Risk and Dignity in Requesting Signed Language Interpreter Accommodations

Requesting accommodations such as signed language interpreters in health-care settings is an activity that can present risk to the deaf patient. By providing space for considerations of risk-taking for particular kinds of experiences that are not universally shared, such as interpreter-mediated experiences, the notion of the dignity of risk can be expanded. The author uses two examples of signed language interpreting in health-care settings to demonstrate how the dignity of risk emerges. This is followed by an analysis of the concept of epistemic injustice as applied to insider knowledge of the deaf community and the potential harms to one's dignity resulting from this asymmetry of knowledge. The essay concludes with an evaluation of concerns about dignity and risk for deaf individuals.