This week I had the great opportunity to open a conversation with Jan Withers, the director of the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing in NC, and her associate Susan Cataldo, the NCDHHS Deaf Services Specialist! Although we just began communicating, I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to discuss with them about various aspects of deaf inclusion, especially in our community of North Carolina.
In anticipation of a potential later interview with Susan, I’ve already begun thinking through some questions I want to ask:
- How are deaf students/workers accommodated in predominantly hearing schools/workplaces?
- How can we begin to incorporate ASL/any sign language into NC schools?
- How can we increase access to interpreters in NC Schools?
- Why is there such a critical shortage of Deaf interpreters in NC? in the US?
Will, good idea to make a blog post about this. Before your meeting, you might want to look into item #2 above. I believe there are interpreting services provided in NC public schools as required by law.