The personnel of OAS FCU had the privilege last week of having a highly-specialized presentation at the hands of our member Pamela Molina, as well as our member and volunteer from the Membership and Community Relations Committee Gerald Prado. The subject of the presentations was the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) and the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Because the Credit Union’s webpage is undergoing a complete remake, it was decided that it’d be great to raise awareness among the staff and volunteers about the life of people with disabilities and, for that, Mr. Prado volunteered to speak to them, and he enlisted the assistance of Ms. Pamela Molina, also a member who is a specialist in these subjects currently working at the OAS.
During their presentation they explained how the laws for the rights of people with disabilities apply to physical environments: buildings, private and public areas –both urban and private; and how the online world and different types of technology assist and/or work from the point of view of users with different types of disabilities.
Pamela Molina’s presentation gave insights into the everyday life of people with different types of disabilities, and how the social approach to disability makes the actual social environment responsible for providing equal physical conditions on transportation, information and communications, including communication and IT systems; the same applies to other services and facilities that are for public use or open to the public, be it in urban or rural zones, for people with or without disabilities.
Gerald Prado’s presentation focused on digital environments, webpages and social media. He showed how various devices and mechanisms allow people with different disabilities to surf the web, and how a webpage’s design will be easier or harder to read. OAS FCU will count with the counsel of Mr. Prado along several other volunteers of OAS FCU who specialize in digital design to help ensure that the new webpage doesn’t just meet the requirements of the ADA, but that it meets them in a way that makes using the page a pleasant, intuitive experience.
Pamela Molina was kind enough to leave us with a very handy guide with tips on communicating with deaf and hearing-impaired persons, which I’ve summarized here. I hope it will be useful to you!
TIPS
TO COMMUNICATE WITH DEAF AND HEARING-IMPAIRED
As a
person who can hear, you might have a hard time imagining life without clear
sound. If you’re like most people, it’s possible that you’ve felt embarrassed,
unable to speak in an encounter with a deaf person, or one who is
hearing-impaired. While it isn’t difficult, speaking with a deaf person is not
something we know instinctually how to do, and it isn’t something they teach
you in school.
This is
why we’ve made a list of tips that don’t require you to become an expert in
sign language. With some good will and a bit of guidance, you can learn to
communicate with ease.
- Speak like an Italian - Use body language and facial expressions to communicate.
- Good lighting is not just for the photographers: it’s for the deaf and hearing-impaired – This will allow the person with whom you’re communicating to see your lips and gestures.
- Visual contact is key to your success or failure to communicate – Always look directly at the person with whom you speak. Even a slight turn of your head can affect the vision of a deaf or hearing-impaired person, as they might miss important information.
- While you look at their eyes, keep in mind they’re reading your lips – Speak slow and clearly, but using a natural rhythm. Don’t exaggerate your pronunciation or raise your voice, because they alter your lip and facial expression.
Mr. Prado (1st left) and Ms. Molina (3rd right) with
some of the credit union staff. - Write it down – Its perfectly acceptable to use pen and paper to ease communication with the deaf or hearing-impaired. The important thing is the message.
- Learn basic sign language – Learning a few basic signs and the American Sign Language Alphabet (ASL) can set you up for some interesting conversations.
- Get the person’s attention politely – Deaf and hearing-impaired people might not grasp your initial greeting. Consider tapping the person softly in the shoulder or waving gently.
- Know how to use a sign interpreter properly – Speak with the person with whom you’re trying to communicate. This means not using expressions like “tell him/her”. Make it a point of keeping visual contact with the deaf person; after all, the interpreter doesn’t need it.
- Use non-vocal communication method – Many voice to text relay mechanisms are limited. Try to use email, text messages and phone ADD systems when dealing with deaf and hearing-impaired persons. It’s best to ask the person what the best way is to get in touch.
- If you
were the other person, what would you do? – there are over 48 million
hearing-impaired and deaf people in the United States alone, and each one has
different needs and tastes. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for
another, and there’s no protocol to help you discern what works to interact
with any given individual. When in doubt, the best option is to ask.
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