Consultations and Forensic Work

Dr. Robert Pollard, former director of the Deaf Wellness Center, frequently provides consultation services to a wide variety of individuals and organizations through his adjunct work at the University. He has consulted to numerous regional and state mental health and healthcare organizations on service planning and program evaluation pertaining to the deaf population. He frequently consults with universities and other organizations regarding how to make education and training programs accessible and effective for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and trainees. He has provided research consultation to a number of universities and research programs, focusing on study design, validity issues in research data involving deaf subjects, and cross-cultural research ethics in the deafness field (see the publications section of this website for related articles and book chapters).

Dr. Pollard is a frequent consultant to attorneys and judges regarding deaf individuals involved in the legal system, in both civil and criminal cases. He has provided expert witness testimony in dozens of cases around the U.S. and in Canada. Often, these cases involve the conduct of psychological assessments of deaf defendants or plaintiffs. (Dr. Pollard is fluent in American Sign Language and therefore conducts assessments directly, not through sign language interpreters.)

Dr. Pollard's forensic consultation has dealt with issues of murder, kidnapping, sexual crimes, competency to stand trail, personal injury, mental illness diagnosis, cognitive impairments, discrimination, child custody, interpreting issues, and other matters. On occasion, other staff of the Deaf Wellness Center (DWC) provide consultation and forensic services as well. In some cases, other colleagues from the University of Rochester Medical Center who have expertise in special topic areas provide assistance in the DWC's consultation and forensic work.

Fees for consultation and forensic work vary; contact Dr. Pollard for details.