The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022 - 17

getting oriented regarding
the types of tests used.1
To
learn more about cochlear
implants, for example,
providers such as Cochlear2
or Med-El3
are good
resources, and sometimes
offer information in
several languages.
y How the Family
Communicates: It's
important for the child to
receive the same linguistic
input at home and during
therapy. This means
interpreters have to learn
the family's " dialect. " This
includes their nonverbal
communication (Do they
shake hands? How do they
greet each other?) and the
terminology the family
uses to discuss everything
from medical conditions to
everyday objects.
y The Family's Cultural
Beliefs: Sometimes a
family has different beliefs
about gender roles, medical
interventions, or child
rearing. It's important to
know as much as possible
about a family's beliefs so
we can better respond to
their needs and facilitate
mutual understanding
with other professionals
working with them.
y Federal and State Laws
about Hearing Loss:
Ideally, you should not
advocate for the family.
In case you do, and in
order to better interpret
the information that
families receive at school
and at medical offices, it's
important to know what
rights and obligations the
family has under the law in
your state. There may be a
situation in which a family
needs a certain resource
that you know where to
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find or how to approach.
My suggestion is to always
discuss this information
with the provider first.
There are also other aspects
of this field that aren't critical
but that you might want to be
acquainted with.
y Phonetic Transcription:
This is the visual
representation of speech
sounds by means of
written symbols. The
most common type of
phonetic transcription
uses a phonetic alphabet,
such as the International
Phonetic Alphabet,
which was developed
to accurately represent
the pronunciation of
languages.4
This type of
transcription can be useful
to indicate to the therapist
or audiologist when the
patient has produced or
missed a sound during an
evaluative test.
y Dialectal Variation
and Nonverbal
Communication: These
are aspects that may vary
in different cultures. As I
mentioned earlier, it's best
to focus on the pragmatics
of each particular family,
but always be aware of
cultural differences. You
may need to work with
families from various
cultural groups and
observe different norms.
Some Practical Advice
Children who have hearing
loss are no less smart! They
become very resourceful
at communicating in other
ways, especially in a visual
manner. This has some
implications for interpreters:
y If other people are
covering their mouths to
Interpreters must establish a
relationship of trust between the
audiologist or speech-language
pathologist and the patient.
speak, do the same when
you interpret for the child.
Of course, the advent of
the mask era has made this
much easier!
y When you hear a noise
in the background, don't
react to it. Act as if you
heard nothing. If the
child sees your reaction,
they might imitate it and
" trick " the audiologist or
SLP into thinking that they
heard the stimulus.
y We might also be asked
to participate in an
activity during testing.
For example, we may be
required to receive a toy
when the professional asks
the child to give it to us.
These interventions on our
part are minor and should
not lead to us taking over
the interaction. (See the
discussion on ethical
considerations on page 18.)
Where the interpreter is
placed in the room can make
a difference. In some cases,
the professional will want to
position the interpreter as
close as possible to the child
or their assistive technology.
In other cases, especially
for testing purposes, they
might want the interpreter
a little farther away. As you
can imagine, the pandemic
changed things a bit. The
interpreter couldn't be too
close to the child, and we
had to adapt along with the
professionals and families
American Translators Association 17
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The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022

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