Flipping the Interpreter Script: Perspectives on Accessibility

Abstract

In this positional essay, Jessica A. Scott, G. Sue Kasun, and Stephanie J. Gardiner-Walsh discuss their experiences and frustrations around American Sign Language interpreters in higher education settings. They draw from their intersecting experiences as researchers of language and/or deaf education to call for a “flipping of scripts” around how we frame who is being interpreted for in signed language contexts. They argue that the majoritarian, ableist mindset in higher education needs to shift to remember that hearing/abled individuals also need to learn from disabled individuals and that the field of multilingual education needs to better engage signed language in the broader field.