There are various laws in the United States of America that require medical professionals to provide an interpreter to those who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for every professional that someone with these conditions might meet with. That’s reportedly what happened to a New York actress after being allegedly denied an ASL interpreter at her doctor’s office.
Fortunately, as an actress, she was able to record a reenactment of everything that happened using the saved transcripts from the conversation she had with her doctor. It’s incredible the lengths some people have to go through just to get their basic healthcare needs met.
The TikTok video was posted by user @erin.syd, who is a deaf actress making her Broadway debut in Grey House, a terrifying tale of a couple who get into a car crash and stumble upon a cabin filled with teenage girls. Unfortunately, this particular video has more to do with her disability rather than her acting skills. She claims that when having visiting a digital appointment with a medical professional, they refused to provide her with an ASL interpreter.
Before she goes into any more detail, she ensures that viewers know she will be reading from the exact transcripts of the conversation she had with the medical professional who denied the service. She then goes on to share how she had requested the interpreter for an upcoming appointment, which confused the person she was speaking with.
The medical professional scheduling the doctor’s appointment explained that it wouldn’t be necessary since the doctor also spoke English. Erin then had to clarify that even if that’s the case, she still wouldn’t be able to hear what the doctor was saying since she’s deaf.
What’s even more shocking than Erin having to explain herself is how confused the person she was speaking with seemed to be about the entire situation. In fact, there is a point where they even have to ask Erin what an ASL interpreter even is. She even continues on to explain how that service is an accommodation that the doctor needs to provide to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
New York Actress Reportedly Denied ASL Interpreter at Doctor’s Appointment
Unfortunately, this kept going on, so Erin had to contact a different doctor’s office to schedule an appointment. However, this office also gave her the same runaround, claiming not to know what is required to be ADA compliant. She made a different video that also details her conversation with that office
Commenters were absolutely livid on Erin’s behalf, with one person even saying, “at a DOCTORS office i fear they should know this stuff? uhm what?” Others were a little more shocked that this was even able to happen, saying, “You literally held their hand and walked them through it so many times 😭“
A different commenter very plainly said, “well thats a lawsuit.” It’s an incredibly unfortunate situation to be in, and I can only hope that Erin is able to get a doctor’s appointment that has an interpreter present.
