Cultural Competency in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations

Self-Identification

The term “Hearing Impaired” is NOT used by most individuals with hearing loss and terms i.e. “deaf-mute”, “deaf & dumb” are not appropriate.

Deafness/Hearing Loss w/Deaf Cultural Values

Hearing Loss w/Hearing Cultural Values

Deaf

Hard ofHearing

Deafness w/Hearing Cultural Values

deaf

Cultural Competency in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations

Language/ Education

Communicating with Sign – ASL, PSE, SEE, Tactile and Home Sign

Spoken/Written English– Not sure? Ask!

Lip Reading– Most of the time, NOT a good idea.

State schools for the Deaf– Residential or Day program

Local public school systems– Mainstreamed or Self-contained programs

Cultural Competency in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations

Accommodations/Interpreters 101

Communication access is mandated by law– Qualified Interpreters, FM systems, Live captioning and others– Family members, interested community/church advocates ARE NOT qualified

interpreters in a clinical setting– When using an interpreter, look at and speak directly to the person with whom you

are communicating– An interpreter is a facilitator only, NOT a clinician– Unintelligible or abnormal speech can be expected to be identified as such by the

interpreter Daily living accommodations

– Pagers, TTY’s, Alerting systems

Public Services– TEDP, CSD Relay, State Agencies

Avoid using flattery, i.e. “You have such good English skills.” to justify not providing accommodations.

Cultural Competency in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations

Societal Norms

Deafness is not a disability. Respecting a Deaf person’s primary language shows

respect for them. Deaf people value each other, their culture and their

shared experiences. Hard of Hearing people often identify with Hearing

culture. Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss can often be more

frustrating to live with than deafness.

Cultural Competency in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Populations

SocietalNorms

Accom-modations

Education

Language

Self-ID

Respect

While Deaf and Hearing cultures differ, when one takes the timeto consider an individual’s identity, language, schooling, needs and norms, there can be cultural competency and thus, respect.