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Video Remote Interpreting allows Access Services Northwest, LLC to provide American Sign Language Interpreters in areas where it is sometimes difficult to find local ASL interpreters.
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) brings ASL Interpreters into your location without the extra fees and travel time you may experience when an interpreter has to travel a great distance to provide sign language resources for your business or event.
If you live or do business in a rural location and need professional sign language interpreting service, please contact us. If we don’t have a qualified interpreter available in your area, Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) may be the right solution.
What is Video Remote Interpreting?
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) is a fee- based interpreting service provided via today’s video conferencing technologies where at least one person, typically the ASL interpreter, is at a separate location.
VRI is not regulated by the FCC or other telecommunications legislation and is currently used in a variety of settings including but not limited to medical, educational, legal and mental health. You can learn more about how VRI may be used in these settings by following the links under Resources at the bottom of this page.
Access Services Northwest offers VRI under the same general framework of our on site interpreter services. Because on site interpreting is usually the most effective solution for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumer that is requesting an interpreter, we will usually try to find an interpreter available to come to your location. However, when you need interpreting services in a remote or rural location we can provide the same high quality professional interpreting services we offer in the Portland Oregon metro area via VRI.
When we provide VRI services, we adhere to the same high standards as we do when placing interpreters in any other setting. We recommend requesting ASL interpreting services of any kind as far in advance as possible so that we can coordinate the right interpreter for your particular communications need.
In order to take advantage of Video Remote Interpreting there are some basic technical considerations that need to be addressed before you start using the VRI service:You will need to have a setting with access to highspeed internet and video conferencing capabilities. Today there are many free and / or low cost video conferencing options, however they all require that your computer, tablet or phone is capable of sending and receiving images and sound.
Benefits and Limitations of VRI
When used appropriately, VRI has several benefits such as communication access in areas where it may be difficult or cost prohibitive to find a local interpreter.
While providing a viable option for interpreting services, VRI is not a comprehensive replacement for onsite interpreting. In order to assure that equal access is achieved, the decision to utilize VRI should be made with input from all participants. VRI may not be appropriate for:
- Situation involving high interactivity, such as multiple participants with less structured turn-taking protocols;
- Situations with complex dialogic exchange, such as abstract philosophical interchange or dialogue with veiled intentions or multipiple meanings;
- Situations involving communications of a sensitive nature;
- Situations involving individuals with a secondary disability (e.g. low vision) that impedes their ability to utilize the technology.
- Situations where young children, individuals that do not use ASL as their first language or those who have underdeveloped language or who use idiosyncratic language patterns.
It is important to note that Video Remote Interpreting is not the same as Video Relay Services. Although both services are provided remotely, their purpose, requirements and uses differ. Access Services Northwest LLC does not offer Video Relay Services.
Video relay service (VRS) is a free telephone relay service using video technology to allow deaf and hard of hearing persons to make and receive phone calls using American Sign Language (ASL). You can learn more about VRS here: http://www.rid.org/UserFiles/File/pdfs/Standard_Practice_Papers/Drafts_June_2006/VRS_SPP.pdf.