Overcoming Disabled Communication

Unit 3.3.1 – How communication with children and young people differs across different age ranges and stages of development

In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at

The difference between communicating with adults, children and young people are adults are able to process information much more quickly and

Watch the person as they talk. After speaking, allow them plenty of time to respond. If they feel rushed or pressured to speak, they may become anxious, which can affect their ability to communicate. Avoid finishing their sentences or correcting any errors in their language as this may cause resentment and frustration. Ask what the person prefers. If you do not understand what they are trying to communicate, do not pretend you understand. They may find this patronising and upsetting. It's always best to be honest about your lack of understanding. You could ask for clarification by asking yes/no questions or paraphrasing.

For my Deaf event, I attended Deaf Coffee Night at Starbucks. When I walked in, I was happy to be able to look around and see people communicate through the use of only their hands, body and faces. I was also encouraged by the fact that I understood a majority of the signs I saw. After I ordered my drink, I approached a table of two people who were using ASL and I introduced myself. One person at the table was hearing while the other was Deaf, but both were happy to include me in their conversation. We talked for quite awhile about each of our lives. It was interesting to notice that throughout our conversation, the three of us were equally engaged in the conversation at hand about the lives of these strangers. This is a lot different then most conversations in the hearing world since most of the time we do not talk about our lives for that long and when listening to the lives of other people we do not actually care to pay close attention.

1.3 If a person’s hearing or sight is impaired, body language and tone of voice will become more important. They may also need to learn new skills such as sign language or lip reading in order to be able to communicate. Making sure the person's glasses is the correct prescription, that their hearing aids are working properly, that they are looking at your face when you speak so that they can lip read, keeping your communication simple and clear, using visual prompts, light touches to their arms to gain attention etc.

People from different backgrounds may use and/or interpret communication methods in different ways because every family has their own way of communicating together. For example: some children might hear or speak more than one language at home or they could hear others swearing. This can affect children’s communication and how they communicate as adults.

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to PBS home video “Through Deaf Eyes,” there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing (Hott, Garey & et al., 2007) . Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are over ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents. Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class.” The

I was interested in immersing myself with this group because they are a community of people that I’ve often wondered about. I’ve always wondered about the way they communicate with others and was it hard being deaf or hearing impaired in some ways. As myself, I learned that most people feel uncomfortable when meeting a Deaf person for the first time and this is very normal. When we communicate with people, we generally don’t have to think about the process. When faced with a Deaf person, we are uncertain which rules apply. We don’t know where to look, or how fast or loud to speak. When the Deaf person gives us a look of confusion, we don’t know how to correct the problem. Accept the fact that your initial

The first challenge being social dominance patterns and attitude. This challenge is definitely a struggle for many new learners. People think that the deaf are nothing more than handicapped human beings that can’t do normal

Deaf and hard of hearing people are just like us. They are not any different, but hears like us. There is some common misunderstanding, that is really annoying for Deaf and hard of hearing people. Those misunderstanding are can you understands us? Are you able to drive? Do you need a wheelchair? Can you read and write? Do deaf people have sex? Etc.…These kinds of questions annoyed deaf people the most. People do not realize that deaf people do not have as much as difficulty as normal folks thinks that they have. They can do almost everything and just as much no less. Sometime, they begged to be considered the same as hearing folks. They want to be equals, respected, and value just as much as hearing people. Sometime, we forgot to ask ourselves.

It is one thing to try to communicate with someone you do know, because you already know the way they speak and their mannerisms. It is also less awkward to ask someone you know to repeat themselves repeatedly versus a stranger. My first stop on my shopping trip was to the square. The first thing I noticed was how uneasy I felt in my car. Would I be able to hear an ambulance or a siren? When I got to the square I went into High Point Coffee to order a drink. A place that normally is exploding with noises from all the machines, the espresso maker, milk steamer, and bangs of cups and dishes was completely muffled. It felt so weird! I could not even hear the music that I know was playing. When it was my turn to order, the barista asked me a question and I was nervously reading lips and trying to process to make sure I did not answer “I am good, how are you?” to “What can I get for you?” This made me realize that people with a hearing loss must feel incredibly uncomfortable in certain situations, like a dinner party with friends at a noisy restaurant and a big table, or a noisy coffee shop. Next, I went to the post office to mail a letter. I was becoming a little more comfortable with the earplugs but I still could not get used to the sound of my voice. I can completely understand how someone with a hearing loss

Add on top this our tendency to speak over one another and there’s a wonder we ever get anything communicated. ASL requires deaf people to not only speak one at a time, but the people listening have to give the speaker their full attention so that they can understand what has been said, which is something that hearing people could definitely improve upon. I also agree with Dr. Kahne’s point that there is a huge difference between our cultures in asking for clarification. If a deaf person doesn’t understand what has been said they will ask to have it repeated, whereas there seems to be a stigma against that for many hearing people. Since we don’t have to have our eyes on the speaker to understand them, this allows for our eyes, and quite often also our minds, to wander. As a result we don’t end up understanding all or part of what was said and then for whatever reason, instead of asking them to repeat it, we just smile and nod and pretend like we were paying attention the entire

Picture this, you are born Deaf and only communicate through American Sign Language (ASL) and end up in an emergency alone one day. You attempt to ask and receive the assistance you need but the other person cannot communicate or understand ASL. There is now a struggle on both ends to understand each other and communicate. With no interpreter to help, they decide to hand you a pen and paper and have you write everything down. You feel a sense of frustration; this is not how you want to communicate, you wish to be able to have a conversation with them. Why do you feel misunderstood? How can they properly help you if I cannot thoroughly communicate what is wrong? Will they be able to help in the way I need to be? These are the questions

For as long as I can remember, the first question anyone has asked me when they found out that I have deaf parents has been, “can they talk?” When I was young, I thought it was a simple question born of curiosity, but I have learned it can be a bit of a loaded question. “The ability to speak is often the first thing a hearing person notices when meeting a deaf person” (Mindess, 2006a, p. 112). I have witnessed or been involved in multiple situations where someone has assumed that a deaf person could not do certain things because they were “disabled.” What I have always done, and will continue to do in the future, is let the Deaf people involved (if present,) speak for themselves. In cases where there is not a Deaf person present, I repeat what my parents have taught me and try to keep my own feelings and opinions out of it. I have not had the same experiences as Deaf people; therefore, I cannot speak for them. I do realize, however, there are going to be times where this will not be appropriate, and I will have to bite my tongue. Despite the fact that Deaf culture has been accepted as a culture and has made leaps and bounds of progress over the last few decades, there are still those who see deafness as a deficit and cannot be swayed in their opinion.