A biomechanical assessment of early and late sign language learners: impact on work style and musculoskeletal disorder risk

Autor/a: DONNER, Abigail
Año: 2012
Editorial: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2012
Colección: Thesis/Dissertation Collections
Tipo de código: Copyright
Soporte: Digital

Temas

Traducción e Interpretación

Detalles

American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters are a vital resource both for people who are deaf  and  people  who  are  hearing. Interpreters  face  a  combination  of  high  cognitive  and  high physical  demands  while  interpreting,  placing  them  at  an  increased  risk  for  upper  extremity musculoskeletal disorders and burnout.  Research has shown that individual differences exist in signing  style,  causing  some  interpreters  to  have  a  less  physically  demanding  signing  style  than others.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that interpreters who start signing at a young age may have a decreased  likelihood  for  developing  upper  extremity  musculoskeletal  disorders  due  to  the possible  acquisition  of  a  technique  that  minimizes  strain  on  the  body.    The  objectives  of  this study  were  to  analyze  the  impact  that  learning  to  sign  at  a  young  age  has  on  wrist  kinematics while signing, as well as how wrist biomechanics are affected by the type of signing task being completed, casual conversation or formal interpreting.