“Our deaf community has absolutely made us what we are,” said owner Vanessa Less of Clintonville.

The company provides sign language interpreting and tutoring as its only business. The interpreters bridge the gap between people who are deaf and hearing impaired and those who can hear.

Medical settings account for 33 percent of the work and the legal profession another 20 percent. Corporate, educational, social services and private sectors make up the balance of the company’s work.

“These organizations are now realizing we fit their schedule. We’re trying to make it painless to use an interpreter whether you’re the hearing provider or the deaf consumer,” Less said.

Less and her associate, Annie Levknecht of Appleton, met two years ago when they both worked as independent contractors with their own interpreting areas of expertise.

Less specialized in medical settings, while Levknecht honed her skills as an interpreter for the Appleton Area School District for eight years.

Their personalities and approaches clicked.

“One of the reasons Annie and I thought it was important to come together is to really allow the community to use professional interpreters rather than casual signers,” Less said. “The process of interpreting is a different brain function. It’s a visual language.”

Levknecht grew up with a deaf cousin.

“I feel very privileged I can give back to his community,” she said.

American Sign Language has its own grammatical structure and syntax. There is no written form of it. And there’s enough variation to the approach and personal differences between interpreters and clients to merit careful attention to matchups, Less said.

Some assignments are basically a matter of getting to a place on short notice.

“It can be as simple as a deaf consumer walking into the emergency room with flu symptoms,” said Fawn Rogers, a registered nurse with the ThedaCare health system, which frequently uses Sign Language Associates.

By Pete Bach