultures.
• Fluency in English, American Sign Language, or the signed system used by the deaf person.
• Professionalism—adherence to the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Code of Professional Conduct and current business practices, continuous education, and interaction with peers in professional organizations.

The primary role of the interpreter is to:

• Prepare ahead of time for specialized content of an assignment.
• Evaluate the logistics for interpreter placement, lighting, background, etc.
• Educate consumers, both hearing and deaf, regarding the role and use of an interpreter.
• Assess his or her skills and limitations for the interpreting situation.
• Monitor the entire interpreting process.

The underlying principle of the RID Code of Professional Conduct is the desire to ensure all consumers the right to communicate. Some of the tenets are:

• Interpreters adhere to stands of confidential communication.
• Interpreters possess the professional skills and knowledge required for the specific interpreting situation.
• Interpreters conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the specific interpreting situation.
• Interpreters demonstrate respect for consumers.
• Interpreters engage in professional development.

If you have any questions regarding the interpreting process or concerns pertaining to the service provided in your classroom, please email the interpreter coordinator at Barbara.Slopey@Colorado.Edu.

Telecommunications
Video Relay Service (VRS) http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/videorelay.html.

What is video relay service? http://www.sorensonvrs.com/what/index.php?PHPSESSID=56fa2c75af3c3692d17af1f8ca8845fb

How do I place a video relay call to a deaf or hard-of-hearing individual if I am a hearing individual? http://www.sorensonvrs.com/what/placing_vrs_call.php

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/trs.html

Colorado TRS Provider: Sprint, 1099 18th Street, Suite 1400, Denver, CO 80202

Customer Service #'s: 800-676-3777(V/T) and 800-377-1140 (T)

Access #'s: 711, 800-659-3656(V), 800-659-2656(T), or 1-877-659-4279(STS)

711, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/711.html.

Speech-to-Speech, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/speechtospeech.html

IP Relay Service, http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/iprelay.html.

How To Use TTY? http://www.netac.rit.edu/downloads/TPSHT_TTY.pdf

Updated 6/2007