Please read below for some guidelines regarding interactions during the 2022 virtual conference. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in being removed from the conference. As always, consent is key.

Please stay muted through the presentations. You can type questions for the presenters into the chat and the moderator will ask them to the presenters. Inappropriate comments or questions may result in being removed from the conference.

If you can, have your camera on. Talking to a “live” person is so much nicer. (Anyone abusing this feature will be banned from the conference.)

You can directly chat with the host or tech person if you are experiencing problems. Please @host or @tech in the chat room to get their attention.

Although private messaging is permitted, please do not abuse this feature. If you do, you may be removed from the conference.

If needed, you have access to ASL interpreters and live closed-captioning. We recommend pinning the interpreters to help you. They have “ASL” as a part of their name. If you do not wish to see the closed-captioning, you can turn this feature off.

Speak clearly and at your normal pace – discuss how the interpreters and others can signal you to slow down if needed (e.g.private message, interrupt, interpreter uses “raise hand” function, etc).

Be mindful of a slight lag with the interpreting process –pause before switching topics/changing slides. Also, avoid using vague language like “this” or “that” with visual references and use more descriptive language instead to aid in clarification and understanding. 

Always speak directly to the Deaf person – not the interpreters – avoid phrases like, “tell them.”

Only the keynote presentations are being recorded. This will not be offered publicly, however we want to be able to have a copy on hand for future promotional use (only small portions) and for those presenters. If you are uncomfortable being recorded, you can turn your camera off during the keynotes.

Please use the break times for lengthier discussions and networking. Break moderators can assist you with creating break-out rooms for more private conversations.