Sign Language Interpreting Services
The Sign Language Interpreting Services Department at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf is dedicated to providing communication access.
AASD is committed to providing quality services. Therefore, all Sign Language Interpreters are nationally certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).
Our interpreters adhere to the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). Our professional interpreters:
- Adhere to standards of confidential communication
- Possess the professional skills and knowledge required for the specific interpreting situation
- Conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the specific interpreting situation
- Demonstrate respect for consumers
- Demonstrate respect for colleagues, interns, and students of the profession
- Maintain ethical business practices
- Engage in professional development
Meet our Interpreters
Meghan Cowin: Meghan has been working as a staff interpreter at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf since 2017. She graduated from the Georgia Perimeter College Sign Language Interpreting Program in 2004. She then went on to California State University, Northridge and received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Deaf Studies, with a concentration in Interpreting in 2006. After graduating from CSUN, she moved back to Georgia and began working as an interpreter. Meghan earned a Certificate of Interpretation and a Certificate of Transliteration from RID in 2008. She also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2009.
Requesting Interpreting Services
Our interpreters provide interpreting services for our Deaf faculty and staff. If you are a parent of a student at AASD or a visitor requesting a Sign Language Interpreter, please contact the Deaf faculty/staff and have them request an interpreter for your meeting. If you still need to get ahold of someone in the interpreting department, please call 404-300-5919 (Voice), 404-348-8416 (VP), or email MCowin@doe.k12.ga.us.
How to Use a Sign Language Interpreter
Interpreters relay information from one distinct language to another distinct language, always conveying the content and spirit of the speaker, using language most readily understood by the person(s) they serve.
Communication Link: Think of an interpreter as a telephone. The telephone only facilitates communication, it is not able to give opinions, feedback, or instructions. The interpreter - like the telephone - will facilitate everything he/she hears, even if it is personal, confidential or unrelated to the topic at hand. Any information you discuss in the presence of an interpreter and a deaf individual will be interpreted.
Do I need to slow down? Slowing one's natural speech patterns is not usually necessary for interpreters; if the interpreter misses something or feels the teacher is going too fast, the interpreter will ask you to repeat the information.
Who do you look at / speak to? When using an interpreter, always maintain eye contact with the deaf individual and speak to them directly. This is why we encourage hearing consumers and interpreters to stand next to each other. This encourages the hearing consumer to look at the deaf individual instead of the interpreter. It also lets the deaf individual know the information is coming from the you and not the interpreter.