When collaborating with interpreters, transliterators, or translators, a clinician remains responsible for planning the session, selecting culturally relevant materials, and appropriately administering the services. It is the legal and ethical responsibility of the facility and its providers to offer reasonable and appropriate accommodations to facilitate access to clinical services.
This page provided an overview, key issues, and a number of additional resources, some of which are linked below for your reference.
Integrating an interpreter into any therapeutic environment often prompts a host of accommodations. This situation is certainly true for families pursuing auditory-based intervention, which focuses on listening and spoken language outcomes rather than on the use of manual communication. An auditory-based approach closely monitors the auditory characteristics of natural conversation to facilitate a child’s spoken language processing—so the clinician must use the interpreter effectively.
As the U.S. becomes more and more ethnically diverse, it’s not uncommon to find children in early education programs who are first-generation English speakers. A language or major cultural difference between professionals and parents can impact everyday communication, but it can be especially challenging during the ASQ® screening process when face-to-face conversations may be pivotal.
If your program serves a diverse community, you can easily overcome any language barriers by using an interpreter.
This chapter focuses on the development of skills for working with interpreters. The building block for culturally responsive practices in this chapter is Theoretical Foundations, which includes knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices for working with interpreters appropriately during treatment and assessment. Information about sign-language interpreters is included in Chapter 6.
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