Individualized Education Program Meetings

School is a common experience that a lot of us have. For some, though, it’s not that simple of an experience. Imagine you’re having trouble keeping up in school and not learning at the same rate as others. What can you do? Sometimes doing your best can only take you so far. This is where IEPs come into play.

IEP is a legally binding process.

Individualized Education Programs are a very involved and careful process that involves not only the student, but their parents, and their teachers too. As you might be able to imagine, it’s important that everyone is able to understand each other for such a delicate and important process!

For interpreters, helping to interpret IEP meetings is a rewarding line of work that they actively look forward to. Seeing the smile on the child’s face or the parents’ face when they know that careful attention is being paid and that they can flawlessly communicate with each other without the barrier of language is a great feeling!

While there’s no set formula for the perfect interpreter, all our interpreters agree that experience plays a significant role.

Pedro and Noemi suggest that it typically takes about a year for interpreters to feel comfortable working in special education.

Familiarize yourself with the terminologies and the entire IEP process thoroughly so that you’re fully prepared for what’s to come!

It’s even better if you have a collection of examples ready to share, making it easier to explain and clarify information for parents.

Interpreters Need to possess comprehensive knowledge of the school system and more!

Susy specifically emphasizes the need for interpreters to possess comprehensive knowledge of various aspects, including the school system, resources of the school district, expectations of teachers, staff, and therapists, understanding the background of the family and the list goes on!

To do so, we recommend maintaining close ties with local school districts, which allows you to have a deeper understanding of the ever-evolving systems and resources. Following up with current standards is crucial!

Interpreters Need to have some knowledge of autism and speech development

Autism traits and speech development vary widely, so staying informed and updated on these topics proves immensely beneficial in delivering effective interpretation services. As Flower says, autism is a spectrum, so it is overall best to have some knowledge of it, otherwise someone who is not familiar with certain autism traits and/or the lack of speech development will probably be taken off guard.

Interpreters Need to take notes and/or ask the speaker to pause so they may interpret efficiently.

Interpreters must interpret the core message, and as such must take notes and/or ask the speaker to pause so they may interpret efficiently. While it’s true that interpreters usually bring out the core message, they also try to retain as many of the details and nuances as possible when interpreting for a speaker.

In order to do this, it’s important that the speaker doesn’t speak for too long so that the interpreters can be sure to repeat everything that they said in another language.

The job of an interpreter is to facilitate communication to the point that it’s almost as if the two sides are talking to each other. As such, omitting details is not something that interpreters try to do.

Interpreters Need to interpret in a register that the parents can understand!

Full inclusion refers to the total integration of a student with disabilities into the regular education program with special support. In full inclusion, the student’s primary placement is in the regular education class. However, the student can leave the class to receive related services such as speech or physical therapy.

For some interpreters, one challenge they find is that the language of the IEP’s various pathologists is sometimes at a register far above the level of understanding of the parents.

If that happens, the interpreters should try asking for permission to interpret in a register that the parents could understand.

Also, with COVID-19, the introduction of non-native English-speaking speech and language pathologists, may add another complexity in between IEP meetings.

This is why it’s very helpful for interpreters to have native-level strength in English while also being familiar with speech development. It makes communicating with the correct technical jargon much simpler and also easier to simplify everything for parents.

Our favorite moments despite these difficulties

Needless to say, there are so many cherished moments throughout the process, considering how closely interpreters work alongside the family.

Pedro fondly recalls being able to witness students’ progress and growth, or even celebrate their graduation from needing special education services.

Susy shared a heartwarming moment when the principal, who attended the IEP meeting, acknowledged her passion and dedication, which led him to choose her again for the school district meeting.

These accomplishments are truly what made our interpreters feel deeply satisfied and reaffirm the meaningfulness of their work!

To celebrate interpreters’ success stories, Monterey Language Services has put together a video showcasing the friendliness, professional, expertise, and different roles of our interpreters in shaping the harmonious community of our nation.  You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYxpYyoC7z0

Interpreters can spend years honing their skills to become subject matter experts in their fields, such as healthcare, education, or the legal sphere. Some have even worked in these fields as doctors, nurses, teachers, paralegals, and more before becoming language experts.

Interpreters believe in the fidelity and fairness of their work. Interpreters ensure that information is relayed accurately between the parties involved, making sure that nothing is omitted or erroneously said and everyone is on the same page. This is incredibly important in medical and legal settings.

Interpreters describe their work as rewarding and fulfilling. Many times, the act of interpreting contains an emphasis on helping those limited or non-English speakers or hearing disabled persons who are in need, such as to help with healthcare or education. This gives many interpreters great satisfaction in giving back to the community and keeps them looking forward to their work.

Monterey Language Services has the pleasure working with so many talented, devoted, professional interpreters, providing excellent service for your needs, whether your event is large, small, private, or a personal matter.

Thank you so much to our interpreters for working with us for all these years, and for the years to come.

Standardized Testing

ASL interpreters are often present in the classroom as educational interpreters. Similarly, interpretation is needed for providing instructions for standardized testing, such as the SATs in American schools. Sometimes the same educational interpreters can be called upon to interpret for standardized testing in their respective schools, but this might not be a certainty. The test may take place on a weekend and require a different interpreter to fill in, for example.

Standardized tests also don’t necessarily take place in a K-12 environment. For example, these tests might be taken to certify a job requirement or receive a passing grade to enter a special program.

American Sign Language and Foreign Sign Language

When we were asked to provide an interpreter for a patient who required Mexican Sign Language (LSM), we were able to send a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) who was familiar with both ASL and LSM. CDIs themselves are Deaf or hard-of-hearing and are native in sign language and Deaf culture.

The CDI assigned to this task was exceptional at interpreting between ASL and LSM. However, due to the fact that the CDI could not vocalize the client’s needs to the hospital staff, a second interpreter — this one for ASL — was brought in to interpret between the CDI and the staff. Thus, the communication flow looked like this:

Patient > CDI > ASL Interpreter > Hospital Staff, and vice versa.

The interpretation was successful in large part thanks to the hospital interpreter manager who was able to inform us ahead of time that they would require LSM, which gave us the time to comb through our large network of interpreters and send a right fit. The ability to identify a proper language is a very important prerequisite for a successful and smooth interpretation encounter. The hospital was our county’s public hospital Natividad Medical Center. Their excellent caregiving to the patient and hospitality to our interpreters were highly commendable. We appreciate all the hard work involved on all sides and are honored to share such an excellent work between foreign sign language and American sign language interpretation.

The Classroom

Typically in the United States, many ASL interpreters are known to interpret into sign language for deaf or hard-of-hearing students in the classroom setting, whether it be K-12, colleges, or universities.

Classroom interpreters may also be called “educational interpreters”—these interpreters aren’t just advocates for the students they interpret for, but also role models and supporters. Educational interpreters are part of the educational teams that are responsible for students’/children’s learning goals and outcomes. While the interpreter must maintain confidentiality, of course, confidentiality is not limited to themselves and the classroom teacher. Instead, the interpreter must speak with the student’s educational team about the student’s behavior, answers, development, etc. during classroom and/or school hours.

To properly teach a deaf or hard-of-hearing student, the interpreter and other members of the educational team must decide beforehand on a) what specific type of sign language is necessary to use; b) whether the interpreter should modify vocabulary and/or register (this is especially important if the child has a developmental disability); and c) what each lesson’s outline and expected learning outcome will be.

A Workshop

We’ve recently received a request to provide ASL interpreters for an upcoming workshop designed to promote leadership and effectiveness in the workplace. Workshops can be on any topic–technology, business, medical, community CPR and fire training, etc.

Depending on the length of the workshop and number of attendees, a team of interpreters might be better than a singular interpreter, as interpreting can be tiring with constant hand movement and so require sufficient breaks. If there is a speaker addressing an audience, an interpreter will stand up on stage as well and sign to provide interpretation (usually simultaneous), and can switch out with another interpreter as needed. Providing a team of interpreters can also allow for one or two of them to work with someone who may require extra assistance.

ASL interpreters may be asked to “voice” during the workshop. Voicing is the process of using spoken English in tandem with signing. Deaf or hard-of-hearing people using an interpreter’s services can benefit greatly in their understanding of the interpretation by reading the interpreter’s lips. Those with some level of hearing can also pick up on the morphemes (simply put, small units of spoken sound) coming from the interpreter. Depending on the needs of the situation, the interpreter may be asked not to voice during their work, too.

A Hospital or Forensic Setting

Hospitals are a very common setting for any type of interpretation, and it’s no different for ASL interpretation. Oftentimes, an emergency or a high-priority appointment will pop up. In those cases, time is of the essence to find an interpreter, and it takes a quick, calm, and agile manager or coordinator to find who is available and experienced to interpret.

Recently, we were contacted for a same-day ASL interpretation request concerning medical forensics. We worked fast to send an interpreter who not only could make it in time to the appointment, but also fluent in medical terminology with a proven track record of interpreting for potentially upsetting circumstances.

In our next post we will be highlighting more ASL interpretation scenarios, so please stay tuned.