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We got a call from a company one day, asking if we could help them find an interpreter. I asked the caller about her experience with interpreting and she explained that her organization counsels people with serious issues.   They had had an interpreter working with them for the past year who always left going out the back door. The client always left using the front door. One day someone noticed them both get into her car together and driving away.  The counselor was dumbfounded that an interpreter would have personal relations with a client. It is totally not acceptable.

We started providing services to them right away.  Initially, we sent one hearing interpreter to cover the jobs.  Within a short time, it was clear to the hearing interpreter that the client would do better having a Deaf interpreter.  He was missing a lot of information and she didn’t know how to get it to him. He never asked for clarification; something that happens when a person assumes the problem is theirs, not with the interpreter.  Fortunately, the hearing interpreter saw that things were still not right for the counselor and client relationship.

The counselor was willing  to try it with the Deaf interpreter. 

Within a very short amount of time, the client opened up and started talking about his experiences that led him to need counseling.  The counselor remarked that she was also picking up on signs that he was using. Up until then, she had learned the signs for yes, no, maybe and I don't know by watching the client.  Now she was seeing signs related to his family, his history, and where he was getting stuck.  It was a major shift in their relationship.  They could actually start working on why he was there in the first place.

She has expressed her gratitude to us many times over the subsequent years as more Deaf people have come to their agency.  We use Deaf interpreters  whenever we suspect it might help and whenever the client requests it.  It is better to be safe, than risk people not understanding. Paying entities appreciate that while it costs a little more, in the long run it saves because people get the help they need.

Call us for more information. 

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