Image: Jane Cordell (deaf) and Saif Ali (hearing) converse with support from Lip Speaker Bridget Elliott. Photo by Rob Martin.
As Deaf Awareness Week approaches, Jane Cordell asks just how aware you are.
Do you want to know the worst thing about being Deaf?’ asks Daniel in the final episode of William Mager’s ground-breaking BBC 1 Drama, Reunion when finally facing his abuser, ‘It’s when you want to say something .. and the other person – they don’t want to listen.’ Indeed.
Disturbing and memorable. However, the question I found even more powerful was from Daniel’s hearing daughter, ‘Why did you make me voice that?’ The abusive ex-headmaster was manipulating to the end, using to his advantage the various privileges he enjoyed as a hearing figure of authority at a Deaf school.
The very first prime-time drama in British Sign Language with over 200 D/deaf people involved in its production, Reunion is significant and thought-provoking on several levels - it’s really worth watching. And it may make you feel you want to understand more about deafness and BSL. But how can you act on that? After the show is over? If you don’t work with or have contact with any D/deaf people in the normal run of things, you could be forgiven for forgetting all about this powerful story. This blog asks you instead to challenge yourself to do something, one small thing, and to do it repeatedly; it can make a difference.
Spring is when the UK celebrates D/deaf culture. BSL (British Sign Language) day is on 30 April and Deaf Awareness Week 5-9 May. Great and good work is done during this period but it’s important to note that deaf people live with communication challenges every day of our lives. These challenges include what I would describe as ‘passive manipulation’. Passive manipulation may not be intended but it does have a negative impact. The simplest example is when a deaf person doesn't quite get something a person says first time. They ask for the statement to be repeated only to be told, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter’. We get it. The hearing person is embarrassed or at least uncomfortable and thinks it’s perhaps better to move on in the conversation. But the problem with that is that the deaf person gets no say in the matter; the hearing person withdraws and the deaf person does not get a chance to engage.
So what can you do? Well, here are some thoughts.
First, when you meet someone who is deaf, notice if you feel within yourself that bit of tension or awkwardness. Hold it for a second and resist, if you can, the urge to shut things down. Instead, ask yourself, ‘How can I meet the deaf person halfway – how can I reach out to them?’
Second, if a deaf person doesn’t understand what you say the first time, try to avoid closed ‘yes/no’ questions such as ‘Do you lipread?’ Such a question implies you expect them to resolve things rather than the exchange being interactive. Instead, try asking:
‘How can I be clearer?’
And then try these simple actions:
- Repeat more slowly but not emphasising every word.
- Start with the topic: ‘I am asking/talking about X or Y’ then repeat.
- Re-phrase what you said. Sometimes one word with a similar meaning will be far more lip-readable or understandable than another.
- Try using natural gestures to support what you say - but avoid getting carried away like a windmill - and avoid letting your hands and arms cover your face or mouth.
- Finally, try to be more expressive with your face and eyes but no gurning!.
But what about deaf and hard-of-hearing people? How can we make progress in a sometimes hostile or indifferent-feeling world?
I recently had the joy of meeting up with the CEO of the British Deaf Association (BDA), Rebecca Mansell, the CEO of Cambridgeshire Deaf Association, Andy Palmer, and Result’s very own BSL coach, Richard Jones. We discussed how individual coaching can have a positive impact on D/deaf people and to that end, are going to take that discussion forward to see how we can provide a service delivered by D/deaf coaches for deaf people. At the end of our meeting, we made a short video in BSL with voice over and captions – you can watch it here.
In Deaf Awareness Week, on May 6th, I will have the honour of speaking at the Bank of England to their newly developing Deaf and hard of hearing staff network. I am delighted to know that the audience will be a mixture of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing colleagues who want to support each other. My talk’s title is ‘More of you?’. I will be speaking about communicating and working together more effectively, both in one-to-one conversations and as a community within their organisation; I cannot think of a more positive way to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week.
We are what we do and we love what we do.