TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — At the Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a job fair offered unique services to help those with disabilities secure jobs.
Through the assistance of an interpreter, Pam Mower explains what services Utahns who are deaf or hard of hearing can access.
“We provide counseling and guidance for anyone who might need help with building resume applications, developing interview skills, helping them to work with an employer as far as accommodations and needs," she explained.
The biggest hurdle many deaf and hard of hearing individuals face is making sure an interpreter is on hand.
"A lot of people are thinking, 'Oh, but they're deaf, how do I communicate with them?'" Mower said with the assistance of an interpreter. "How would I work with them? So they'd rather hire someone else that they can communicate with more easily? That's the biggest challenge."
That's where the Sanderson Center and Deartment of Workforce Services step in, bridging the gap by providing training and certification for American Sign Language interpreters.
As a manager over the Utah Interpreting program, Jes Nelson-Julander explained that American Sign Language is its own language with features separate from English.
"ASL has its own unique grammar. It has its own unique syntax...it is a language all by itself, not dependent on English at all," Nelson Luander said. "So again, critical to have a certified professional interpreter, so that people are able to get the jobs after their interviews."
Due to the uniqueness of the needs of individuals, sometimes another level of interpretation is needed.
"We have the CHI-certified hearing interpreter, I typically would just say HI hearing interpreter," explained Heather Aldridge, an interpreter in the program. "And they also have a CDI, which is a Certified Deaf interpreter."
Having available access to needed services means deaf and hard of hearing Utahns can have greater success in the workforce. As Monday is National American Sign Language Day, it's a day to celebrate services and communication that allow everyone to succeed.
