ASL Inclusion in The Workplace

ASL Inclusion in The Workplace


Missed our ASL Inclusion in The Workplace event with PowerToFly? Catch the replay.

We partnered with PowerToFly for a candid Disability Pride Month conversation with Sheena McFeely — founder of the ASL Nook web series — focused on moving past awareness into everyday action, and building workplaces where deaf and hard of hearing professionals have real access all year long.

Watch the full recording below to hear Sheena's journey from growing up decoding films without captions to inspiring millions to learn sign language, practical ways to expand access through ASL and stronger communication across teams, and how to lean in as an ally to embed accessibility into daily workplace culture — plus strategies and actionable insights you can start using today.



What You'll Walk Away With

After watching the session, you will gain the following insights and actionable steps:

1. Go to the deaf person first — not a proxy.Sheena's most repeated point: hearing coordinators often arrange access by asking an interpreter, a CODA, or a hearing colleague they feel comfortable with, which passes along secondhand and often wrong information. The deaf person is the one living the experience and knows what they actually need.

Action item: When you need to arrange accommodations, reach out to the deaf person directly and make them part of the process from the outset — don't route it through someone else.

2. Access is not one-size-fits-all — ask, don't assume.Even two deaf people in the same workplace won't have the same needs, and one person's needs shift by context. Sheena stressed there's no "cookie-cutter formula," and that what someone requests the first time may differ from what an ongoing situation calls for.

Action item: Ask each person what they need for that specific situation, and check in again rather than reusing a past request as a template.

3. Deaf employees miss the "water cooler" layer of information.Breaks, hallway chats, lunch, after-work gatherings — these informal moments are where people build relationships and hear the information that helps them advance. Deaf colleagues are frequently the last to know what's happening.

Action item: Loop deaf colleagues in deliberately — a quick text, an intra-office message, a note, or an email summarizing what was shared — and build a genuine personal relationship with them.

4. Don't make the deaf person the default educator ("the deaf tax").Being the only deaf person in the room often means constantly educating everyone, which pulls focus from the actual work, feels exhausting, and gets people unfairly labeled "difficult." Sheena named this burden — and mislabeling it as difficulty — as a microaggression.

Action item: Share the responsibility of building fluency — learn a few signs, bring in a note-taker so the deaf person isn't dividing their attention, and don't expect one person to represent or teach on behalf of an entire community.

5. Extend grace and just try — progress is a two-way street.Sheena was candid that people will make mistakes on both sides, and that most missteps come from ignorance, not ill will. A support system and a willingness to try are what open doors; giving each other room to learn accomplishes far more than reprimanding.

Action item: If you're unsure how to engage, try anyway rather than staying silent out of fear — and when someone corrects you, treat it as a learning moment and adjust.


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