Folks:

Too often, we take pause to write and bemoan the sad state of affairs as it pertains to hospitals and other medical providers being reluctant to provide interpreters for us deaf and HOH folks...Well, I'd like to share with you a POSITIVE experience that happened today.

My son had an appointment at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.  About 2 weeks prior to the appointment, my wife and I were contacted for pre-appointment questions by the medical staff there.  During the course of the conversation, the question was asked about native languages in the home.  My wife (proudly, I might add) told the woman that our hearing son is tri-lingual, English being his first language, and that he also is fairly fluent in Sign Language and Spanish and reads at a 5th grade level with the same verbal vocabulary (he is 8, folks).  Naturally, that lead to  follow up questions about his linguistic abilities, and they learned from my wife that I am deaf, hence his signing abilities.

With no prompting, no request from my wife at all, the nurse/administrator simply stated "Oh, that is fine.  I will make a note and arrange for an interpreter to be present so your husband can follow the proceedings". 

Now, I'm like all too many other deaf individuals, it is a constant struggle for me to get doctors to understand that an interpreter is a much more reliable way to communicate with me regarding medical issues than simply "Oh, we can communicate fine.  That's what pen and paper are for".  I realize that the ADA only requires an EFFECTIVE mode of communication, and that this normally is okay with me because I am a pretty smart guy (contrary to what some of my friends might tell you) and can understand the basic terminology as it pertains to my once in a blue moon medical issues, hence, it is EFFECTIVE in my case.  However, I was feeling somewhat hesitant in this situation, because my son has been diagnosed with a mild form of petit mal-type epilepsy (Absence Seizures), and that is over my head, having never had any family history on either side to personally deal with.  But those good folks in Cincinnati took that worry right out of my head!

Fast forward to two weeks later (today).  We show up early as told, and just a couple of minutes later, the interpreters show up as well.  Introductions were made all around, and after a few minutes of social conversation, we were called back.  People, this lady (first name Tina is all I will say) was FANTASTIC.  She made the entire proceeding quite enjoyable, and was professional and courteous.  There was not a thing that I missed.  She also had an observer for the day (Stacy) whom is also an employee (new, I gathered) at the same agency, and she was great as well.  The whole experience left me feeling somewhat better about the small, but positive steps we are seeing in the acceptance of providing interpreters in medical settings.  The doctors and nurses were great, spoke directly to me instead of the interpreters, etc. with no prompting.  They obviously have their stuff together at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital and have a tremendously qualified and educated staff.

I'm not doing this because I benefit from it in any way, shape, or form.  I'm doing it because it is the right thing to do, so please allow me to say this:

To the interpreter from the Northern Kentucky Services for the Deaf (I hope I got the name right) and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, I say "Thank You" for making today such a positive experience.  I told my wife on the way home I would be sure to blog about this because it is far too seldom we hear good things about situations such as this.  If you are ever in need of medical services for your deaf or hard of hearing child, or hearing child and you are deaf or hard of hearing yourself, I HIGHLY recommend this hospital if you are in the vicinity of it.  They truly seem to grasp the importance of ensuring good communication between all affected parties.

Thanks,
Eddie