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Advocating for your Health Care Needs
HOW ? Why ?
Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind have the right to request from any health care professional, including hospitals, nursing homes, private practice physicians, etc. any auxiliary aids that will allow them access and to fully participate in any service or program that is being offered to the general public at no cost to you or through your insurance company. Your right to this is found in the Americans With Disabilities Act. Title III - Public Accommodations.# 42 U.S.C-12101
An Auxiliary aid means: Qualified Interpreters, TTY, Qualified readers, Closed captioned TV, etc.
You have the right to ask for these aids. You must request this reasonable accommodation to ensure effective communication and clear understanding between yourself and the service provider.
Title III Regulation #36.202 Activities states:
(a) Denial of participation. A public accommodation shall not subject an individual or class of individual ... a denial of the opportunity to participate or benefit from the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of a place of public accommodation.
This means that a service provider like a hospital or doctor can not refuse to accept you as a patient or an individual just because you are deaf.
Title III Regulation # 36.203 (c) Accommodations and Services (1) states: Nothing in this part shall be construed to require an individual with a disability to accept an accommodation, aid, service, opportunity, or benefit available under this part that the individual chooses not to accept.
This means as a person requesting a Qualified Interpreter- you do not have to accept a person that knows a little bit of sign language. You have the right to get what you asked for at no cost to you.
Title III Regulation # 36.206 Retaliation or coercion.
(a) No private or public entity shall discriminate against any individual because that individual has opposed any act or practice made unlawful ...
This means that the service provider can not threaten you or force you to accept anything less than what you asked for. They can not deny you a service because you opposed what they offered. Example: suppose you need surgery and you request a Qualified Interpreter. The Hospital says they have someone who knows some sign language and will do the interpreting - you say "NO, you want a fully qualified interpreter." The Hospital can not force you to accept anything less than effective communication and can not threaten to cancel your surgery.
What is effective communication? The Americans With Disabilities Act defines a Qualified Interpreter as: An Interpreter who is able to interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
This means that first that person is already trained as an Interpreter. You must understand and trust their ability to communicate with you and they must be able to fully understand what you are also communicating. The must be neutral and using a family member to act in that capacity is illegal. First they are emotionally involved and therefore can not stay impartial. Second, they should have the right to be there for you to support you and not bear the responsibility of communicating.
You must feel comfortable with the Interpreter and if you struggle with them, trying to understand what they are signing- then you must realize that they are not qualified - DO NOT ACCEPT that person- ask for another person that you do understand.
Cut, copy and save next time you need a Qualified Interpreter
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For Our Communication - this notice is to inform you that I am DEAF or HARD of HEARING. I am requesting a reasonable accommodation to ensure effective communication and understanding between myself and you the service provider. This is my Civil Right under Title III of the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act). 42 U.S.C-12101
This order allows me to request a Qualified Interpreter that will be the auxiliary aid that I am requesting. This is your full responsibility to provide for our communication.
Please call ________________________ to arrange this.
The phone number is _______________.
I am already confident of their services and request that this handled promptly.
* Note- anyone being denied their request is asked to contact Advocacy Support League (ASL) for help in filing Dept of Justice complaint. -
Advocacy Support League
Diane Edge, Advocate-
P. O. Box 1734
White Plains, MD 20695
Advocacy Support League is a 509 (a)(1) non profit foundation
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