Teaching Note—Critical Issues in Sign Language Interpretation for Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT

Language barriers negatively affect access to social services, particularly for D/deaf populations who use Sign Language. “D/deaf” is used to encompass both the cultural conception of capital-D Deafness and the medical conception of lowercase-d deafness. Language translation/interpretation is a common need among practitioners of social, legal, medical, and public health services, all ethically bound to offer culturally sensitive services to D/deaf populations. Practitioners who speak languages other than English are often called to act as translators/interpreters, even when they are not trained to do so. Those who are monolingual often partner with trained interpreters. However, seldom are practitioners trained in issues concerning language translation/interpretation practice. This teaching note provides didactic material to help educate social workers to overcome communication barriers and better help D/deaf populations access services. We highlight unique issues concerning Sign Language interpretation and present case illustrations. We propose curricular content that may be offered as a supplement to myriad social work practice classes. Recommendations for practice and research are also included.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aseel Abulhab

Aseel Abulhab is MSW 2019 at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Rogério M. Pinto is Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Social Work at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Rogério M. Pinto

Aseel Abulhab is MSW 2019 at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Rogério M. Pinto is Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Social Work at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.