6 December 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Further Information Contact:
Steve Hamerdinger, President
steve.hamerdinger@...

ADARA FORUMS PRESENTS "OBSERVATION-SUPERVISION METHOD OF MENTORING
PROFESSIONALS"

As part of the continuing series of on-line forums, ADARA will be
offering a session on mentoring professionals in deafness. The
discussion will be led by Robyn Dean on Monday, December 18th at
8:00 PM Central Time (9 PM Eastern time, 6 PM Pacific Time) in the
ADARA Chat Room.

Robyn K. Dean, MA, CI/CT is on the faculty at the University of
Rochester School of Medicine. While previously a full time
interpreter for seventeen years, she currently works at the Deaf
Wellness Center as an interpreter researcher, developing training
curriculum based on her demand-control schema for interpreting work
(DC-S). Ms. Dean's work is funded by several federal grants, one
which studies the effectiveness of observation-supervision in mental
health interpreter training. This new educational methodology
proposes better outcomes in setting-specific training by allowing
interpreters to observe work settings without the presence of deaf
consumers or working interpreters.

This session will focus on the use of observation-supervision which
is based on Dean and Pollard's demand-control schema for interpreting
work (DC-S). Observation-supervision is a departure from the usual
method of training in specific setting content. Instead of
attending a weekend workshop or lecture on setting-specific content,
observation-supervision begins by having professionals observe in-
vivo activities relevant to the practice (e.g., a medical interview
or a college class) but where deaf consumers and are not present.
This allows the trainee to focus on the "normal" yet complex nature
of such situations without the added distraction of attending to sign
language choices or a deaf consumer's particular service
circumstances.

If you missed the previous forums, you will find transcripts on the
ADARA website. The New Year will bring exciting forums and will be
announced in the weeks ahead. In response to consumer requests, some
or all of the online chats next year will be during the day. Save
the third Monday of each month for these exciting chats. Times are
tentatively set for 1:00 PM Eastern, 12:00 noon, Central, 11:00 AM
Mountain and 10:00 AM Pacific times.

To log onto the chat or to get transcripts, go to www.adara.org,
scroll down to the "Community" box and click on the "Chat Room"
button. Follow the instructions to log in.

ADARA is an organization of professionals networking for excellence
in service delivery with individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
ADARA strives to be the leader among professional organizations in
transforming the paradigm of rehabilitation of Deaf people to
enhancing the quality of life with people who are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing.

For more information see www.adara.org.