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The Speech Interpretation Service for Speech Impaired in Finland. Terttu Elo, Taina Hissa, Minna Vanhala, Victoria Zilliacus The Finnish Stroke and Dysphasia Association LAPH-seminar in Tallin 28th-30th June 2007. The Speech Interpretation Service for Speech Impaired.
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The Speech Interpretation Service for Speech Impaired in Finland Terttu Elo, Taina Hissa, Minna Vanhala, Victoria Zilliacus The Finnish Stroke and Dysphasia Association LAPH-seminar in Tallin 28th-30th June 2007
The Speech Interpretation Service for Speech Impaired • the speech interpretation service is based on the law in Finland (from the year 1994) • each municipality has a duty to provide these services • a person with a severe speech impairment has a right to use the service at least 180 hour per year • municipalities take care of the payments to the interpreters; the service is free of charge for the users
the service can be used as an aid for - going to work - studying - daily affairs (going shopping, to bank, to see the doctor etc.) - taking part in hobbies - taking part in seminars and meetings
Who needs Interpreter Service? • people with speech impairment who use AAC • most of the users are adults with CP, mental handicap or aphasia • in Finland the service is not yet widely enough used • many people who would get use of the service are not aware that the service exist
The Aim of the Speech Interpreter Services • to enable people with speech impairment to take part in everyday life in their community • to increase their autonomy • to give them the opportunity to live an equal life in society.
The Speech and Language therapy vs. Interpretation Service • speech and language therapy is rehabilitation where the AAC method is chosen for the client • the speech interpreter assists the client to interact with other people in everyday communication situation
an interpreter can interpret the non-intelligible speech into intelligible speech ; interpret a written message or message produced by BLISS-language into speech • with aphasic clients the interpreter mostly interprets the messages from single words, symbols, gestures etc into spoken language
the interpretation service also includes assistance in writing and reading • the interpretation service can also include taking care of the communication aids and giving guidance for communication partners how to communicate with the client
Who Can Work as an Interpreter? • In Finland there is specialized education for speech interpreters (competence-based qualification) • in this education, which normally takes 1-2 years, students learn i.e. about communication disorders and AAC • a person who knows the client can also work as an interpreter if he/she get quidance from a speech and language therapist • a family member can’t work as an interpreter
Organization of the Service • the service is applyed for in social services • the interpreter get to know the client and his/her communication methods before she/he starts working as an interpreter • in most municipalties the interpreters get quidance from the speech and language therapist • the implementation of the service is followed-up by the social security office
The Use of Service within Aphasic Clients • most of the aphasic clients uses the service for getting assistance in daily affairs (going shopping, library, pharmacy) and for reading the paper and post • The interpreter also often updates communication books or aids
Challenges with Aphasic Clients • using the service ”feels strange” for them • ”my spouse is my interpreter” • many clients don’t understand the content of the service before they test it in practise • Interpreter versus personal assistant
Case E. • the client is a 62-year old man, who suffers from severe aphasia and right-side paralysis due to a right-side stroke in the year 1999 • he has motor aphasia and his speech consists of a few non-words. • he reads short texts but writing is very limited
Case E. • the client started to use the service after his divorce • he uses the service for taking care of the daily affairs (going shopping, going association for people with stroke etc) and for reading the post • the interpreter assists him with making reservations through telephone • the interpreter updates his Imagetalk –device and his Arnit- e-mail programme • helps him to get to know new people
Case E. • nowadays the client has two interpreters and he uses the service a couple of hours/week • he thinks that the service is very useful for him even though he has very much courage to communicate with strange people without any help