William Cruz
William Cruz
ASL On Zoom.com
ASL ON ZOOM
William Cruz LLC
ASL On Zoom.com
"William is excellent as an interpreter.
He is always thorough and personable
as he supports the attendees at
my conferences.
Thanks William for all you do!"
"Working with William has been a wonderful experience. Always dependable, always professional. Thank you for supporting
the deaf and hard of hearing!"
Denise Ramos
Somar Interpreting
"I have had the privilege of working with him for over three years. I wholeheartedly endorse Mr. Cruz as an ASL Interpreter."
Sara Tew M.Ed
Director of Exceptional Education
Darlington County School District
Providing Exceptional Classroom Interpreting Services
for the 2025-2026 School Year
Meet William Cruz
William works as a Video Remote Classroom Interpreter.
As a certified professional, he provides ASL interpreting to students of all ages with a hearing impairment who are receiving all or part of their education in a classroom setting along with hearing children.
William's primary function is to facilitate communication among students with hearing impairment, their hearing peers, the classroom teacher, and other personnel in the school system.
What others have to say about William...
-
B.S. Psychology
-
E.I.P.A. Certification 3.6
-
Over 28 years of Interpreting Experience
-
Trilingual: ASL, Spanish, English
-
Remote Classroom Interpreter
-
Published Author
-
Husband, Dad and Cartoonist
Discourse Mapping
Discourse mapping, also known as discourse analysis or discourse mapping in interpreting,
refers to the technique of analyzing the structure and flow of communication in a conversation or a spoken text. In the context of ASL interpreting, discourse mapping helps interpreters understand how different elements of a conversation or narrative are connected, ensuring they
convey the message clearly, coherently, and accurately. Discourse mapping involves breaking down communication into its key components, including:
Why Choose Video Interpreting?
Why Choose William
With ASL ON ZOOM?
-
ACCESSIBILITY
Allows deaf and hard-of-hearing students to participate in situations where on-site interpreters aren't available.
Available on-demand and can be accessed on ZOOM from any internet-connected device.
Ideally the device goes wherever the student goes, always having William available to interpret during school hours.
-
PRACTICALITY
William specializes in K-12 classroom interpreting, facilitating communication for a variety of situations and subjects.
He'll hear the instructor speaking as he interprets in real-time, right in front of the deaf or hard-of-hearing student without distracting others.
-
COMPLIANCE
Helps schools comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Helps the deaf or hard-of-hearing students feel like they belong and dignifies them by not drawing the attention of the rest of the class.
-
EFFECTIVENESS
More cost-effective than hiring an on-site staff interpreter with benefits.
More added value and quality to the student's educational experience.
Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)
offers the benefit of:
What ASL is and is not!
It's a visual language
With signing, the brain processes linguistic information through the eyes, and facial expressions and body movements play an important part in conveying information. It is possible to sign without using facial expressions or body movements, but doing so may give a mixed message, be confusing, or be misunderstood.
It will also look odd or unnatural to native signers.
It's not a universal language
Each country has its own sign language, and regions have dialects, much like the many languages spoken all over the world. If you were to travel to another state and have an opportunity to sign with a person who knows ASL, you may notice that s/he will use some signs differently than you. These signs are known as “regional” signs, and you can think of them as the equivalent of an “accent.” It does not mean that people in your state are signing incorrectly. It is just a normal variation in ASL, and such regional signs add flavor to your understanding of ASL.
It's not like Spoken English
American Sign Language (ASL) is a distinct language with its own rules for pronunciation, word formation, and word order, and it differs from spoken English in many ways:
For example, ASL lacks the verb "to be" and many English-style affixes, such as the suffix "-ed" used to show past tense. Instead, ASL uses words like “yesterday” or “tomorrow” to add tense.
William started as an ASL Poet before gaining attention in the art world through his boundary-pushing 2D Cartoon Animation.
He's skilled in using Art Therapy as a tool to empower students. Art has become instrumental in creating awareness of the challenges the Deaf and Hard of hearing community faces each day.
