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ASL Resources
After nearly 30 years of providing the highest quality American Sign Language Interpreting services to the entire state of Colorado, southern Wyoming and beyond, Connections for Independent Living has made the difficult decision to cease operations of these services to businesses needing to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing community members.
After several years of trying to adjust through the pandemic to serve major companies and large organizations, school districts, churches, courts and public entities, the agency continually was operating at a loss in the department. Connections leadership has dedicated countless hours of expertise, have hired financial analysts, worked with knowledgeable and business savvy board members and community members to attempt to return to solvency with no success. After much consideration, we came to the difficult conclusion that the cost of the ASL Interpreting program could not be sustained.
While this has been a sad and challenging decision that has taken years to arrive at, we are most concerned with the ongoing support of effective and proper communications services for people with disabilities in our community. We encourage every business owner to review our “Tips for Choosing an ASL Interpreter” below, and give the best possible services to every person who uses the ASL language for their rights of independence.
Connections and its leadership continues to advocate for the independent living rights of every person with disabilities in our community. Safe, reliable communication is the first step in that fight for every person in our community.
The following local ASL Interpreting service providers are available.
G2G Interpreting, LLC. Karen McCullah (678) 897-7086 (Colorado)
Karen is the former Director of Interpreting for Connections.
Deaf Intervention Services (805) 704-0721 https://www.wydeafis.org/ (Wyoming)
The act of facilitating communication between a visual communicator and an auditory communicator is accomplished using American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English. ASL interpreting occurs in two ways: simultaneously and consecutively. According to the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), simultaneous interpreting requires interpreters to listen and sign, or watch and speak, at the same time. The interpreter begins to convey a sentence in the target language while listening or watching the message being delivered in the source language. Consecutive interpreting “…begins only after the speaker has spoken or signed a sentence or paragraph. Interpreters may take notes to help create a coherent and accurate translation.”
Transliteration is a prominent mode of interpreting. Interpreters transliterate between spoken English and a sign representation of English. Often times, elements of ASL interpreting are incorporated but overall, it follows an English word order.
Tactile Interpreting is a method of interpreting used by individuals who are deaf-blind. In this mode, an interpreter creates signs in the person’s hand, while using other tactile cues to describe affect and the environment.
Oral transliteration is a less commonly used visual access system. Oral transliterators silently repeat the English being spoken, and use specialized techniques to supplement the mouthing (including gestures, pointing, etc.).
Cued speech transliteration is a less commonly used visual access system. It is unique in that the transliterator uses handshapes situated in different locations near the mouth to represent English phonetic markers.
Holders of the Certified Deaf Interpreter certification are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and have demonstrated knowledge and understanding of interpreting, deafness, the Deaf community, and Deaf culture. Holders have specialized training and/or experience in the use of gesture, mime, props, drawings and other tools to enhance communication. Holders possess native or near-native fluency in American Sign Language and are often recommended for a broad range of assignments where an interpreter who is deaf or hard-of-hearing will be beneficial.
Haptic signals are “drawn” onto the body – typically on the upper part of the back or the upper part of the arm. They provide the possibility of a detailed visual interpretation during communication.
Video interpreting uses video that provides English to American Sign Language, or American Sign Language to spoken English as a voice-over.
Audio description is a form of narration providing information surrounding key visual elements in a media work for the benefit of blind and visually-impaired consumers. This includes a film or television program, or a theatrical performance. These narrations are typically placed during natural pauses in the audio, and sometimes during dialogue if determined to be necessary.
Legal American Sign Language Interpreting is necessary when legal situations and complex documents that involve personal freedoms are involved. This includes court cases and law enforcement situations. A Legal interpreter is required in these critical instances.
Trilingual interpreting is when three languages are involved in a conversation. An example is communication that includes English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. One person who is qualified to interpret between all three languages is necessary for clear communication in these situations.
Standard practices from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. [Note: clicking on a link opens a new window outside of this website.]
1331 8th Avenue
Greeley, Colorado 80631-4601
Phone: (970) 352-8682
Fax: (970) 353-8058
Email: info@connections4il.org
Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In-person and remote services
Appointments required for in-person
