When communication support goes wrong, who pays the price?
Imagine spending hours preparing to deliver an important presentation at work.
You know your subject. You've organised your materials, prepared your examples and made sure the person supporting your communication has everything they need.
But when you begin, things start going wrong.
You find yourself distracted, explaining things twice and trying to keep your presentation on track.
People watching may think you're struggling with your own work.
This is the experience Deaf professional Rebecca A Withey recently shared in The Limping Chicken, in an article titled My interpreter didn't prep – and they ruined my job., and it raises an important question for every organisation that arranges communication support: How do you know the support you're providing is actually working?
The problem isn't always what the audience sees
Rebecca had been booked to deliver a specialist lecture and workshop.
She prepared her material and sent the interpreter a detailed outline, presentation resources and video links beforehand.
But during the session, it became clear to Rebecca that the interpreter was unfamiliar with parts of the material.
Rather than being able to focus on her lecture and her audience, Rebecca found herself monitoring the interpretation, clarifying information and trying to compensate for what wasn't working.
She also described missing opportunities to interact with hearing students because the interpreter wasn't picking up their cues to ask questions.
The result?: Rebecca felt that her presentation suffered, and from the audience's perspective, it may simply have looked as though the Deaf lecturer was having difficulty delivering her own work.
That is an important distinction.
Sometimes the person who appears to be struggling isn't the person who needs to improve their performance.
Communication support has an impact on professional reputation
We often talk about communication support in terms of access.
➝ Can the Deaf person follow what's being said?
➝ Can they contribute to the discussion?
➝ Can they participate in a meeting or lesson?
These are essential questions, but we also need to consider how the quality of support affects other people's perceptions.
A Deaf employee may be highly knowledgeable and experienced. A Deaf lecturer may have prepared an excellent session. A Deaf student may understand their subject extremely well.
If communication support is ineffective, that knowledge and ability may not come across as intended.
Other people may not understand that the difficulties are happening within the communication process, rather than reflecting the Deaf person's competence.
That's why arranging suitable support is about more than simply making a booking.
What should organisations be checking?
Rebecca's account concerns a BSL interpreter, whose professional role is different from that of a Communication Support Worker (CSW). However, the wider lessons about quality, preparation and accountability are relevant to organisations arranging different types of communication support.
For colleges employing or commissioning CSWs, there are several useful questions to ask:
Is the person appropriately skilled for the assignment?
Different settings and individual needs require different knowledge and abilities. Being able to communicate in BSL does not automatically mean someone has all the skills needed to provide effective professional support.
Do they have access to preparation materials?
Timetables, lesson topics, specialist vocabulary and advance resources can help communication professionals prepare for what they will encounter.
Organisations have a responsibility to make relevant information available in good time, while communication professionals must take responsibility for using it.
Are professional boundaries and responsibilities clear?
Communication support should enable the Deaf person to participate and demonstrate their own abilities. It shouldn't create additional work for them or leave them managing the support alongside their own responsibilities.
Are you actively seeking feedback from Deaf people?
A support arrangement may look satisfactory to an observer while the Deaf person experiences it very differently.
Their feedback is essential when assessing quality.
What happens when something goes wrong?
Concerns should be taken seriously. A willingness to listen, review and improve is part of maintaining a professional service.
Training is one part of quality assurance
At Deaf Umbrella, we've developed training specifically for Communication Support Workers because we know that signing skills alone do not cover every aspect of the role.
Professional boundaries, preparation, safeguarding, notetaking, confidence and continuing professional development all contribute to effective support.
Training cannot guarantee that difficulties will never happen, but it can help CSWs better understand their responsibilities, recognise their limitations and reflect on how their practice affects Deaf students.
For colleges, that learning needs to sit alongside appropriate recruitment, supervision, preparation time and regular feedback.
Listen to the people receiving support
Perhaps the most important thing we can take from Rebecca's account is the need to listen to Deaf people's experiences.
When they tell us that communication support hasn't worked, we shouldn't assume that having provided a professional means we've provided effective access.
We need to understand what happened, how it affected them and what needs to change.
Because the quality of communication support can have consequences well beyond a single lesson, meeting or presentation.
Read Rebecca A. Withey's original article: https://limpingchicken.com/2026/10/15/insight-my-interpreter-didnt-prep-and-they-ruined-my-job/
Does your college provide CSW support? Download Deaf Umbrella's free CSW quality checklist to help review the support your students receive.
