You may be looking at this blog because you have little or no experience with anyone who is hearing impaired, but feel you need some advice in how to communicate better with deaf people.
You may have just met a deaf person, and have no idea how to act around them. Here is a very few simple things you should keep in mind.
1) Don’t ignore them! Communicating with someone who uses a different language to you can be daunting, particularly if it isn’t a spoken one, but don’t let this stop you from trying to communicate.
You may have just met a deaf person, and have no idea how to act around them. Here is a very few simple things you should keep in mind.
1) Don’t ignore them! Communicating with someone who uses a different language to you can be daunting, particularly if it isn’t a spoken one, but don’t let this stop you from trying to communicate.
2) Do not cover your mouth or face. BSL is a very visual language, so be sure to use facial expressions- loads of them! And make eye contact.
3) Understand how deaf they are. Some deaf people can hear things, but words are fuzzy, where as some people can hear little or no sound. Do not, whatever you do, talk about the deaf person as if they are not there- as they will feel excluded and they may be able to lip read or hear what you say.
4) Don’t try and talk through who they are with, though of course this can change depending on the situation. If they are with a friend who can sign, it may be condescending to try and talk through them- particularly if they can lip read and talk perfectly well! It may also put the friend in a weird position- as they will spend their time being an interpreter (a challenging job) and therefore not able to enjoy themselves. HOWEVER, if they have an interpreter with them, then I suggest you talk TO the deaf person (eye contact is a big thing- particularly with the deaf as their language is so visual) as an interpreter is paid to interpreter. It is their job- doesn’t feel bad about talking to them but not actually looking at them.
5) Most deaf people can lip read, so try talking to them normally without covering your mouth. If you feel foolish for talking to someone who is deaf, just talk but don’t let the sound come out- I do this when I sign to make sure my lip patterns are correct.
Remember when you try to lip pattern things too much it often comes out wrong!
Do not baby mouth or shout- shouting may not actually help in many cases as the issue can be with the QUALITY of sound rather than quantity. Remember Mild/ moderately deaf people can often hear the noise- they just have difficulty defining the words.
Watch this video and practice saying ‘hello, sorry I don’t know sign, can you lip read?’ it is incredibly basic sign- not in BSL order or anything. If you are doing BSL level one or above don’t sign like this- but if you have no sign experience this is easy to remember and use.
Remember when you try to lip pattern things too much it often comes out wrong!
Do not baby mouth or shout- shouting may not actually help in many cases as the issue can be with the QUALITY of sound rather than quantity. Remember Mild/ moderately deaf people can often hear the noise- they just have difficulty defining the words.
Watch this video and practice saying ‘hello, sorry I don’t know sign, can you lip read?’ it is incredibly basic sign- not in BSL order or anything. If you are doing BSL level one or above don’t sign like this- but if you have no sign experience this is easy to remember and use.
Hopefully they will say yes (the sign for yes is nodding- shaking your head is no) however if they say no, then write notes, send texts, or use smoke signals . Don’t just ignore them if they cannot lip read.
6) If a group conversation is happening and the hard of hearing person looks confused, ask them if you want you to tell them what is being said. Even if you don’t know sign language- someone looking directly at them and speaking clearly will be easier to understand then them trying to follow people at different angles and in difference places talking to each other.
7) Have patience. From the video above you can see the sign for ‘again’. Use this if they say something you don’t get. It is much worse to be ignored than to have to repeat yourself a few times.
8) Don’t pet their hearing dog. I know I am being massively hypocritical when saying this, as my tutor had such an adorable Labrador you couldn’t help but give the odd stroke, but if you are in a confusing situation (such as at work, at a party, or with lots of talking people and noise) it is best not to distract them. Also you don’t know yet how sensitive the dog is, or whether the owner minds you touching them.
9) Sign up for a BSL course! You can get all sorts of different courses- introduction to sign is brilliant if you are just learning to get more deaf aware in case you meet anyone hearing impaired, or have a friend of a friend who is deaf. If you want to REALLY learn sign language, and don’t mind taking a serious course involving a few exams, level one BSL is for you.
Courses are sometimes expensive (but as it is a language that is to be expected) and places are sometimes hard to get- so do not do a course if you can’t commit.
Also do not think ‘I’m not a total beginner to BSL as I can have a short conversation in sign so I will go straight on to BSL level 2’, as it is important you know the basics WELL before doing level two.
Also level two is a lot more work than level one.
I would suggest going on to level two BSL completed level one with relative ease (as it is much harder) and if you want a job working with the hearing impaired or are spending a lot of time with a sign user, as it introduces you to things such as ‘multichannels’ which are not taught in level one.
Courses are sometimes expensive (but as it is a language that is to be expected) and places are sometimes hard to get- so do not do a course if you can’t commit.
Also do not think ‘I’m not a total beginner to BSL as I can have a short conversation in sign so I will go straight on to BSL level 2’, as it is important you know the basics WELL before doing level two.
Also level two is a lot more work than level one.
I would suggest going on to level two BSL completed level one with relative ease (as it is much harder) and if you want a job working with the hearing impaired or are spending a lot of time with a sign user, as it introduces you to things such as ‘multichannels’ which are not taught in level one.
10) Don’t be daunted. Smile a lot, treat them just the same as you would treat anyone else (obvious one, I know) and remember to just keep clear with your facial expressions and words. Don’t cover your mouth- I cannot repeat this enough times- and make eye contact.
Oh, and have fun getting to know a new person
Oh, and have fun getting to know a new person
This is great, the videos are really good :) and so true - the wife of one of our old Vicars in Olney was completely deaf and yet she could lip read perfectly. You could hold a conversation with her and you would have no idea she couldn't hear you! She told me once that sometimes people exaggerate lip movements for her which makes it difficult so she appreciates when you chat to her normally :D x
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