Should I keep the interpreter or what?

Question

I will be a senior and I want my last year to be memorable. my junior year, i was not really happy because i have an interpreter. I like her but I don't like having an interpreter while I can hear. i'm hard of hearing. i told my counselor that i no longer want the interpreter but she said that i need one because my grades are low. now the reason why my grades are extremely bad is because I've lost my motivation in school and I've lost interest in meeting people. no one understands me. I'm getting a hearing aid tmw and I know I don't need an interpreter but it's the school that don't understand my feeling. I can't stand it when the kids look at me differently because I have an interpreter. I know I can make it even though the situation may seem difficult for me. I will always find a way. should I keep her? I don't want one

Answer 1

are you 18--if you are--the school shouldn't  deny your request.

How do your parents feel about it--if tehy agree with you and you are under 18-the school shouldn't deny tyour request.

How about asking for a trial-for the first marking period..

HAve you ignored the interpreter and doen okay...

ask teh person responsibel (Cidl Study Team or 504 coordinator) to observe you without the use of teh interpreter so you can show you cna do it....

Answer 2

Is the interpreter there to sign for you (you said you have a hearing aid now so can hear) or to interpret what you say to others (you said others don't understand you - I'm not sure if you mean feelings or speech)

If you can hear enough to access the school curriculum then you probably don't need her anymore. This may actually help your motivation as the interpreter seems to be counterproductive to your motivation as you don't like the way you are treated because she is with you.

Ask your parents to get you retested. I'm assuming that there is a level at which you are allowed an interpreter and a level at which they say 'O.K this person doesn't need one anymore.'

Regardless of whether you keep the interpreter or not you should probably talk to your counsellor about strategies to improve your motivation. This will help you improve your grades. This seems to be their main concern so they should be willing to help you.

Answer 3

Does she help you? If you lost your motivation, then you may want to think about doing better in school. This way when your IEP comes around again, you can show progress and discuss with the IEP team your view on having an interpreter. Remember, she is there for you. Discuss with her and your parents the importance of feeling independent and having a memorial senior year. How about this as a compromise, work really hard first semester w/interpreter and get your grades up (to show adults you can do it) and then go it alone second semester. It's up to you, if you keep having low grades the IEP team will think it is because you need an interpreter. Good luck.

Answer 4

Your counselor may not be the person to tell. At school, there is someone who runs your Modification Plan or Individualized Educational Program meetings. What they call this person varies from school to school. We call them a Care Coordinator.

Tell your parents, tell your Care Coordinator that you want to have a meeting. If you go to the meeting, you are a member of the team that makes the educational decisions. Have you been ducking these meetings up to now?

Tell the other members of the team your academic problems have been due to your lack of motivation. Point out that your grades were low in spite of the interpreter (and, uhm, resolve to do something about that [cough]). Tell the other members of the team that the interpreter does not meet the requirements of Least Restrictive Environment as set forth in federal law. Tell them that the interpreter is contributing to your lack of motivation. Make sure that you have regular counseling in your plan, and that you are willing to consider other options to solve the motivation problem.

If you came to an IEP or MP meeting and said that, I'd be inclined to agree with you, and I think a bunch of people would. We love it when students are an active voice in the educational decisions about them!