5.3 Supporting a deaf friend/family member

Activity 7 Ian and his family at home

Timing: Allow10 minutes for this activity
This image is a cartoon of a young person standing in front of his parents. His facial expressions/hand gestures suggest that he is frustrated or exasperated.
Figure 15 A family discussion

Ian, like many deaf people, always finds it a challenge when he’s trying to convey how he feels about a matter that’s important to him to his parents. They just don’t quite get it. They know the basics of BSL and have even completed several courses. However, they don’t often seem to understand Ian’s emotions fully when he opens up to them.

Write down your thoughts on this scenario and what you could do to help if this was your friend/family member.

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Discussion

Within the immediate family, it is highly beneficial if parents are proficient in sign language. For friends, siblings and members of the wider family it would be useful to be able to do some of the basics. However, it is a big challenge!

During family time, try to speak one at a time: that way everyone feels included and you’re not intentionally excluding your loved ones. For those family members that may wear a hearing device such as a hearing aid, there are quite a few hearing aid drop-in clinics where a battery or tube can be easily replaced.

Encouraging deaf family members to write some of their thoughts down can be really helpful too, especially when they would like to explain a difficult situation or complex set of emotions. Putting pen to paper can be a good starting point but always try, where possible, to follow it up with face-to-face interaction. There can be no substitute for this interaction.

Being able to communicate and understand with our family and friends is something that we take for granted. These communication methods will hopefully help a deaf or hard of hearing person feel included and, more importantly, listened to and loved.

5.2 Working with a deaf employee

6 Summary test