American School for the Deaf Releases New ‘Lost in Translation’ Training Video

The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) continues to partner with the American School for the Deaf (ASD) to advance the Lost in Translation campaign, an initiative designed to create more understanding of the disparity in communication access for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind communities, particularly in the fields of healthcare and education.

In addition to the first training video released in the fall of 2024, ASD has developed a new training video to raise awareness about best practices for interacting with and providing care for individuals who are deafblind.  This next installment of the Lost in Translation campaign provides valuable insight into the varying degrees and nature of deafblind individuals’ conditions and illustrates how those factors influence their unique experiences and methods of communication.  For example, individuals who are nearly blind but only mildly hard of hearing rely on auditory communication, like spoken language; those who are deaf but with only minor sight impairment prefer visual tools like sign language or lip reading; and individuals with significant or complete hearing loss and visual impairment typically depend on other senses, especially touch, and turn to tactile tools to assist in communication.

Critically, the video teaches and reinforces specific strategies for healthcare providers to foster a comfortable, accommodating environment and communicate effectively by adapting to the individuals’ preferences.

CHA encourages hospitals and health systems to take the opportunity to review both training videos, share them with hospital staff, and consider adding the videos to existing staff training regimens. 

Funded through a grant from the Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Lost in Translation campaign was initially launched in January 2024 with marketing materials that were shared with media outlets and those in healthcare and education.

Click here to read the latest press release from ASD.

Click here to watch the September 2024 training video.

Click here to watch the April 2025 training video.