I don't know why on earth it would take 9 months to do all the paperwork it takes for a person to start their job. I do know the government is slow - when Marriner was hired, it took 2 months for the official job offer to arrive. But really, 9 months?!? I looked at the emails she had. In April, they asked for fingerprints. In June they asked for a form requesting reasonable accommodations. In August they needed a phone call to discuss reasonable accommodations. In October, they asked for finger prints again. In November they started a bidding process for an interpreter. I can't think of any reason why they didn't just send her all the forms on Day 1. And I don't know why it would take 2 months to process each form.
I feel like this sort of experience is surprisingly common. People are so afraid to hire someone they can't talk to, and even when someone is willing to hire them, the process is twisty-turny, complex and confusing.
In contrast, here's a story from New Year's Eve. My sister Ashley and her family were visiting from Baltimore, and Michai was over, too. Ashley knows ASL, her husband is learning, but her kids haven't learned much by absorption. Still, my 10-yr old niece, Anne, was looking for someone to talk to, and came over to Michai. She just started finger spelling! Michai talked back to Anne. After a while, Anne got tired of spelling every word, so she went and got a paper and pen, and they had this cute conversation.
Ok, so I know a cute conversation with a kid isn't the same as communicating with your employer, but still, I think we're way more intimidated at getting along with deaf people than we need to be. And it makes me sad that so many bright and talented people struggle so hard to get a job, just because they can't hear their would-be employer.
So, be like Anne, all y'all.
Ok, rant over.
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