Promoting collaboration between interpreters and speech-language pathologists

Abstract The notion of an invisible interpreter in medical interpreting can conflict with the goals of the Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) during aphasia assessment. This study trained interpreters at an urban rehabilitation hospital in the U.S. regarding the purpose of aphasia assessments, examined how their role changed to become more visible, and evaluated the preliminary impact of the training. Eight interpreters participated in two SLP aphasia assessments for native Spanish speakers with aphasia. Between the two sessions, half of the interpreters were randomly assigned to a training group. We analyzed changes in interpreter behaviors in the latter session. The untrained group showed little variation, while the trained group showed a reduction in the number of errors between time points across multiple categories. These results provide preliminary evidence that it is possible to improve interpreter-mediated aphasia assessments by training interpreters on how to shift their role to actively support SLP diagnostic goals.