At the IOS tournaments we have a few deaf disc golfers play. As the TD I try to recognize who they are and usually have copies of the notes about course OB, extra holes, special conditions, etc. that Brett puts together for each course that we use. I have handed those out to some of the deaf disc golfers and I'm always willing to do some writing back and forth to make things clear, but are there other things that I could do to make things easier for the deaf disc golfers that attend our events?
Hello Jon-
That's a good question - i posted your question here on DDGA (http://www.ddga.org/forum/viewtopic.php?forum=29&showtopic=2364) to gauge other deaf participant response - not all of them are PDGA members or check PDGA message boards - hope this will help generate more opinions because for me
i have been to quite a few tournaments - even received a nice ace-pot from Streamwood :D- i think you are doing a good job with the written rules/OB's and whatnot - i'm curious to see other people's opinions regarding accessibility.
I have no problem copying/pasting into pdga forum when there are responses. Hope this helps and see you at Crystal Lake.
Submitted by Nathan from Oregon on www.ddga.org (http://www.ddga.org)
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Well if jon is making sure all the Deafies are getting the notes that the hearing people are getting, that is as much as he can do without having to spend extra money. He could always print "Deaf friendly" on the tournament flyers to encourage Deaf discers to participate.
Deaf discers should bring their own paper and pencils for communication but the TD could have extra notepads and pencils on hand in case the discers want to communicate while discing.
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I am sure that it would not be hard to contact a local school or institution for some assistance. My sister had intended on teaching the deaf, in the early years of her education. Her big problem was finding venues for her to work on her interpretation skills. I am sure there are people in your community whom need practice with interpretation.
Discboomer- How correct you are! thanks for igniting a spark in me addled noggin' - I should shoot myself in the foot since i work in this field and didnt come across it first.
There are various "deaf commissions" that work for the states a'la state agencies - although they come in different disguises - some are "vocational rehabilitation" - some are "department of..." - some are "deaf and hard of hearing commission" and/or whatnots (hope you get the picture)
these agencies should be able to provide the link for a list of interpreter training programs (ITP) in their respective state. It is by contacting these ITP's nearest to your event that would be able to provide (not always, but worth a try) interpreters that could use the voluntary practice with deaf participants.
I am from illinois myself and work for the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission - so the link for the Illinois Interpreter Training Program can be found at This website (http://www.idhhc.state.il.us/interpreter/itp.htm)
If anyone posts here or PM's me for a request for a specific state and their list of Interpreter Training Programs - i will try my best to accomodate their requests.
Discboomer - once again, thanks for chipping in
