california school for the deaf riverside Article

Learning To Communicate With Deaf People
By Joe Goertz -
Life seems to pass us by without much thought for how lucky we really are. Imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning and be confronted by absolute silence. No ticking clock. No people talking. No dishes clanging. Nothing. That’s the reality that some people live. Now think about how you react to a person once you find out they’re deaf.

People with hearing impairments don’t want to be treated as though they are somehow less valuable in the community. Is it normal to be a little nervous communicating with a person for the first time? Sure. What’s important though is realizing that while these people can’t hear, they definitely can communicate effectively with you if you give them a chance.

Any form of communication between people is a two way street. It is very important then to determine how a person prefers to communicate. There are a number of options available to them such as sign language, lip reading or using text. There will be a way of making a connection. It may sometimes be difficult or awkward but the effort is well worth it.

If you need to communicate regularly with a person there is no doubt that significant effort is required on your part to make the connection. It is almost like needing to learn a second language. Unfortunately for the majority of people it is not something that they encounter on a regular basis, so novices to sign language and lip reading can make unintentional errors.

Mostly these errors are the result of speed. For lip reading it may be a case of talking

too fast so that the person doesn’t have the capacity to catch all of the conversation. Alternatively it is not unusual for people to talk too slowly, as though the person has a comprehension disorder rather than hearing.

In terms of sign language it can be just as frustrating for the person who is fluent in signing to try to decipher an untrained persons attempts at sign language. Novices who learn the signs but only use them occasionally never really learn how to “speak” in sign language the way someone closely tied to people can.

The dilemma can be compared to visiting a foreign country in which the inhabitants speak a different language. You may have spent years studying that language but when you find yourself thrust into a different culture you realize that you have learned the rules and vocabulary of the language but you have not learned how to speak it.

Dealing with people does not necessarily have to significantly alter the way that you get your message across. Even with hearing people verbal communication only makes up a small component of the way a message is delivered. You may need to think a little more about the best way of making a connection but it can be done.

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