Mohawk College shall, upon request, provide or arrange for the provision of communication supports for persons with disabilities and in consultation with the person making the request. This request is to be fulfilled in a timely manner that takes into account the person's accessibility needs and at a cost that is no more than the regular cost charged to other persons.
In addition to physical and attitudinal barriers, people with disabilities can encounter barriers as a result of the format in which information is presented. The Information and Communication Standards (AODA, 2005) require colleges to communicate with people in ways that respect each individual's disability.
The following information will support staff in meeting accommodation requests.
Mohawk College's Interpreter and Computerized Note Taker Guidelines and Procedures for Service Delivery
Mohawk College recognizes that Interpreters and Computerized Note Takers play an important role in the academic success of students who are Deaf, deaf or hard of hearing. Mohawk College adheres to the guidelines put in place by the College Committee on Disability Issues (CCDI). Read more at the College Committee on Disability (opens new window) website.
Scheduling Interpreter Services
- To schedule an interpreter or computerized note taker as an academic accommodation contact Accessible Learning Services
- To schedule an interpreter or computerized note taker for a corporate event, email us at accessibility [at] mohawkcollege.ca (accessibility[at]mohawkcollege[dot]ca)
Communication Resources
TTY / Teletypewriter Relay Services
The Bell Relay Service (BRS) allows deaf, deafened and hard of hearing, or customers with speech disabilities to communicate with hearing persons or non TTY users by phone with specially trained operators acting as intermediary. Relay operators are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Read more at Bell Canada's Accessibility Services Centre (opens new window).
Accessible Customer Service Tips
Ministry of Community and Social Services tips such as how to greet customers with disabilities; what you need to know about customers with vision disabilities, language impairments, physical disabilities; what you need to know when dealing with customers with disabilities over the phone; etc. Read more at the Government of Ontario's Accessibility Laws (opens new window) website.
American Sign Language Interpreters & Computerized Note Takers
American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language. It is a linguistically complete and natural language capable of conveying both concrete and abstract ideas. ASL has its own vocabulary, grammatical and structural rules. ASL uses signs, space and facial expressions as functions of language. An ASL-English Interpreter allows information to be communicated without errors or misunderstandings with a Deaf person.
Communicating through an Interpreter
Communicating with a Deaf person through the services of an interpreter is not an everyday occurrence for most people. Professional sign language interpreters are equipped with techniques to make the experience of working with interpreters a seamless and effective process. Using interpreters allows information to be communicated without errors or misunderstandings. Most people begin to feel comfortable communicating through an interpreter after only a few minutes. Learning how to make effective use of interpreting services is quite simple. Read more at the Ontario Association of Sign Language Interpreters (opens new window) website.
Canadian Hearing Society – Scheduling Interpreters
- Read more at the Canadian Hearing Society's (opens new window) website
Scheduling Real Time Speech to Text Services
Canadian Hearing Society – Scheduling CART services
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is the word-for-word transcription of speech to text in real-time. A CART writer will transcribe the spoken word into written English or French text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer, and real-time software. The text is then displayed on a small screen, such as a laptop computer, or projected on a large screen for classrooms, conferences or meeting settings. CART can be provided remotely or on-site.
Read more at the Canadian Hearing Society's (opens new window) website.