Interpreters and Aphasia

American Sign Language (ASL)-English interpreters facilitate language and mediate culture between hearing people who speak English and people who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) and use ASL. Some navigate additional and unique challenges from the atypical language of D/HH people who live with an acquired communication disorder called Aphasia. These interpreters learn to partner with healthcare workers diagnosing and treating these people, and work to establish guidelines for their own scope of practice. This study explores this through the lens of Dean and Pollard’s (2013) demand control schema. Interviewing four interpreters uncovered realistic and immediately applicable tools for promoting and simplifying communication. Better communication may help healthcare workers treat more effectively and may lead to greater access to information for Aphasic signers. Supplementary File: Further Reading (See Appendix H).