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Hello. I’m Pete Seiler. I am the Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. I’m here today to talk about advocacy and why it is important. This is the sign for advocacy.

It’s important because it shows society that you want to participate. You want to become an equal member of society through access and communication.

What’s the intent of advocacy? To take a part of society, regardless of how large or small it is and show how people how to improve it, make it more accessible, more inclusive.

The goal of advocacy is to identify something that is not acceptable and change it to something that you feel is right, something that you feel comfortable participating in.

There are many different ways of advocating. The most important is through education, instructing someone in what you need. Who is the most effective advocate? You, a person who had learned what your rights are and what information is needed. When something is wrong, you can identify what is wrong and advocate for its’ change.

How do you prepare to be an advocate? You study to understand what has happened. When a situation has changed and become accessible, you don’t stop. It’s a continual process. You learn from others’ experiences and frustrations. It’s a continual process.

If I’m well prepared, I can show how to take an inaccessible activity and make it right. I can make it obvious to those who are unaware.

Say you have a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person who was not provided an interpreter or CART services, but they want to be involved in an activity. They want to be involved in an activity. They want to engage in discourse, but they can’t. That means effective communication has not occurred. You can’t provide effective feedback, and that’s not acceptable. It becomes obvious that effective communication has not occurred. It needs to be effective. That is your right.

Education is key. It is an important way to improve that meeting. Maybe at the next meeting, things will be made correct and you will have services. You need to know how your rights were violated. That law is the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA. You start with studying the ADA. Ask about it. What is it’s intents are? Does my situation relate to ramps? Interpreters? Once you’ve learned about the ADA, become knowledgeable, you can go out and advocate on your own behalf.

Say you have a facilitator of a meeting who did not provide an interpreter, for example. You’re able to inform the leader of that meeting that an interpreter is needed. The ADA gives you that right. If I go to a meeting and didn’t inform the leader of the meeting, I say, “Where’s my CART? Where’s my interpreter? Where’s my loop service?”. He might say well, “You didn’t let me know.” You need to inform the leader of the meeting of your needs. Without that assistance, you can’t have access to the meeting. Maybe the facilitator would be apologetic and they would like to improve future meetings, make them more accessible.

You can become the educator. You sit down with the leader of the meeting and discuss what you need. Maybe that person is unaware. Maybe they thought you could lipread or that with a cochlear implant, you could hear. They’re using myths. You need to explain what you need. State what you need. They’ll be understanding. It does require patience. Sometimes, after the first meeting, you might need to explain again and again. Once you’re successful, then future meetings will become more accessible as well. Not just for you, but also for other Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.

One good example is in Washington DC right now. In Congress, they’re wanting to add to the ADA, HR 3101. It’s a bill that has not been passed into law yet. They’re debating to make computers and video accessible, like on television, with captioning. With captioning it is inaccessible. Possibly there is important information, but it’s not accessible. That bill is called the 21 st Century Computer and Video Accessibility Act.

There are several things you need to understand.

First, it starts with you. You need to ask. You need to state what you need. If you are denied, you can explain why you need these things. Don’t be afraid to speak out. Voice your concerns. Let people know that you want to be an equal member of society.

You also need to know your rights. Study the laws. Know what other people have done. Interact with other people. Find out who is able to support your action.

Get the facts. Ask why you didn’t get an interpreter. If you didn’t inform them, then that’s your responsibility. But if you did, maybe they overlooked your need. Maybe they were careless. You can explain, next time, that can’t happen.

Remember to keep to the point. Make sure that you keep your goal in mind.

You can be assertive, but not aggressive. State your points. Don’t be afraid. Just state what you need. Aggression will lead to resentment and then you’ll get nothing. Maybe a person will look down at you. Maybe you just need to take it up with their supervisor.

All said and done, it’s important to keep track of the facts. Don’t let your emotions play into your debate.

Thanks for watching!