Now Hear This: 12 "Before" Actions To Take Before Collaborating With an Interpreter or Transliterator

Audiologists and speech-language pathologists work with interpreters, transliterators, and other language/culture professionals to provide the best possible care. Establishing good rapport with your interpreter or transliterator lays the foundation for successful collaboration.

To get started, follow this plan:

  • Prior to the meeting, provide written information to the interpreter or transliterator, including names of attendees, the purpose of the meeting, technical terms and abbreviations, copies of visual references, and topics that you will cover.
  • Meet with the interpreter or transliterator in advance to allow adequate preparation time, if possible.
  • Learn greetings in the family's language. For spoken languages, practice appropriate pronunciation of names.
  • Learn honorifics. An honorific is a title that you use to address or refer to a person—it conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank.
  • Discuss prompts or cues that the interpreter or transliterator can use to tell you
    • if you speak too quickly,
    • if you speak too softly, or
    • if your speech or meaning is unclear.
  • Review the goals and procedures of the session or clinical interaction— including discussing
    • whether you may or may not use gestures,
    • the possible influence of vocal intonation,
    • providing verbal prompts and feedback, and
    • other cues that may inadvertently influence the session.
  • Discuss the impact of modifying cues and prompts on the ability to collect accurate data and responses.
  • Explain confidentiality policies pertaining to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) regulations and the ASHA Code of Ethics, and document that these policies have been explained and accepted.
  • Review assessment administration procedures or intervention techniques. To elicit desired type of response, share—in the client's language—
    • the purpose of such procedures/techniques and
    • the need to provide test stimuli that are as close as possible to the prompts
  • Provide a copy of assessment prompts that the interpreter can use to avoid any on-the-spot sight translations.
  • Discuss the impact that fingerspelling may have on assessment results, and review possible differences in the conceptual accuracy of some signs relative to spoken language.
  • Review procedures for capturing the client's responses—verbal, oral, and behavioral. Share the need for careful listening, and remind the interpreter or transliterator to capture exact responses.

Collaborating with an interpreter or a transliterator may influence a clinician's ability to diagnose, treat, and seek reimbursement for services.

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