The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022 - 18

miss out on any of the
information being shared,
so omit nothing. When it
comes to adding information,
neutrality comes into play.
We have to remember that
this is not our message to
transmit, and we should not
make it ours or take over by
adding to it.
The interpreter takes the
leading role instead of
remaining neutral. It's one
thing to manage the flow of
conversation, but an entirely
different thing to make
ourselves the center of this
conversation. Remember,
the family needs to establish
a relationship with the
professional assisting them,
not with us.
It's best to focus on the pragmatics of each particular
family, but always be aware of cultural differences.
to ensure that children were
receiving as much auditory
input as possible in a safe
manner. As an interpreter,
I haven't provided services
in this specific situation via
video, but I imagine that
this is a route that some
providers have taken.
In this and other aspects,
it's key to be flexible and
open to learning from the
professionals we work with.
Interpreters must establish
a relationship of trust
between the audiologist
or SLP and the patient.
For example, knowing the
goals that the provider has
for each session can help
guide our performance.
When our services adjust
to what the provider
wants to accomplish, they
begin to see us as team
members with a specific
18 The ATA Chronicle | May/June 2022
task. In this way, they
can better understand the
limitations of our role and
we can collaborate, within
these role constraints, to
accommodate the needs of
these professionals, and
especially, of the patient.
What Not to Do
Michael Douglas, a speechlanguage
pathologist who
served as principal of the
Mama Lere Hearing School
at Vanderbilt University, has
described some of the main
issues he has encountered
when working with
interpreters.5
These include:
The interpreter says more or
less than what's being said.
We know how important
accurate and transparency
are in our profession. The
family cannot afford to
The interpreter the family
brought doesn't agree
with the professional. As
I've already mentioned,
professional interpreters
leave their opinions at the
door. Allow me to repeat
this: it's not our conversation,
our relationship, or our story.
The best way to empower
the family is to place
ourselves in the background
and facilitate them taking
over the situation and
making the choices that
only they can make for
their child.
The Ethical Issue
When working with hard of
hearing children who are
bilingual and bicultural,
sticking to our professional
ethical principles is
especially important. Here
are some ethical tenets to
keep in mind:
y Accuracy: We need
to learn terminology
(medical and nonwww.atanet.org
http://www.atanet.org
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