Driver education hasn't been easily accessible to Sask. people who use ASL — soon that's going to change
CBC
Aspiring drivers can translate the text of the Saskatchewan Driver's Handbook on the SGI website into more than 130 languages — but American Sign Language (ASL) is not one of them.
That's why Adam Stratychuk, who has been deaf his entire life, is on a mission to make it more accessible for deaf and hard of hearing people to get their driver's licence.
"Fifty-four per cent of jobs require a driver's licence," Stratychuk said. "We are already limited because of deafness, but if we have a driver's licence it opens up a lot of doors for opportunity."
Stratychuk was hired by the Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services to translate the province's entire driver's handbook into ASL. The goal is to share the translations in a series of YouTube videos. Stratychuk and his team have been working on the project since March.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing can get their Class Five or Class Seven driver's licence in Saskatchewan with no restrictions.
Stratychuk worked as a tow truck driver for 11 years. He said his driving instructor and driving examiner, who taught and tested him when he was getting his licence in high school, doubted his driving capabilities.
"I had to kind of fight to say 'yes, I could drive and deaf people do drive,'" Stratychuk said.
"It's all about sight and what you're visually aware of."
Read full transcript here.
Stratychuk got his driver's licence with the help of ASL interpreters, but he said that's not necessarily an option for all people.
"We have a limited pool of interpreters available to us…and we have to pay for them to be there, and if the person fails we have to redo the process and that really eats up a lot of our resources," Stratychuk said.
Xander Rinaldi, who is profoundly deaf, recently moved to Saskatoon. He's been having trouble finding a job because many require a driver's licence — and he hasn't been able to get one because there isn't education available in ASL.
"I need to get an ASL tutor or interpreter to help me translate [the Saskatchewan Driver's Textbook] from English to ASL for me to have understanding," Rinaldi told CBC.
"But there is an expense with the interpreter."