AEIP Graduates in High demand

Matt Abra

Since 2001 the amount of deaf and hard-of-hearing students attending the University of Manitoba has increased from nine to 34, yet the amount of qualified interpreters trained in the ASL-English Interpretations Program (AEIP) employed by the U of M has remained the same.

“The problem is, where do you get the interpreters if they are not graduating from the [AEIP] program?” said Cindy Koskie, accessibility advisor for disability services.

Kosie said that in the event that the university is unable to provide an interpreter fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) for each student. there are other methods to accommodate students.

Students who are hard of hearing, but not completely deaf, usually only require a volunteer note-taker or a computerized note-taker.

A volunteer note taker can be anyone who is willing to provide notes for disabled students that require the assistance, but a computerized note taker is someone who attends class with the specific student and types up the notes on a laptop as they are dictated.

Though these resources are typically reserved for the hard–of- hearing, they are alternative options for students who are fully deaf if an interpreter is unavailable.

According to Carolyn Christie, coordinator for disability services, this year only three students who preferred the help of a sign language interpreter were asked to use other methods, such as computerized note-taker, However, in regards to all hard-of-hearing students, Koskie said the shortage of interpreters “probably is affecting their decision-making and . . . creating some obstacles.”

Approximately eight interpreters and fourteen computerized note- takers are currently working for disability services, numbers that Koskie said are sustaining services, but are not ideal.

Professor Terry Janzen of the department of linguistics, which houses the AEIP jointly with Red River College, said that the shortage of interpreters is critical.

“This past spring we had about five graduates, and that’s pretty typical for any one year. Clearly it’s not enough,” as such graduates are in high demand and they “have a wide range of places they can find work.”

Though allowing more people into the AEIP would be a natural course to counter the shortage of interpreters, “it’s not so easy,” according to Janzen.

Janzen said that ASL-English interpreting is not a field that most high school students think of as a possible career path.

“We’re trying,” he said. “For example, we are working at having a bigger presence at events. . . but we still have a long way to go.”

As Manitoba’s public schools maintain their all-inclusive philosophy by improving their disability programs and facilitating training for teachers, the number of deaf and hard–of-hearing students entering university continues to increase.