SERVICES

The overall goal of LIFESIGNS is to promote self-determination and self-sufficiency of deaf and hard of hearing people within the mainstream of life through the provision of comprehensive, dependable and effective communication services.

• Interpreter Referral: Provide sign language interpretation in manual, oral and tactile modes for agencies, organizations and individuals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Communication Aids: Cued speech transliterators and referrals to Real Time Captioning available upon request.

• Individualized Requests: LIFESIGNS makes every effort to work with its consumers to meet their individual communication need(s).

Methods of Communication

Communication with a deaf or hard of hearing person through writing takes, on average, five to six times longer than speaking or using a sign language interpreter. It is cumbersome, always limited in its content and often results in misunderstanding. Written communication is effective only when the communication is brief and simple.

Relying on speech or lip reading is a risky venture. It is a fact that even the most talented speech reader is able to recognize only 30% of what is said on the lips. The remaining 70% of the message is left to guesswork.

To ensure that your communication is conveyed and understood in the way you want it to be, a certified interpreter is the most effective method to use. Often, people will ask “Why can’t I use a friend, family member or someone who knows sign language to ‘interpret’ for me?” There is a world of difference between a professional interpreter and a signer. To understand the difference, one must understand the complexities of interpreting.

The task of interpreting is really quite complex. It requires an individual to have fluent command of both languages, as well as excellent recall and short term memory. An interpreter must translate from one language to another while simultaneously listening, storing new information and recalling what is being said.

Interpreters adhere to a strict code of ethics which promotes neutrality, confidentiality and objectivity.