Tips to avoid hiring a ‘fake’ interpreter

To the editor:

With all of the commentaries flying around regarding the “fake” interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, I wondered how can we take this terrible situation that drew so much attention away from the passing of an incredible human being and make some good of it?

How do we, as Mandela would have done, turn this into a positive? How do we turn this into an opportunity to educate? How do we show the general populace that there are educated, professional, certified interpreters out there if you know where to look? We do not just stand around and flap our hands in a rhythmic way and make the message look pretty to those who are not “in the know.”

For those in the position of hiring sign language interpreters for the purpose of providing equal access to the deaf and hard-of-hearing population, there are a few key factors that you need to know.

1. The provision of qualified/certified interpreters for equal access is the law. The Americans with Disabilities Act with regard to interpreter provision can be accessed in a user friendly way at the National Association of the Deaf website, NAD.org.

2. To find certified interpreters in your area, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf can be accessed 24/7 at RID.org.

3. When hiring an interpreter, you have every right — and the responsibility — to make sure that the person is qualified/certified.

4. When an interpreter shows up at the job site, feel free to ask for proof of certification. The interpreter should be more than happy to show you an RID membership card his or her their credentials.

5. Deaf people, like hearing people, have their preferences of people with whom they can and can’t work. Please respect that. If a deaf or hard-of-hearing person says he or she would prefer to, or not to, work with a particular interpreter — they have a reason. (Just put yourself in another person’s shoes; the interpreter with whom you have a great rapport and clear communication or the interpreter with whom you can not communicate or the interpreter with whom you have personal issues — while you are standing there in that paper robe, feeling exposed. Which would you prefer to have in that doctor’s office visit telling you the doctor’s diagnosis?)

6. When in doubt — ask the deaf or hard-of-hearing consumer. They should have a voice.

There are deaf and hard-of-hearing people in our communities. Unless they are actively involved in communication, you may not notice them. These people are among us. They are in our cities, in our rural areas and in our villages. They, as you, want to know what is going on around them and to be active members of their communities. They want an active role in their lives. It is frustrating and exhausting to have to fight for every piece of information that hearing people take for granted. The deaf and hard-of-hearing population misses the incidental learning that constantly occurs through sounds and verbal language.

Then, when something happens and an interpreter is hired so that the word can get out, please make sure that the interpreter is capable of getting the message across appropriately.

Kathleen M. Bodolay

Alaska Interpreting Alliance Inc.

President/Owner

Palmer