Wavefront Centre is pleased to see a growing interest in learning more about Sign Language and the desire to improve accessibility for the ASL Community. Sign Language is at the core of the Deaf Community’s cultural identity and is a source of pride. As such, this is a very delicate topic that needs to be treated with care and respect. Please watch this important message from our ASL Community Relations Manager and share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you.
TRANSCRIPT:
Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility wishes to extend its gratitude to the Province of BC and several media companies for providing sign language interpretation on news broadcasting during the COVID-19 crisis. We also thank everyone for their interest to learn more about our sign language community and we encourage more coverage around this topic. We are living through unprecedented and challenging times, and it’s important that everyone be kept informed of the most current information available from our local and federal public officials. Everyone should be able to access this information readily, particularly for Deaf people who speak American Sign Language (ASL) as their first language. We are pleased to see that most public press conferences are now communicatively accessible to our ASL community. Wavefront Centre has received numerous requests from the public, inquiring about how and where to learn more about sign language. To ensure that the public learns about sign language and Deaf culture with sensitivity and respect, we recommend that you reach out to one of the many organizations that serve the Deaf community and have Deaf members as professionals or volunteers. Sign language is the Deaf community’s core of cultural identity and pride. As a native ASL signer and an ASL Community Relations Manager, I will be pleased to share my knowledge and pride of my community with you so please feel free to reach out to me anytime by email (jodi.birley@wavefrontcentre.ca). Other reputable organizations / service providers that also serve in American Sign Language around British Columbia include: BC Community Groups: Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf (Lower Mainland) Okanagan Valley Association of the Deaf (Interior) Northern Interior Association of the Deaf (Northern) Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre (Vancouver Islands) Family Network for Deaf Children BC Deaf Sports Federation BC Culture & Society of the Deaf Service Providers: Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility (charitable nonprofit) Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (Ministry of Children & Families Development) Deaf Well Being Program (Vancouver Coastal Health) Education Provider: Lila & Pip (Independent, Pre-K) Deaf Children’s Society (charitable nonprofit, Pre-K) Provincial Outreach Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Ministry of Education, K-12) BC School for the Deaf (Ministry of Education, K-12) ASL Instruction: Vancouver Community College: ASL & Deaf Studies (Ministry of Education, Post-Secondary)
