A simple understanding of deafness as it is experienced in India, with its trials and its victories. Understand also what deafness is.

1. Deaf Community introduction
The Deaf Way Foundation

2. Objectives
• To explain what deafness is and its effect on life
experience
• To answer questions and dispel myths
• To teach some basic Sign Language and how to
communicate with Deaf people
• To help understand the Deaf community and its culture
• To explain how Deaf people experience discrimination
• To describe the current education of Deaf children
• To discuss laws and current campaigns of Deaf people

3. Quiz – True or False
1) ALL Deaf people can talk
2) ALL Deaf people use Sign Language
3) Deaf people can NOT drive
4) Deaf people are NOT clever
5) Deaf people can NOT enjoy music
6) Deaf people can NOT get jobs
7) ALL Deaf people can lip read
8) Sign Language is the SAME all over the world
9) Deaf people DON’T mind working in noisy places
10)Deaf people CAN do anything except hear

4. • The entire world was affected by the work of a
deaf inventor who opened up half the day for us
by creating the electric lamp. Until then we were
diurnal creatures.
• Thomas Alva Edison lit up the night
• Thomas Edison was deaf.

5. Paradigms of Disability
• Medical model of disability or deafness:
▫ Something is wrong that needs to be fixed/cured
• Social model of disability or deafness:
▫ Society, government and people cause problems,
barriers and discrimination
▫ Ignorance of needs of person creates the problem,
the person does not have a problem
• Rights model
▫ Sees people as having rights to
food/health/family/participation in society...

6. Levels of deafness
• Deafness is some level of hearing loss.
• There are different levels of deafness.
Mild (25 to
40 dB loss)
May not hear quiet noises. Can understand most speech. Possibly
uses telephone. Can happen to the elderly.
Moderate
(41 to 70 dB
loss)
May be difficult to understand speech, can not use telephone (unless
with equipment), replies on lip reading, eye contact and gestures.
Maybe uses Sign Language or a hearing aid.
Severe
(71 to 90 dB
loss)
Possibly uses Sign Language, maybe uses lip reading, may be
culturally Deaf, may not hear loud noises like construction.
Profound
(more than
90 dB loss)
Probably uses Sign Language, is culturally Deaf, may use lip reading,
may not be able to hear loud noises like aeroplanes.

7. http://www.evdcweb.org/lessons/ts/audiogram.html

8. Types of deafness
• Born Deaf
• Acquired deafness (lose hearing in later life)
• Partially Deaf (some level of deafness)
• Hard of hearing is a milder form of deafness.
• Older people lose hearing slowly sometimes and
need hearing aids
• Army personnel in Artillery regiments have been
found to be affected with deafness as well from
cannon fire.

9. Why causes deafness?
• Genetics (ONLY 10% of deafness is genetic)
• Childhood illness – e.g. meningitis, mumps,
chicken pox
• Premature birth
• Mother contracts illness in pregnancy
• Malnutrition and poor medical care in
pregnancy
• Repeated severe ear infections in children
• Injury – e.g. eardrum puncture

10. Statistics
• There are no definite statistics for India
• Estimates suggest between 4 to 10 million Deaf
people
• Urban deaf people would be more likely to be
going to schools and meeting more deaf and so
more likely to use and know Indian Sign
Language.

11. How do Deaf people communicate?
• ISL
• Lip reading
• Speech (sometimes)
• SMS
• Email
• Video chat
• Writing

12. • I feel deafness is the worse of my two
disabilities, while blindness separates me from
things, deafness separates me from people.
Helen Keller

13. How can you communicate with Deaf people?
• Get their attention by waving
• Touch on shoulder or arm
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Maintain eye contact
• Use gestures/mime/body language
• Repeat or rephrase
• Learn some sign language and finger spelling
• Don’t have bright sun or lights behind you
• Make sure there is no visual disturbance
• Try writing
• Have patience

14. Exercise – Lip Reading
• (2 sheets, pairs, different words. One person has
voice on, other person voice off and mouths
words to see if other person can understand.
Write down the words you understand)
• How did you do??
• How far can you go like this. How would you do
if this was the only way of communication.
• And remember you already know the language

15. Finger spelling

16. • Take a look at the little handout and see if you
can figure out the signs on it. Chances are that
you will learn them in a few minutes. Please do.
• The deaf people you work with are going to be
really happy that you learned some ISL.
• Hopefully soon you will be learning more.

17. What is Sign Language?
• Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a full language
just like Hindi, Punjabi or Marathi
• ISL is the language of the Deaf Community of
India
• ISL has it’s OWN grammar
• Every country has it’s OWN sign language
• ISL has regional differences just like the
different accents or languages of India

18. The truth is…..
• Learning Sign language endears you to deaf
people
• Sign language learning helps you explore a
whole new side to yourself.
• Sign Language can be so much fun
• When you learn sign language you show respect
for the deaf person who uses it to communicate
• Get ahead with winning deaf people’s confidence
trust and loyalty with sign language.

19. Sign Language - www.deafsigns.org

20. Case Study 1 - Communication
A Deaf woman was waiting for a bus to go
home. She was talking with friends when
some boys started misbehaving. When
they tried to get away, one boy molested
her knowing she couldn’t communicate.
She slapped the boy and two policemen
came over. They pushed her and touched
her inappropriately because they thought
she was mentally disabled.

21. Case Study 2 – Interpreters
A Deaf man went to a government run
hospital. The doctor refused to talk to him
properly. There was no physical
examination. The doctor prescribed the
wrong medicine. When the Deaf man went
back the doctor refused to speak to him.
The man was not treated.

22. Sign Language Interpreters 1
Deaf Interpreter Hearing

23. Sign Language Interpreters 2
• Must know one sign language and one spoken
language – e.g. ISL/ASL/Hindi/English
• Interpreter DOES NOT ‘help’
• Interpreter empowers Deaf people to
communicate with hearing people
• The interpreter facilitates clear easy
communication in real time.
• There are NOT enough interpreters in India

24. Case Study 3 – Education
Hi my name is Pratap, I was born deaf. I went to
deaf school for 15 years and in all that time my
teachers never learned to communicate with me
properly. Why they could not learn sign
language as all of us students I don’t understand.
If they could sign to us then we would have
understood our subjects.

25. Sachin Pokhriyal
• He was a great mime artist and dancer, fun guy,
learned computers at our place. He was taken on
by HCL as a try out.
• Sachin learned to work on SAP & in 2 months he
was producing results.
• HCL hired on 6 more deaf young people.
• They all earn upwards of 25k now.
• I had the joy of attending 4 of the 5 weddings
and 4 of the 4 first birthdays of the kids.

26. Deaf Education
• There are around 1500 schools for the Deaf
• Nearly ALL Schools for the Deaf teach with the
oral method (NO sign language used)
• There are about HALF A MILLION Deaf children
• Deaf children are allowed to go to mainstream
schools for hearing children but suffer due to
attitudes and communication barriers
• There are no interpreters for schools or colleges.

27. Language Development in Deaf Children
• Sign Language is the natural language of Deaf
people
• Bilingual education is necessary (Sign and
Spoken Language)
• Teaching in ISL first helps Deaf children to learn
another language and other subjects
• Global linguistic research shows the importance
of Sign Language for Deaf children

28. Technology and Aids
• Flashing doorbell (portable/fixed)
• Baby alarms
• Hearing aids (some Deaf do not get benefit
from these)
• Video Interpreting Services -
www.signntalk.org
• Internet/email/SMS/webcams
• Vibrating alarm clock (portable/fixed)
• Flashing Smoke/Fire alarm
• Cochlear Implant

29. Case Study 4 – Discrimination
The deaf in India are not issued Driving licenses
on health grounds. They are seen as medically
unfit. The argument is that deaf cannot hear the
horn.
Deaf people have gone to court on this issue and
are now very actively advocating for the right to
Drive.

30. Deaf Campaigns
• Sign Language
medium of education
for Deaf children
• To be allowed to
legally drive
• For the creation of
the post of
“Sign Language
Interpreter”

31. Quiz – True or False – What
1) ALL Deaf people can talk
2) ALL Deaf people use Sign Language
3) Deaf people can NOT drive
4) Deaf people are NOT clever
5) Deaf people can NOT enjoy music
6) Deaf people can NOT get jobs
7) ALL Deaf people can lip read
8) Sign Language is the SAME all over the world
9) Deaf people DON’T mind working in noisy places
10)Deaf people CAN do anything except hear

32. Contacts and More Information
• The Deaf Way Foundation www.thedeafway.org
Address: 803 Sahyog Building (58), Nehru Place,
New Delhi, India – 110019
Telephone: 011-41607261
Email: info@thedeafway.org
• NAD – National Association of the Deaf
www.nadindia.org
• ASLI – Association of Sign Language Interpreters
www.signasli.org
• ISL Deaf Signs website www.deafsigns.org
• Blog on Deaf issues and latest news
http://deafinindia.blogspot.com/