Deaf Access

Hi Everyone,

I have had a very hard time with this post. There is a lot that I want to talk about but sometimes I am not sure where to even begin.

Sometimes I feel like my life is a rollercoaster - and it’s broken. It feels like I am able to slowly climb up that steep incline, only to be dropped backwards when I reach the top. My weekends are my peak, when I finally reach the top and then Mondays are when I plummet.

I have started to spend every weekend with my Deaf friends or Hearing/Signing friends. For the first time I want to go out and I want to be social. I enjoy it and I feel comfortable. I am not bouncing around trying to read lips, and I am not frustrated. Going out is fun and I finally understand why my hearing friends enjoy it! I become a confident person and I find myself doing things I have never done before in my life - like introducing myself to people. It is amazing how I evolve on weekends, by Sunday night I feel like I am on top of the world.

Then Monday comes. Today was a particularly hard fall when I woke up to an email from one of my professors. The email was to explain that in two weeks there will be video clips used in class. He told me I didn’t need to be there for this as there were no subtitles. I emailed him back and explained that most DVDs are CC encoded and I could explain how to check. What I received back from him shocked me, he explained that CC are too distracting and i would clutter the screen. He would prefer it if I watched the videos alone at home. I am furious about this response. I sent him another email and provided an analogy of saying that the ramp provided for students who cannot use stairs is too distracting for the students that can use stairs.

I still haven’t heard back from him.

This is only one of the many issues I have regarding access at my University. I am really appalled that no one here understands the concept of Deaf access. They seem to think that because I have people that follow me around and wave their arms all day (interpreters) that I am good. I need more than the “arm waving” to be able to access the classroom, I need CC for video materials, I need visual supports, I need proper lighting, I need one person to speak at a time, I need a copy of all written material (such as handouts for group work where they may only give one per group), and I [and the interpreters] need a break if it is a long lecture.

Then there are the issues involving interpreters. I need my timetable early enough to be able to book interpreters, the use of interpreters needs to be explained to my professors and TA’s, and there needs to be a willingness to learn and ask questions from all parties.

I didn’t think any of this would be hard for people to understand - apparently it is. I am fighting as hard as I can and putting as much of me into it as is physically possible. It still is not enough. I am a strong advocate and activist but I am starting to lose my strength. I feel like I am fighting for the same thing everyday and yet getting no where. Once I break down one wall another one is quickly put up, maybe in a different location but it still blocks me from getting through.

Thankfully I have a good deal of support from a few different sources. My audiologist will always write a letter for me, if I need it, explaining the implications of my hearing loss, the person who helps to book my interpreters is always willing to help me in anyway she can and always provides me with tons of moral support, and a good Deaf friend of mine is great at sharing her experiences and helping me to network. Even with that I still feel defeated some days.

I have emailed the head of Access Services at the University to see about proving a professional development opportunity for professors and TA’s around Deaf access. I have a few ideas and I hope that they will back me up. I want to see a Deaf population at the University. To start that development access needs to be improved and the University must prove itself to be Deaf friendly. I am going to continue to fight and advocate for Deaf rights but until I see marked improvement I am going to ensure both the Deaf and interpreter communities are of the inequities I am facing.

Jenny