Youre scheduled to interpret an IEP meeting for the Deaf parents of an elementary

student. The parents have brought two hearing family members with them for support who can
also sign. While the meeting is going on, the family continually has little side conversations
going on, signing back and forth. You start to voice these conversations as well, and the two
hearing family members insist you stop because theyre private conversations. (Cartwright, p
111, scenario 347)

What are the problems with the scenario?

-The interpreters job is to make certain everyone has equal access to conversation, this
includes the hearing people in the room as well as the Deaf.
-The family has the right to have private conversations.
-The school IEP board has a right to know whats going on in the room.
-An unwritten rule in Deaf culture is if its visible, the conversation is not private.
-If the interpreter voices the conversation, the family may feel that the interpreter is
more concerned about the school board than the family and may not trust the
interpreter.
-If the interpreter does not voice the conversation the school board may feel that
something is going on that they need to know about and question the interpreters
abilities to adequately interpret the meeting.

Citations
-CPC 2.2 Assess consumer needs and the interpreting situation before and during the
assignment and make adjustments as needed.
-CPC 3.0 Interpreters conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the specific
interpreting situation.
-CPC 4.2 Approach consumers with professional demeanor at all times.
-CPC 4.4 Facilitate communication access and equality, and support the full interaction
and independence of consumers.
-EIPA Guidelines, p. 4 All decisions regarding the students educational program are
made within the context of the educational team
-EIPA Guidelines, p. 4 Communication with the students family should be in the context

of the educational team.

-Best Practices, p.53 Members of this team may include the classroom teacher, the
principal, the speech-language pathologist, the educational audiologist,
the teacher of the hearing-impaired, the school pathologist, and the
students parents.
-Best Practices, p. 53 The interpreters role in these cases in undeniably critical to the
functioning of the other members of the team.

Prevention
Before the meeting begins, ask the meeting director if you can take a few minutes to
explain to everyone participating that your job there is to interpret and what that entails. This
means that you are there to facilitate communication, if something is said/signed in such a
manner that only language barrier prevents everyone in the room from understanding, you will
interpreting it. Ask if there are any questions. It is possible that for some people it is their first
time working with an interpreter and they might appreciate your willingness to explain upfront
what it is you do, and why you are there. You can also take this time to describe the interpreting
process. For example, the speaker needs to address the person they mean to talk to, not the
interpreter.

Options for Responding

-Ignore their request and continue interpreting the conversations.
-Cease interpreting side conversations.
-Ignore questions by others in regards to the side conversations.
-Ask them to sign whisper so they can continue discussing while making it so you
dont have to worry about determining if its a private conversation or not.
-Inform them that if you can see/hear it, then youre going to interpret it because by golly
thats what youre being paid to do.
-Stop interpreting all together and when asked why inform everyone that apparently the
family is having a private conversation and doesnt want you, or anyone else in
the room, to be a part of it.
-Get up and leave.

Best Course of Action

-Ask them to sign whisper so they can continue discussing while making it so you
dont have to worry about determining if its a private conversation or not.

My explanation of how I would do this

I believe the best way to handle this would be to ask them to please whisper the
conversations if there really is no need for them to be interpreted. As I am sure other people in
the room are having whispered conversations and comments, I see no reason to tell the family
they need to stop all together. However it might be necessary to explain briefly to them that you
were asked to come increase communication and understanding, so any conversation that should
not be shared with the room needs to be done in such a way that only the person being conversed
with can understand. If you can see/hear and understand a comment, and only a language barrier
is preventing everyone else in the room from understanding it, it will be interpreted. This
includes both ASL and English. If a comment is made in English that everyone else can
understand it will be interpreted into ASL.

Perspective of all Involved Parties

Family: They are not being treated unfairly or as unequal to the others in the room. Quite
the opposite, they are being responded to in the same manner as the hearing board members in
the room.
Educational Board Members: The brief interruption was actually rather helpful because
they were confused by comments being made through the interpreter that didnt seem to have
anything to do with anything.

Consequences of that Decision:

Everyone in the room will hopefully have a better idea of what the interpreter is there to
do. The meeting will not get side tracked by the side conversations going on. If someone really
wants to know whats going on in a whispered conversation, on either side, they know they can
ask them about it through the interpreter. If everyone cooperates, the I wont need to worry about

whether or not the person making a comment wants it interpreted. Which allows me more energy
to accurately interpret what actually does need interpreting.
It is also possible that rather than helping, asking them to whisper may unintentionally
offend them to the point that they become irate and demand a different interpreter. The other
board members may be completely confused by what is going on, possibly jumping to the
conclusion that as the interpreter I have messed something up. As a result, they may have future
misgiving about the value of ASL interpreters and their abilities.
I hope that by handling the situation calmly and professionally that the former result will
be the case rather than the later. However I am not in control of anyones actions but my own
and if they choose to behave in a way the potentially breaks down communication that is their
chose and I am not responsible so long as I have done everything reasonably within my means to
improve communication.