Translation Workgroup (TWG)

The Translation Workgroup (TWG) is made up of bilingual (ASL and English) individuals who have extensive experience in English-ASL translation and in Deaf and hearing cross-cultural relations. TWG members reflect an equal number of deaf members who are native users of ASL and hearing members who are native users of English. The TWG has members with expertise in research methodology, health terminology, healthcare practice, Deaf culture, the healthcare knowledge and experiences of deaf people, medical interpreting, and sign language preferences and fluency variations within the deaf population.

Current and former members of the Translation Workgroup (TWG):

(from left: Patrick Graybill, Julia Aggas, Susan Demers Postlethwait, Robyn Dean, Betsy Finigan, Robert Pollard)

2009-2014

The TWG is currently translating Deaf Weight-Wise materials from English into American Sign Language (ASL). They are also translating and filming for the upcoming Deaf Healthcare Survey (CAHPS: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems®). The Deaf Healthcare Survey will ask about patients’ experiences in doctors’ offices, hospitals, and other healthcare settings.

2004-2009

The Deaf Health Community Committee (DHCC) and the National Center for Deaf Health Research (NCDHR) at the University of Rochester worked together to develop the Deaf Health Survey. The TWG worked for months translating written English questions from national health surveys into ASL.

 

In the photo above is Patrick Graybill signing Deaf Health Survey questions in ASL during studio filming at RIT. Robyn Dean, Julianna Aggas, and Susan Demers Postlethwait act as "coaches" in the background to ensure that each person's signing matches the standardized ASL video "script."

 

Publications:

Graybill P, Aggas J, Dean RK, Demers S, Finigan E, Pollard RQ. A community participatory approach to adapting survey items for Deaf individuals and American Sign Language. Field Methods 2010; 22(4); 429-448. Abstract

Presentations:

Demers S, Schlehofer D. The process of the ASL-English Translation Working Group. Presented to the American Sign Language and Interpreting Education Department, National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY; 2008 Aug 7-8.

Aggas J, Chapel S, Dean R, Demers-Postlethwait S, Finigan E, Graybill P, Gold-Brunson J, Haynes S, O’Hearn A, Pollard RQ. Adapting surveys and educational materials for Deaf audiences. Deaf Health Poster Session, NTID Brown Bag Research Series, Rochester NY; 2007 Feb 19. Poster

 

Last updated: 01/14/2011