Speech-Language Pathologists’ Use of Language Interpreters With Linguistically Diverse Clients: A Nationwide Survey Study

Abstract

The topic of utilizing language interpreters is becoming more relevant among speech-language pathologists (SLPs) given the rapidly changing demographics of the United States. A nationwide survey was administered to investigate the use of language interpreters’ influence of years of work experience on interpreter use, academic preparation and in-service training received by SLPs. Participants included 124 monolingual and 213 bilingual SLPs working in pediatric and/or adult settings. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the use of interpreters. SLPs who had greater than 10 years of work experience used more language interpreters than SLPs who had fewer years of experience. Approximately, 32% of monolingual and 37% of bilingual participants reported completing academic coursework on use of language interpreters. In conclusion, educating SLPs regarding interpreters and increasing technical competencies in this collaborative process is essential to deliver high quality clinical outcomes with linguistically diverse clients.