By Sarah Wheeler, M.Ed., M.S. A Particular Kind of Erasure There's a particular kind of erasure that settles into the being of anyone who belongs to a marginalized community. You enter a space, and before you communicate anything, people have already categorized you. They've reduced your multifaceted, complex self into a single descriptor. You're the Deaf person. The blind person. The disabled person. The immigrant. The foreigner. You're no longer recognized for who you are.

By Sarah Wheeler, M.Ed., M.S. The Critical Moment There's a particular moment that comes for many professional interpreters, usually somewhere between year five and year ten, when they look up from the work and realize they can't quite remember who they were before they found themselves in the center of other people's stories. You remember the passion that drew you to interpreting. The fascination with language. The desire to bridge different worlds. The profound satisfaction

Recognizing the Signs of Burnout There comes a point in many interpreters' careers when showing up starts to feel different. You still interpret and connect people across languages and cultures, but something inside begins to slow down. You might ask yourself, when did this start to feel distant from who I am? Burnout is not a personal failure. It is a natural response to sustained imbalance, when emotional output outweighs the input. Interpreting requires continuous empathy,

Epistemic humility is the recognition that our knowledge is always incomplete, shaped by context, and in relationship with others.

Inclusion isn't a checklist, and communication isn't something to fix. In this reflection on emotional intelligence, disability justice, and interpreting, Sarah Wheeler challenges the quick-fix mindset dominating accessibility today. Learn why relationship-centered access matters more than ever, and how emotional intelligence in communication creates connection where tech alone cannot.