Working With Educational Interpreters

Increasing numbers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing are being educated in their local schools. Accommodations frequently made for these students include the provision of educational interpreting services. Educational interpreters serve to equalize the source language or source communication mode (usually spoken English) with a target language or target mode (either sign language, cued speech, or oral transliterating). Educational interpreters' expertise in sign language or cued speech will likely exceed that of speech-language pathologists, whose expertise in speech and language development and in discourse demands of the classroom will likely exceed that of the educational interpreters. This article addresses the mutual needs of speech-language pathologists and educational interpreters in providing services to their students. Guidelines supported by recent research reports and survey data collected from interpreters are offered to speech-language pathologists as ways to improve the working relationships with educational interpreters in three areas: (a) evaluating a student's communication skills, (b) establishing treatment goals and intervening to meet those goals, and