Katrina R. Miller

Interpreting in Mental Health Settings: Issues and Concerns

Sign language interpreters in mental health settings face extreme linguistic and cultural difficulties in interpreting basic, everyday language used in these settings. This is particularly true when deaf clients have limited English proficiency, which often requires interpreters to use expansion techniques in order to render messages successfully. To examine how diagnostics may be affected by interpretation, Brauer (1993), Montoya et al. (2001), and Steinberg, Lipton, Eckhardt, Goldstein, and Sullivan (1998) translated two widely used psychological screening instruments into American Sign Language (ASL). The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule-IV (DIS-IV) were selected for translation, and data from the three studies are presented and discussed. Their implications in terms of the expectations and stresses placed on interpreters are described within a framework of demand and control theory. Finally, sections of the Code of Ethics of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) are examined relative to both the issue of confidentiality and what the interpreters contribution should be in mental health settings.

Obstacles Faced by Deaf People in the Criminal Justice System

Deaf people, especially those who are not well educated, are at risk for serious injustices when they enter the criminal justice system. The present study describes these risks at all stages of the legal process, including arrest, trial, probation, prison, and parole. These dangers are greatest for those who are poorly educated, read at a fourth-grade level or lower, have poor communication skills (American Sign Language and English), and lack awareness of their legal rights. Primitive personality disorder (PPD) is the term mental health professionals use to describe this set of characteristics. The risks that the segment of the deaf population with PPD faces when its members run afoul of the law are described, a case history provided, and some relevant legal and interpreting issues are discussed. A case is made for applying the concept of linguistic incompetence to deaf individuals with PPD.

Issues in the Sexual Molestation of Deaf Youth

An overview is provided of issues involved in sexual abuse in schools (as well as the general problem of child molestation in society), some characteristics of pedophiles and hebephiles, and data on how sexual molesters are dealt with by the criminal justice system. Specific information is provided on how sexual abuse becomes an issue in schools for children who are deaf, what can be done to prevent it, and symptoms to look for in identifying deaf children who are being victimized.