Parents - Considerations for an Interpreted Education
Accessing Communication via an Interpreter
Communication at school is either direct (one to one) or interpreted (relayed by the interpreter between two or more parties), or a combination of both. While some deaf or hard of hearing students can communicate directly with their peers and instructors, many others require a qualified interpreter who’s proficient in their mode of communication to convey all that’s going on in the classroom. Indeed, even a deaf or hard of hearing student with strong auditory skills may be missing a lot of information when new concepts and language are introduced, during fast-paced group discussions, or when s/he is some distance from the speaker—like during a school play or assembly. Interpreters can be a conduit for information flow for any or all classes, school-sponsored sports and/or extra curricular activities.
Parents need to consider every part of their deaf or hard of hearing child’s school day--even time spent on the bus--and assure that there is effective communication access available to him or her. While educational interpreters may not be the answer in every situation, they can be an integral mechanism for communication access. In this role, their function is complex and varied, based on the unique needs of the student, and it has advantages and disadvantages.Advantages
Interpreters can make inclusion into the mainstream educational setting possible for many students who are deaf or hard of hearing. They can translate instruction into the mode of communication used by the student, enabling him/her to access the general curriculum taught to typical hearing peers in a regular classroom. Interpreter access means a dhh student may be able to attend his or her neighborhood school with local playmates and siblings rather than have to attend a state school for the deaf, or another deaf education program.
As determined by the IEP team, interpreters can take on additional responsibilities to the deaf or hard of hearing student. They can facilitate social interactions with hearing kids. They can pre-teach and re-teach vocabulary, check for comprehension, and remediate speech, language, and general instruction in a tutorial role. An interpreter’s consistent presence in the classroom can provide a necessary perspective in IEP team discussions of the student’s functionality and unique needs.Disadvantages
Many states do not require certification or performance standards of educational interpreters, nor do they have monitoring or quality assurance policies in place to provide guarantees of proficiency in the student’s mode of communication. Even when states have minimum requirements, school districts can often hire an unqualified interpreter if they can show that they were not able to hire a qualified person. Since the quality of educational interpreting is inextricably linked to the academic outcomes of dhh students using interpreters, this is a major weakness. Qualified interpreters are not easy to find.
Socially, any deaf or hard of hearing student who is constantly accompanied by an adult interpreter may find difficulty fitting into a group of hearing peers. In fact, the interpreter may be the only language peer for a signing deaf student in a mainstream “hearing” school, and that can blur the lines between professional service provider and social link/partner. When boundaries are not clearly defined between adults in authority and adults “as friends” at school, problems can arise.Concerns About Interpreted Education
Federal special education law (The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA) mandates that IEP teams must consider the opportunities for deaf or hard of hearing students to communicate directly with peers and professionals in the student’s own mode of communication. This special consideration for deaf or hard of hearing students (note: click to #7 on law) is based in part on the acknowledged advantages of direct communication.
It has been argued that an interpreted education is a compromised education for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The concern is that information that’s at least once-removed from its source has lost something in translation. For a variety of reasons, the message could be altered, even slightly. Prior content knowledge, sign skill, mode proficiency, selectivity, and even plain old misunderstanding all play into the quality of the interpreted message. Critics of interpreted education contend that the interpretation may change the interpreted meaning and intention of what’s been said partially or entirely. It is challenging to interpret and only the most experienced and proficient interpreters can get most of the message across.
Dependency on a medium this imprecise can be subordinating for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The deaf or hard of hearing student is always lagging a few moments behind hearing peers as the message is interpreted after it’s been said. What the interpreter chooses to interpret also subjects the dhh student to the interpreter’s priorities, and in situations where there is more than one source of sound information, something will be left out. Interpreters can miss information leaving the dhh student confused about the communication.
All too often interpreters are unavailable, underqualified, or simply not even requested by hearing people (teachers, coaches, principals, doctors, camp directors, etc…) who lack understanding and commitment to communication access for dhh students.
Being aware of these potential problems is the beginning of problem solution. Hearing parents do their dhh children a great service when they develop a sensibility about life with a hearing loss themselves and proactively consider solutions to the complicated and sometimes undesirable dynamics of interpreted education.
