Sorenson Communications^®, the nation's leading provider of Video Relay Services (VRS) for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who use sign language to communicate, today announced two initiatives that will help increase the number of nationally certified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters available.

Sorenson Communications will provide, in partnership with Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and local community partners, an additional four to six testing sites in key locations for all who wish to take the RID National Interpreter Certification (NIC) exam, the only nationally recognized professional accreditation for ASL interpreters. In addition, Sorenson Communications announced it has developed—and is presenting to Sorenson interpreters who have yet to take the NIC exam—comprehensive test-preparation training.

The NIC examination measures with both written and English performance tests the fluency and quality of people's ASL interpreting, as well as their knowledge of interpreter standards, ethics and professionalism. Sorenson Communications’ employee policy strongly encourages its interpreters to acquire the NIC credential by their fifth year of employment.

Sorenson Communications’ second initiative includes the development of a comprehensive six-hour pre-test training to boost the interview and performance skills of Sorenson interpreters who are not yet NIC certified. The new training, which includes an accompanying DVD, demonstrates 50 challenging interpreting scenarios demonstrated by 10 deaf individuals, male and female, from different areas of the United States. The variety of demonstrators is especially helpful because ASL varies among individuals and exhibits regional differences as well.

Workshop participants are enthusiastic. “Our workshop instructors gave us the opportunity to build our foundation for the NIC performance test. I acquired an incredible amount of understanding that will help me prepare,” said Beth Dowers, a video interpreter in the Chattanooga Sorenson VRS Interpreting Center.

Co-worker Jonathan Walterhouse said, “This workshop alleviates many of my fears and gives me a heightened level of self-confidence so I can effectively pursue my NIC.”

The new Sorenson Communications training has been presented in many Sorenson VRS Interpreting Centers throughout the U.S. and will be presented in designated locations in coming months, reports Michael Canale, Sorenson Communications Eastern Region District Manager, who has been directing the initiative under Sorenson Communications Vice President of Interpreting Chris Wakeland.

About Sorenson Communications

Sorenson Communications^® (www.sorenson.com) is a provider of industry-leading communications services and products. The company’s offerings include Sorenson Video Relay Service^® (SVRS^®), the highest-quality video interpreting service; the Sorenson (VP-100^® and VP-200^®) videophones; Sorenson IP Relay^® (SIPRelay), enabling text-to-speech relay communication; and Sorenson Video Remote Interpreting^™ (VRI), a fee-based remote interpreting service.