ASL Interpreting 101 for Hearing People | Andrew Tolman & Lauren Tolo | TEDxBend

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Published 2019-09-04

"I have no idea what you were saying up there, but it looked so beautiful!!" Hearing American Sign Language Interpreters Andrew Tolman and Lauren Tolo briefly explain the history, process, and role of ASL Interpreters, hoping to inspire hearing people to do what they can daily to bridge the gap between Deaf and Hearing parties. Community building starts with educating the general population about how hearing privilege can be used to leverage change and promote full accessibility and inclusion in all spaces. Andrew Tolman is a 29-year-old musician and ASL Interpreter currently living in Portland, OR on historically Clackamas Chinook and Molalla land. Inspired by their time working for the historic Philip J. Wolfe Portland City Council campaign, OCCUPY ICE PDX, Don’t Shoot Portland, and the Central American Refugee Caravan (among many others) as a Sign Language Interpreter, Andrew found himself joining the unbroken chain of resistance thousands of years old and invigorated by a new mission. Currently, Andrew finds himself working closely with both Hearing and Deaf activists and fighters to bring accessibility to the front lines. Through the founding of their group ‘FingersCrossedInterpreting.com’, Andrew hopes to continue to build bridges by making it easy for community-based Hearing activists to reach into Deaf and Hard of Hearing activist spaces and make meaningful connection, empowering both communities with resources and information to strengthen the fight for equality. The fact is that accessibility benefits everyone because everyone has a story to share. Andrew hopes to continue serving his community in solidarity for as long as possible and to inspire other interpreters and communities to proudly do the same.

Lauren began working in the classroom at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind as an Intervener, working one-on-one with DeafBlind students providing information that the individual is unable to gather on their own. She was inspired to dedicate her professional life to facilitating communication and bridging the gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds. Out of this experience emerged her career as an educational interpreter. Now, living in Central Oregon, she interprets for a Deaf student in a general education classroom. Lauren is committed to providing full inclusion, and strives to always empower Deaf and Hearing children, regardless of their identity otherwise, with the knowledge to advocate for themselves, discover themselves, broaden their horizons, and accomplish their dreams. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

All Comments (21)

@karissasantana2898 4 years ago

TEDx, I’m also a sign language interpreter. It’s so exciting to see a video discussing the information that needs to be known. However, it’s disheartening that the topic they’re discussing is being acted out on this video. There’s an interpreter on stage that is shown only in short moments, and although it’s captioned she is not shown through the entire talk. Why not show the interpreter the entire video for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers to be able to watch and get that access. The speakers don’t need to be watched to listen to them. But the Deaf have to be able to watch the interpreter to “listen” to the speaker. Please Provide the access that was spoken about in this video next time. Thank you
@ASLTheatre 4 years ago

Thank you for finally adding captions. (There was a real backlash when there were no captions there before.) Next time a Sign Language Interpreter is there, make the Interpreter able to be seen fully.
@grayfae3 4 years ago

wouldn't it have been helpful & even instructive, to show the interpreter as well?
@gusnlambchops 3 years ago

This should have the ASL interpreter visible throughout the lecture to really show how an interpreter works. Maybe this can be re-posted with the ASL interpreter on the screen .. this would really drive home the point! This was excellent
@raymondlin8728 1 year ago

ASL is beautiful. It helped me deal with my alcoholism. My mind , heart, time has been totally redirected to something productive and worthwhile. I've had the opportunity to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing patients at the dental office I used to work at, and the supermarket I used to work at. I'm currently not working but still watching, learning from videos to keep each passing day productive
@veronicag4593 4 years ago

Why tf didn’t you show the interpreter as well?? Wasn’t that the whole point of the ted talk??
@Denise-sy1ge 9 months ago

The patronizing words ("we hearing" v. "them, the Deaf") combined with the patronizing actions (showing the interpreter a little bit, like s decoration), totally counters your intended message of bridging between cultures and languages.
@mindyourlanguagelucassoto8768 4 years ago

Sign language interpreter should've been recorded separately and added to the video. Good job otherwise. 👍🏼🤟🏽
@suzannehedderly1331 4 years ago

Good talk but I don't understand why the interpreter was out of camera view--lack of inclusivity for all viewers including those watching the video. Not about making the terp a "performer," but illustrating the very point of the talk. Why expect D/HH to rely on CC when there was an interpreter there?? 🤷🏻‍♀️ Along the same line, I've found it dumbfounding that during televised press conferences pertaining to public safety, the terp is rarely included in the camera shot.
@ilyannarivera8300 4 years ago

Yess !!! Im currently in college studying to be an ASL Interpreter. It’s been my goal since 7th grade ❤️
@kathalinehansen7078 4 years ago

I love this talk. However, The filmer made a common error. They DID NOT INCLUDE THE ASL INTERPRETER ONSCREEN during ALL of the talk. Occasionally giving a glance of the interpreter, misses the purpose. A Deaf person should be able to watch this video and AND FOLLOW THE INTERPRETER, just as if they were present at the LIVE event. Closed captions are good for persons like me who are Hearing, but with limited ability to hear; our main language is SPOKEN English, so we can understand the meaning of the captions. For the majority of the those born Deaf, ASL is their first and main language. It is NOT signed English. Closed Captions are in English, their SECOND language. It would be like a native English speaker who doesn't really know Spanish, watching Spanish captions. Therefore, a split screen picture should have be used so that both the verbal English speaker AND THE ASL INTERPRETER would be visible AT ALL TIMES during this video.
@tamiajae9465 3 years ago

Learning Sign Language has always been something I've wanted to learn and be apart of since, I was in my twenties but it REALLY hit me when i went on a cruise with my co workers, three years ago. I told the receptionist that I was hard of hearing and i would need him to lend in to talk and not yell, so he ask if i signed i said no he said you should think about, I said I'm not deaf just hard of hearing and he said its for both, ALL these years I thought you had to be DEAF to learned ASL. Now at fifty I"m looking for an affordable class. I so excited to start learning.
@JessicaNiles 4 years ago

It's like a bad joke not showing the interpreter for this Ted Talk. And sorry guys, I couldn't make it past 3 minutes of the talk. More feeling, less memorization next time!
@ladybunny9328 4 years ago

Why didn’t they have a split screen or bubble so we could see the interpreter the whole time??
@markmcdonald7812 4 years ago

Show the interpreter or caption it!
@cldundon7228 4 years ago

100% agree with the comment about not showing the interpreter. Also there ought to be more emphasis on being qualified than on being certified.
@charisamartin2152 4 years ago

This was an incredible Tedx! I am a signing Para in a deaf program in an elementary school, I would love to be an ASL interpreter someday. ❤️
@sourtiger3136 4 years ago

Love this so much. And thank you for adding captions.
@dianejones4073 2 years ago

I think you missed the point here. Again, hearing people talking about Deaf people without Deaf people. By not showing the interpreter during the entire TED Talk, you gave a great example of oppression.
@pampmorris 3 years ago

Nice format , but it would have been better with a visible interpreter ... She's like an after thought ... Next time ... Keep the interpreter on the screen