Hello everyone,
I hope you have been enjoying your Summer. I want to thank Grace for continuing as Editor for the ALDA News. We have several articles of interest in this issue.
Of course, this will probably be the last issue before ALDAcon. I can’t tell you how excited I am to see my ALDA family in-person for the first time in over 2 years! Of course, this time will be different. We all treasure our ALDA hugs, but we will need to be respectful of each other and only hug others if they are comfortable doing so.
The ‘con is still on, despite the COVID-19 Delta variant. We encourage everyone to be vaccinated. We will follow the state of New York and CDC guidelines regarding masks and indoor gatherings. At this point, masks are not required at ALDAcon but are encouraged. If you have a clear mask (to see others for lip-reading), please bring it. If you have extras, please bring them with you.
Remember, our ALDA philosophy is “Whatever Works!”. As we all know, masks have increased our stress and made it harder to communicate. Be prepared to use whatever works for you: signing, using your favorite speech-to-text app on your phone, writing, gesturing, lipreading through clear masks, etc. We are all in the same boat, so don’t hesitate to ask for the communication mode that works best for YOU! Of course, all our workshops and presentations will have both CART (real-time captioning) and sign language interpreters.
I look forward to seeing our presenters and workshops and of course having fun at karaoke! Again, please make sure you are vaccinated before you come and if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms, please consider not coming to spare yourself and others from spreading the COVID-19 virus.
If you plan to visit Canada while in the area, you can check travel status and also download and use the ArriveCAN app.
COVID-19 has changed our world. Now we need to be more careful in interacting with others, both at ALDAcon and in the world in general.
See you soon!
ALDAhugs,
Ken Arcia – President
