Sign language ruling

[nihilicious]

"All government services must be available in sign language free of charge, according to a court ruling hailed by the deaf community for giving their languages de facto official status alongside English and French."

Wow.

Article here.

UPDATE: Here is a link to the full text.

Comments

[ringzero]

Is the ruling that all government services must be provided in sign language, or that all government services must be accessible to those who are deaf?

Because, you know, providing sign-language interpreters may not be the most effective means of making the services accessible to our hearing-impaired compatriots.

[skeptacally]

interesting.

any ideas of more effective ways?

someone was mentioning that voice recognition is not an effective means. but if there is any other cost efficient, practical means, then they are worth at least examining.

[ringzero]

I'm thinking... a simple LCD screen with a keyboard? I haven't really spent any time thinking about it, but I imagine that, given the scope of this ruling, a technological solution might be found that is less expensive and probably more reliable.

[ringzero]

Or as the poster below has pointed out, a pen and a clipboard.

Especially since we don't have money to burn that decision isn't very bright

[gsyh]

What's wrong with using a pen and a clipboard? It'll give the deaf more independence too, and unless the deaf or the person speaking to them writes slowly, it'll be faster too. There is also teaching the deaf to lip-read.

Re: Especially since we don't have money to burn that decision isn't very bright

[nihilicious]

I was at an information session once discussing accommodation of disabilities, and I learned that some in the deaf community see lip-reading as an inadequate replacement for sign language. They compare it to reading a novel with every second or third word blacked out.

Re: Especially since we don't have money to burn that decision isn't very bright

[johnbot]

I agree that there shouldn't be required an on-site interpretor for every office, but I think the idea mentioned earlier of someone on-call or available to be scheduled (depending on the size and accessability of the community) is a good idea. Hell, in larger cities, why not have at least one or two people for a bunch of different languages to help out the poor F/E bilingual staff who otherwise would have to try to deal with people of other languages? I don't see the harm, but at the same time I don't think it's reasonable to expect such services on a moment's notice in Moose Jaw either. Reasonable balance is key.

[allhatnocattle]

What we need is more Braille. *sigh*

You know, going on a job at a smallish department store, there are four empty handicapped parking stalls, two for expecting/new mothers, yet there is no loading zone for a worker toting in 200lb.s of equipment. There's a semi-truck bay, if a worker in a van wants to lift the equipment up 4ft and in through the roll-up door, but that's only making things more difficult.

[rogula]

There needs to be parking spots for elderly, parents with snotty kids that you have to drag back to the car, they busy CEO who does not have time to find parking, the teen with the tricked out lowrider (extra wide so no ones doors even touch it).

[johnbot]

The parents with snotty kids should be stopped and escorted off the property before they even make it into the parking lot.