The main portrait feature of a deaf or hard of hearing person is the limited channel for obtaining information about the world, the complete or partial absence of the auditory component of the available information. It is this specific detail that formats everything that happens related to deaf people.
- If we take an adult, then he has two problems: access to information and freedom of communication. Information that is transmitted by radio, on TV, is not available without subtitles. The information that is transmitted at lectures, on trains, when the train is in a tunnel and the driver is talking, is not available. These factors are a problem that many simply do not notice.
Maxim Larionov, lawyer, VOG
The following situation illustrates the difficulties that deaf people face because of their limitations:
“You are on the subway, the train stops in the tunnel. It stops not for a couple of minutes, but, say, for 35-40 minutes. Most likely, this situation will not cause you any difficulties: after some time, the driver will announce the reason for the delay into the microphone. After listening to the information, you will continue to read, google, sleep, think about your own. Now imagine that you are not listening. The information that the driver reports flies past you. 10 minutes go by, 20 minutes go by and you get scared. You don't understand what's going on. You don't hear. How to deal with the situation? Of course, this is possible: turn to the nearest neighbor (if you are talking), read the lips of what others are discussing (weakly working strategy, because it is unlikely that people will discuss what they just heard from the speakers), contact the neighbor using text on a piece of paper or smartphone screen. Like all people, you probably don't want to engage in communication with strangers, especially with such specifics. Not everyone around is ready to treat with understanding the deformation of your speech; not everyone around is ready to peer into your smartphone or understand your handwriting. In other words, you just have to wait, having no idea what is actually going on around.
The main difference in the world of people with hearing problems is the difference between the deaf and the hard of hearing.
The main difference in the world of people with hearing problems is the difference between the deaf and the hard of hearing. What is it? At the medical level, everything is quite simple: a deaf person does not hear at all. His idea of what sound is is based on the bodily perception of sound waves, that is, vibrations. A hearing-impaired person is a person who has retained one or another percentage of hearing. Most of the time, this percentage disappears over the course of a lifetime. At the level of everyday life, depending on the diagnosis (deaf or hard of hearing), in correctional institutions for people with hearing problems, education takes place according to one of two programs, and the programs of these types of classes are fundamentally different.
The world of the deaf vs the world of the hearing
- Deaf children are initially oriented towards inclusion in the world of the deaf, they are taught to speak in sign language and are taught in it. Yes, the problem of adapting to the world of hearing is just as acute here, but adaptation is realized through sign language, through the understanding that the sound channel of information is closed to this child forever.
- The class for the hearing impaired is focused on teaching the child to speak, read lips. These children are oriented towards inclusion in the world of hearing. In other words, hearing-impaired children who studied in such classes are most often very well adapted for life. Such children do not even necessarily know sign language, since it is possible to teach a hearing impaired person to speak and communicate with others using a hearing aid, and this is quite a feasible task. It is also possible to teach a deaf person to speak, as well as to teach perfect lip reading, but this is a kind of utopia. Deformations of speech in the deaf person himself can be different (which is understandable: he does not hear, he does not have an exact sample of correctly sounding speech). Reading lips is also not possible for every person: the articulation of words in people is different. In fact, these are two different educational strategies.
Separately, it should be said about how the deaf are taught to speak. The scheme is as follows: a speech therapist teaches a person to pronounce sounds using certain methods. After that, the sounds are collected into words. A speech model for a deaf person is achieved by the principle of similarity, repetition. In other words, when a sound produced by a deaf person sounds correct, they are told about it. He must repeat it several times and remember, focusing on his bodily sensations. We understand that perfect memorization in this case is almost impossible to achieve. This is the nature of speech deformations of deaf people.
- One way is the oral method, where he [the child] is treated very seriously so that he can speak and study in a regular school. His life since childhood is similar to the life of a professional athlete. He is constantly in training, constantly in suspense, constantly plays a social role. At the request of parents or teachers. There is a second way - this is the way in sign language, using two languages, Russian (written, oral, if possible) and sign - as a means of obtaining information about everything that is needed. This is now the subject of discussion in our Russian society. It has long been determined in the West that a child has a choice. If the family chooses a sign language, then the state fully provides. If the family chooses another method, there are inclusive schools. Please, learn among those who hear, pull yourself up. That is, it is the right to choose.
Maxim Larionov, lawyer, VOG
How do people become deaf? Unfortunately, the most common case in the post-Soviet space is a medical error.
In Russia, the generation of those over 30-35 very often tells approximately the same story: “I fell ill in childhood, I was treated with antibiotics. Deaf."
In Russia, the generation of those over 30-35 very often tells approximately the same story: “I fell ill in childhood, I was treated with antibiotics. Deaf." Sometimes a deaf or hard of hearing person is born due to genetics (an illustrative example from the field is the family of Vladimir Shestakov: six children with a hearing impairment from a deaf parent; his case will be described below). The rarest group is those who have completely lost their hearing at a later age. At the same time, this is the most adapted group of the hearing impaired: they speak well and easily find a common language with the hearing world, since they themselves once belonged to this world.
2. Socio-psychological characteristics
Throughout the entire field stage of the study (in almost every conversation with the respondent), the red line was the thought: “We are not complaining, everything is in order, we are coping.” It is important to understand that deaf people (as mentioned above, the deaf are most often deaf from early childhood) do not perceive their illness as a serious hindrance. They do not know another, alternative model of existence. Deafness is their everyday life, and it is perceived by them as a completely normal thing, and the majority of respondents prefer to talk about specific problems in communication, and not about their psychological state. None of the interviewees noted that they felt excluded from society or deprived of anything.
Deaf people are very gullible. The closest analogy to describe the mechanism of this gullibility is to hire any translator from a foreign language.
Deaf people are very gullible. The closest analogy that comes to mind to describe the mechanism of this gullibility is the hiring of any translator from a foreign language. You do not speak Chinese, and an interpreter works with you. At a formal meeting, an interpreter translates what your Chinese colleagues say to you. It is unlikely that in this situation you will have a suspicion that the translation is of poor quality, that there is a distortion of meaning, or something like that. Deaf people find themselves in a similar situation: the only difference is that for them a sign language interpreter is a person through whom communication with the outside world takes place. Everything is translated to a deaf person, and he has to be trusted, otherwise he cannot. In addition, in the context of trust, it is important to mention communication difficulties again. During the field stage of the study, it became obvious that a person who is trying to understand the speech of a deaf person, who is interested, arouses sympathy. And if this sympathy arises on the part of a deaf person, he is immediately ready to say a lot. These features manifest themselves in the case of Vladimir Shestakov, to which we will turn later.
Deaf people are described by experts as a small community.
There is no close relationship between members of the community, but they have the opportunity to communicate with each other through a variety of “points” - these are VOG, various theaters of facial expressions and gestures, and so on.
There is no close relationship between members of the community, but they have the opportunity to communicate with each other through a variety of “points” - these are VOG, various theaters of facial expressions and gestures, and so on. It is through such channels that the entrance to the "world of the deaf" most often occurs. There are not so many deaf people in Russia, so one way or another they are aware of the existence of each other, intersect, communicate.
An individual rehabilitation program is a program in which every disabled person in Russia participates. Each respondent (an expert or a simple disabled person) mentioned this program in an interview in the context of the fact that, within its framework, a disabled person has the right to assistance in acquiring (through reimbursement of part of the money spent) technical devices necessary for a disabled person. For deaf and hard of hearing people, these are hearing aids, TVs with the Teletext function, smartphones, light and vibration alarms, calls, etc. IPR reimburses only a part of the funds (most often very small) when purchasing any of the listed devices.
Every person with a hearing impairment is entitled to 40 free hours of sign language interpretation per year.
Most often, these watches are used to go to the Pension Fund, bank, theater or any other place where it becomes necessary to communicate with hearing people. These 40 hours are preferred by hearing impaired people to be saved and used only when absolutely necessary, as this is a very short time for a whole year. Assigns interpreters to the sign language translation agency (in order for an interpreter to be able to get a job through the agency, he must provide an appropriate certificate of qualification). Services of a sign language interpreter over the specified 40 hours are paid.
3. Financial management
The financial situation of people with hearing disabilities varies. Based on the materials of the field stage, we can only say that there are a wide variety of cases: there are those who live only on a pension, there are those who work and have a stable income with a small supplement in the form of a pension. However, one story appeared regularly in one form or another: there was not enough money. At the same time, this phrase arose both in the context of the specific needs of deaf people (hearing aids, etc.), and simply in connection with the crisis and everyday needs not related to disability. Only one respondent from the entire sample was satisfied with his financial situation.
The vast majority of respondents pay pensions on a bank card. There are practically no people who said that they use savings books. Utility payments are most often made either through Sberbank Online or directly at bank branches. Most often, these are remote Internet payments. Informants are very positive about this type of service.
A deaf person is most often a person without a higher education. This is due to the fact that training in correctional institutions is focused on specialties that are “easy to explain”. Our sample is dominated by the number of respondents with special education. Experts also mention this fact.
- They are sent to a specialized kindergarten for deaf and hard of hearing children, where a teacher takes care of them, who introduces them to the world. Because it is very difficult to explain what is what. But it is possible. Then there are special schools, separately for the deaf and separately for the hearing impaired. They are in almost every city. Well, in a provincial town. As for Moscow, it is not everywhere in the Moscow region, so people have to travel from one city to another. But this is also not a problem, and they usually deal with it. Then come technical schools and institutes. There is a certain list of professions: for men - construction, for women - also technical professions that deaf people are offered to master. Which are easy to explain and which will not interfere with hearing. And then, it would seem, employment for a job, but they take a job ... I think that 10% of all deaf people. Because most of them are still illiterate.
Ksenia, a sign language interpreter, was born into a deaf family
4. Stereotypes
Of course, a very serious problem that constantly invades the lives of the deaf is the stereotyping and stigmatization of the deaf by those who hear.
- Yes, it's really difficult to find a job now, because the standard reasons are when they refuse because I can't hear. They say: “How are we going to talk? You don't hear." Why talk? Again, I will work with my hands, I have a diploma, I have a specialty, I have a profession. I was trained by her, I'm not just a man from the street. But, however, at one job, I also entered it, where I worked for four months, but then I also had to quit. At first they didn’t want to take it either, but I showed them my diploma stating that I took second place in the competition, they praised me and nevertheless decided to give me a trial period of three months, which they will observe me. And I did it, I worked fine. They even offered to put, there, special light bulbs that will notify that lunch, dinner, etc. Why is this needed? If everyone's going out to dinner, I'll understand too, I'm not exactly a nerd.
Valery, mechanic-repairman
- As for doctors, it is also very difficult. I come with my child, yes, and the doctor sees that I can't hear. "Does the child hear?" - "Yes, he hears." That's it, the doctor begins to communicate directly with my child, telling some medicines, his illnesses in general, his medical history, how to treat it. And I say: “Wait, I'm a mom. This is just a child. He won't remember any of this. Let's chat with me. Please take off the mask, I can read lips, I will understand what you are saying. But doctors very often refuse me this. I say: “Come on, if you don’t want to take off the mask, then write, write to me on paper.” And this, too, doctors very often refuse.
Victoria, housewife
- This is the main such problem, and many do not want to write, yes, how to communicate with a person? Let's write each other on paper. Many do not want to do this. Many want. Many are simply nervous and do not want to communicate. They do not understand and are nervous. There are such different problems. It happens, for example, in a store or somewhere else deaf, as if it becomes unpleasant, well, various such nuances arise in communication. Yes. There are problems, of course.
Michael, sports coach
Thus, almost all stereotypes associated with deaf people are based on the communication problem described above. This is most clearly manifested in the issue of employment for the deaf and hard of hearing. Each respondent with whom the interview took place noted the problem of employment. Denial of employment occurs on the same basis: “How are we going to communicate with you?”
September 25th is World Deaf Day. About how deaf people live, whether it is easy for them to get an education or find a job, and, most importantly, to integrate into society - in the Dislife material.
Pavel had been ill with meningitis at the age of three - as a result, now he has 3-4 degree hearing loss. The boy went to a regular kindergarten, and then studied at a correctional school for the hearing impaired. Then he entered Baumanka at the faculty of the GUIMC, where the hearing impaired study, with sign language translation, having received an education at the Department of Information Processing and Database. Now Pavel Novikov works SAP Support Engineer.
“It was difficult for me in kindergarten. I hear a ringing, but I don’t know where it is - it was about me, - says the young man. - I understood the general situation, but did not grasp the details. Therefore, I did not participate in various children's events. And in ordinary children's games, it was just simple for me. At school, everything was even simpler in some ways than the rest - my parents worked with me a lot, and I went prepared. It was not very difficult for me to study. I did not think about the problems then, and did not understand why I am disabled and how I differ from other people?! The school was a kind of greenhouse, it was communication in a kind of vicious circle, in the yard too - among relatives and friends who already knew about my difficulties. The problems started when I entered adulthood."
Look at me as an equal!
How does a person live in silence? How does he feel about the world? And most importantly, how does this world relate to him?
“Many, due to excessive tolerance, turning into tolerance, avoid the word “deaf”, and repeat “hard of hearing”, fearing to hurt our feelings, notes Mikhail Veselov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "The World of the Deaf" and the website of the Moscow State Organization VOG Deafmos.ru. - In fact, the country of the deaf is divided into deaf and hard of hearing. The deaf themselves call themselves “deaf” and do not see anything shameful in this for themselves, clearly separating themselves from the hearing impaired. Just for the "hearing world" it is more typical to call all deaf people - deaf and hard of hearing - deaf and dumb. This term for a large part of deaf people sounds like an insult: some of ours, even with a strong accent, but speaks, and the other part does not speak, but uses sign language, which is recognized by the linguistic system. Mikhail admits that he himself refers to the word “deaf-mute” with humor: “A person may not put a negative connotation into the “deaf-mute”, he did not seek to offend, he simply called it the way he was used to. The same thing as we are accustomed to consider the word “Negro” neutral, but if I say “Negro” to the African American, I will run into trouble. Although an African American from this will not cease to be a Negro.
For simplicity, we can say that a hard of hearing is someone who understands speech by ear, on the phone, with or without hearing aids. Such a person usually has intelligible speech with a slight accent. And the deaf cannot understand speech by ear, he can read it from the lips, reinforcing understanding with some sounds conducted through the hearing aid. Through the apparatus, a deaf person can sometimes hear all the noises around, but speech perception does not work for him.
Many people think that if you sit down and talk, they will hear you. They will hear, but they will not understand - that is the difficulty. “It's like seeing. If a person has a vision of minus three, this does not mean that he sees everything. This means that he sees indistinctly, in a fog. Therefore, when the deaf go out into the big world, they do not understand what is bad and what is good, they may not read the information between the lines, emotional intelligence also suffers, because not all moments are clear. Therefore, deaf people sometimes seem to be from another planet,” says Pavel Novikov about the world of deaf people. And it reveals the subtleties: it turns out that a person with a hearing impairment is always visible from the outside. He is tense - you can see it on his shoulders. The deaf see each other - by the face, because information is transmitted through facial expressions. And the hard of hearing - by gait, by some uncertainty. And hearing aids.
“At the same time, it is difficult to distinguish hearing-impaired, and even deaf people abroad, from the rest,” says Karina Chupina, journalist-translator The first deaf trainer and consultant of the Council of Europe, an expert on social inclusion and the rights of people with disabilities. - Differences are especially imperceptible in the countries of Scandinavia, where, thanks to the methods of bilingual education of the deaf (simultaneous teaching of the national verbal language and the national sign language) and access to high-quality technologies, deaf people, even with severe hearing loss, can freely communicate in both speech and sign language, stay confident and uninhibited. In the West, hearing loss is not as embarrassed as we do, they do not cover the hearing aid behind the ears with a hairdo, but wear bright colored models like a stylish gadget and frame it with rhinestones as decoration. If all over the world, hearing aids would be treated not like prostheses, but like auxiliary fashion gadgets like bluetooth, the life of the hard of hearing would be easier. So far, in terms of image, only bespectacled people have been lucky - look how fashionable it is to wear different frames.”
Deaf people can communicate with signs, although they can speak, but they believe that they have the right to use their sign language, they do not always want to be integrated into ordinary society. And the hard of hearing are a little stuck in the middle - they're not deaf, but they still can't hear. “Often they suffer because they cannot identify themselves with a particular group,” Pavel explains. - Among healthy people they feel deaf. And among the deaf, they are also not at ease. In special schools, for example, students with hearing loss are divided into classes A, B and C - according to the degree of hearing loss.
“It happens that a group of “signers” stops communicating with guys who start using implants or hearing aids and switch to verbal communication,” recalls Karina. - They cease to recognize them as “their own”. Conversely, integrated hard of hearing may treat signers with some contempt...
At the same time, the boundaries between “deaf” and “hard of hearing” can be blurred or changeable, adds Karina Chupina, who has been President of the International Federation of Hearing Impaired Youth(www.ifhohyp.org). “In different contexts, the deaf and hard of hearing may choose different forms of expression of their identity: in the organization of the deaf, a person may communicate in sign language, and in the main workplace, use only verbal communication. Identity also depends on the family, on whether the parents are hearing or deaf; from the environment in the family and school - speech or gesture.
According to medical standards, Karina has a 4th degree hearing loss, borderline with deafness, but according to social standards, she is perceived as hearing impaired. “It may be that one deaf person has undeveloped social and speech skills and a low level of education, and another deaf person - with exactly the same hearing loss - thanks to early rehabilitation and high-quality hearing aids, speaks a foreign language, is comprehensively developed and can communicate on the phone. He may have a university education and years of practiced speech with almost no "thick" accent. This is just my case and many of my Russian and foreign friends. The piano lessons that I hated at the beginning gave me the opportunity to develop an auditory perception of different frequencies and intoned voice. I learned to speak on the phone for seven years with my friends and my grandmother: in a hearing aid, the voice on the phone is very different from the voice in everyday face-to-face communication. At first, it is very difficult to understand the interlocutor, because, firstly, the voice frequencies during transmission over wires are greatly distorted, and secondly, the face and lips of the interlocutor are not visible, from which speech and non-verbal information can be read. Today I have already learned to speak English on the phone, which is very pleasing.”
The problem is, many parents don't even know it's possible! - to teach a deaf child to speak, develop intonation, voice, and communicate with peers by speech ... And this was possible even in tsarist times using special methods without equipment. Today, emphasizes Karina Chupina, this is all the more real in the presence of modern super-powerful and individually adjustable devices (or implants) - and the will of parents to continuously educate the child from early childhood, so as not to miss the best time for rehabilitation. However, many parents are already happy with the fact that the child pronounces words, and stop learning literate speech and vocabulary development, not seeing further prospects. And at a later age, it is already much more difficult to develop speech and get used to a hearing aid.
“And there are no free rehabilitation centers for deaf youth after 18 years of age. We need specialists who are experienced in working and communicating with deaf people and well-versed in their issues, such as psychologists, psychotherapists, neurologists, teachers of the deaf, - says the expert. “In the West, there are such special centers with a swimming pool, a gym, which also perform the function of socialization, since deaf people usually feel bad in general centers.”
All hard of hearing people hear more with their eyes. And if a person has reduced hearing, then his vision often falls as well - because it strains, looking for visual support, reading words and phrases from the lips. Therefore, it is important to have a conference call to see. “When I was learning English, I had a big problem in listening to English,” says Pavel about his experience. - But then it became clear that just the ear and the brain are not trained for this language. If certain brain centers react to Russian words, then the brain did not react to English words. Therefore, fatigue is high in hearing-impaired people: you strain to understand speech, and you quickly get tired.
“Imagine yourself as a foreigner in your own country,” says Karina Chupina. - And you will understand how deaf and hard of hearing people feel. The deaf often face misunderstandings and misunderstandings—sometimes funny, sometimes life-threatening. Hearing-impaired, speech-oriented people are under constant stress from having to conform to the hearing environment and operate in conditions of complete uncertainty. There is no single or universal solution to solve the communication difficulties of "speech" hearing-impaired people. A hearing-impaired person's communication is influenced by many situational factors, such as background noise, room acoustics, dense facial hair that obscures articulation, degree of familiarity with the situation and context, and so on. For example, you come to the bank, and the clerk behind the glass mumbles something, turning away and looking at the computer. Or the doctor gives instructions before the procedure, buried in papers. Is anything clear? No. Can you lip read anything? Also no. Abroad, the culture of communication suggests that employees must look the client in the face, speak clearly and clearly. This alone helps to establish understanding. On the other hand, the deaf themselves need to be able to explain to the interlocutor how to speak to them in order to facilitate communication (we, unfortunately, do not teach this). It took me a while to formulate a clear message for action: “I’m hard of hearing. I need to see your face so I can read lips and understand you.” This phrase had the effect of a bomb in comparison with the devoid of specificity and ineffectual appeal “I can't hear and read lips”. The staff goggled in surprise, then carefully and looking at me, politely conducted business negotiations.
Mikhail Veselov notes that deafness is a serious ailment of social significance. He gives an example from his own life. In 1997, he participated in the ascent of Kilimanjaro in a group of disabled people led by Matvey Shparo. “Several days of recovery. One-armed couple, one-legged couple, one blind and two deaf, including myself. Well, the accompanying people are healthy. While the transition is going on, we, the deaf, are the coolest: our arms and legs are in place, we carry a decent load, we will help one disabled person there, we will push another there. What kind of disabled are we? There was no healthier team than us. But here's the catch. Tents, campfires. The people sit down and start la-la. Anecdotes, stories, jokes, discussions. And then the two of us are no longer in the yard. We fall out. We don't need them. Here, one-armed-one-legged people on a halt just now do not seem to be disabled - communication is on an equal footing without any. The people want to rest, relax, and no one wants to sit next to us, try to explain to us what this one said and what he joked about. I, as a rule, went out alone for a walk or in a tent to read.
First of all, it is believed that the main barrier between a deaf person and society is precisely the inability to hear each other. It is each other - it is impossible to play with one goal.
The main barrier is the stereotypical thinking of an ordinary person. “As soon as a person sees that a deaf person has come, what does he immediately remember? "Moo-mu" Turgenev and Gerasim, his hero. A janitor, no longer capable of anything. And unfortunately, this is often the case. It is very rare that a manager hires a deaf person, making sure that he is really a great specialist. We need to drop the stereotypes. Just look at the deaf as an equal, ”says Maxim Larionov, Head of the Department of Social Programs and Projects, OOOI VOG.
Barriers - in our heads
Pavel Novikov notes that deaf people are treated better abroad than in Russia. “In Russia, I usually don’t ask again more than three times. Because, unfortunately, people start to really look at you like you're a fool. You feel awkward. We have to adapt to the environment. And we immediately read the tension in people's eyes. Sometimes colleagues forget about this peculiarity of mine - and they can, for example, shout something from the other end of the corridor. In Germany and England, for example, it was easier. When I spoke about my difficulties, they answered me: “Don’t worry!”, They led me almost by the hand, wrote on paper, opened Google Translate in the iPad, helped with translation and understanding. And it was comfortable. People were very surprised that a person with a hearing impairment learned English and could communicate in it. And they tried very hard to help."
The negative attitude towards deaf people, especially those who speak in gestures, is not as great today as it was in the days of the USSR, but is still present in society. “In the world of the deaf people are very indignant at such an attitude of those who hear, but I somehow understand them, those who hear. If healthy people, amputees, supporters have a common, let’s say, mentality, a common cultural base, then the vast majority of the deaf, due to their informational isolation, have their own special mentality - their perception of the world, their own culture, even their own thinking, - Mikhail Veselov notes. - Language is the main marker of "friend or foe". A deaf signing person is usually perceived as something incomprehensible. Alien. And that means - frightening, causing suspicion. I'm not saying that an ordinary person with screams of horror will rush to run from a deaf person. No, the hearer can communicate with him outwardly benevolently, but inside there will remain a certain degree of alertness: “who knows him?”
This attitude is partly reinforced by stories about the criminal environment in which deaf people work. “In the country of the deaf, this really exists. For example, the system of "trinkets", when deaf criminals "protect" deaf beggars - sellers of key rings and other trifles, - says Mikhail. - And it's a pity that behind the criminal pictures you can't see that among us there are workers, artists, programmers, poets, journalists and so on. If more people wrote about it, then people would be less scared.”
Sometimes a deaf person is often perceived as a person with mental disabilities. And such a problem, our speakers believe, cannot yet be completely eliminated. “The problem is global and bilateral in the sense that not only hearing people misperceive us, but also deaf people often reinforce this opinion. After all, more than half of the deaf do not know the Russian language. It is for them, as it were, a second foreign language, and learned without pleasure, but only because it is necessary. A deaf person does not understand what is written in the newspaper, what is written to him in notes, he does not know most of the elementary words and terms. Guilt - in preschool and school deaf pedagogy.
“It is very important to work on creating a positive image of people with hearing disabilities,” emphasizes Karina Chupina. - In our organization, we conduct trainings on communication for the hearing impaired, leadership skills, confidence, organization of social and information projects. But we still cannot influence the attitude of society, despite the dissemination of information. It is necessary to work with journalists to cover both the problems and the successes of the deaf in the mass media. And - definitely! - Involvement of the hearing impaired and the deaf in the joint creation of social videos, film productions and articles with professional journalists. In addition, you should not hesitate to invite people with hearing impairments to talk shows on social and cultural issues. So far, any person with a disability, except the deaf, is participating in the talk show.”
Another problem, according to Mikhail, is in sign language. In 2012, a law was passed that raises the status of sign language - it is recognized as a language, a linguistic system. “This leads to further work on the formation of a sub-legislative regulatory framework regarding the use of this language in the police, prosecutors, courts, when receiving education, when a deaf person contacts any authorities. This means that the need for qualified sign language interpreters is growing, and the question arises of their level of education, retraining, and certification. And they need to be paid as for highly skilled hard work,” says Maxim Larionov. - The All-Russian Society of the Deaf, by the way, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Other important social projects are currently underway at the VOG, for example, Maxim says, together with the Orthodox Church, the VOG is developing a special dictionary of Orthodox gestures - that is, gestures that would explain special Orthodox terminology, explain the essence of prayer, and so on.
Mikhail Veselov, for his part, notes that there is still controversy regarding Russian Sign Language (RSL). Supporters of RSL claim that a deaf child will better learn important concepts and information, while learning ordinary Russian at the same time. Opponents argue that sign language interferes with the assimilation of the Russian language, and, therefore, of the entire educational and cultural layer based on the Russian language. Mikhail believes that sign language is indeed a unique phenomenon, but it changes the mechanisms of the speaker's thinking.
“Meetings and negotiations are not for me”
The basis of a quality life for each of us is the opportunity to work, to work at our favorite job. But it's hard for the deaf and hard of hearing. Often they can't get a job.
Mikhail Veselov confirms that deaf people are generally shunned. But there may be reasons for this. “For example, when a deaf graduate of a university (where there was a special group of deaf people) gets a job as a programmer at a company and writes in a statement: “Director of the company. Statement. Asking for a job appointment, ”of course, this will be refused. But when a normally educated deaf person, talented, with a bunch of projects and ideas in his portfolio appears, he will be immediately refused, without understanding. Because there is already a prejudice, a stereotype.”
Nevertheless, there are cases when successful deaf people got decent jobs and careers. They may have an accent, slurred pronunciation, problems with the perception of someone else's speech - but they are competent specialists. However, according to our speakers, this is most often an accident, not a trend. It is difficult for a deaf person to make a career, and it is extremely difficult for him to become a leader.
“I have never identified myself as a person with disabilities. But when I started working, I realized that there really are difficulties, and we need to adapt to them, ”admits Pavel Novikov. According to his observations, those who do not hear well have decadent moods: they feel that they are not needed by anyone, that they will not be able to find themselves in this life, to be realized. “Now, for example, I feel that I have nowhere to grow further. Because if I grow as a manager, then I need a good knowledge of English and the ability to solve problems over the phone. So far it is impossible for me to speak English on the phone. So this path is still closed for me. If this is project management, then there can be big meetings, but I can’t fully communicate in a group where there are more than 3-4 people. I do not have time to track all the statements, to understand the context. I can't handle this information load. I still have the path of an expert, but it's not quite my nature - I'm more interested in working with people. It turns out that I can’t fully realize myself,” Pavel gives his own example. He notices that the old stereotype of thinking also works: people with disabilities perceive the world as a given and do not see a way to fight and somehow change their lives. Therefore, perhaps deaf and hard of hearing people are not always happy, Pavel believes.
Many hearing-impaired people are now unemployed or trying to find a job with the help of relatives or - in organizations working in this area, for example, VOG. “I know two people who graduated from Baumanka, but still then went to work as educators at a school for the hearing impaired,” Pavel notes. Often deaf people try to get a job in technical specialties. But they take deaf people more often to ordinary positions.
Another problem in the field of employment for the deaf and hard of hearing is that a lot of time needs to be invested in them in the beginning. There should be some employee at the workplace who will bring a deaf colleague up to date, help to figure everything out. Establish communication to understand how to communicate with him. All this is individual. And not every company is ready for this. “Even with relatives, with a close circle of friends, it’s difficult, let alone working relationships,” Pavel complains. - Sometimes they don’t want to explain to me who had what in mind, people are too lazy to chew information, repeat it several times, or they don’t understand the need for this. I’m used to it, so sometimes I don’t ask again, so as not to strain people.”
By the way, deaf people are entitled to a free sign language interpreter - but for a few hours a year. Such a service can be provided, for example, in case of participation in litigation, or in some other necessary cases of communication. If these services are needed more, you will have to pay, and it costs from 2 thousand rubles per hour. It is interesting that even in sign language there are dialects, and, as Pavel confirms, for example, the sign language in St. Petersburg will be different from Moscow, because Russian sign language came to Moscow with the Germans, and in St. Petersburg - with the French.
Of those who come to ROOI "Perspektiva" for help in finding employment, a third are people with hearing loss. Different people come - both completely deaf and hard of hearing, who can talk on the phone. “Literally five years ago, it was very difficult for such people to get a job, companies did not take deaf people very often. Now business has become more open, - emphasizes Evgenia Kusnutdinova, employee of the employment department of ROOI "Perspektiva".- And it all depends not only on the disability, but also on the person. How he presents himself, how much he invests in himself, how much he gets an education. We have, for example, English language courses for the deaf, but few go there. But this is an opportunity to strengthen your position.”
Indeed, there are problems, but there are also success stories. For example, about two years ago, two young people, Kirill Pilyugin and Semyon Denisenko, who graduated from the Academy of Arts (RGSAI), applied to the ROOI Perspektiva. “One of them, Semyon, really wanted to work as an architect, but he is totally deaf. Kirill is hard of hearing. We were looking for options where Semyon could work without communicating with people, - says Evgenia. - We were looking for a vacancy for a layout designer. And they were hired by a company that makes layouts. And all because they also studied design programs separately on their own, this is not studied at the university. That is, invest in yourself. And recently we received great news: Kirill and Semyon are involved in the creation of the most gigantic model of Moscow, this is a real success!
Evgenia notes that deaf people can be perceived negatively due to lack of information. And that is why they are denied work, not knowing how to communicate with the deaf. “We have trainings for employers to understand people with disabilities. They can be passed before or after people come to work with them. How to communicate, how to organize his workplace, workflow. This is very useful knowledge."
“VOG is now aimed at ensuring that a deaf and hard of hearing person can realize himself in the open labor market, and not in specialized closed enterprises, where there can be neither a good salary nor a career in the future,” Maxim Larionov, for his part, notes. - These are segregated enterprises, a relic of the Soviet past. But then there were guaranteed orders from the state, so the deaf felt a certain confidence in life. And now they have to prove their skills all the time.” That is why the VOG actively supports the Abilympics professional excellence championships, as one of the founders of this movement. The best of the best go to international championships where they compete with foreign participants. “It was very interesting to notice that these competitions are attracting more and more attention not only from the participants, but also from potential employers, large companies that are interested in employing people with disabilities,” says Maxim Larionov. - Maybe the company is interested in terms of quotas, or maybe within the framework of positioning itself as a socially oriented company. The motivation is different, but the fact remains: if a disabled person shows himself to be a competent professional in his field, his chances increase. Therefore, it is important to constantly demonstrate your skills.”
Give directions!
An accessible environment is needed for a comfortable feeling of a person in space. In the subway, at stations, at airports there should be visual stands, transfer signs, timetables, and so on. And also, hearing-impaired people say, it is very important to receive written messages during emergency situations, a terrorist attack, for example, natural disasters. To be, for example, notification of the Ministry of Emergency Situations by SMS. In moments of unrest for a deaf person, it is difficult to navigate without visual information.
Are the accessible environments in our cities prepared for the needs of the hearing impaired? Pavel believes that there are more and more options that help people like him: for example, subway markings on the floor and walls, additional signs. The scoreboards in buses and trolleybuses, in banks, clinics are also very helpful - before, you had to write down your movements on a piece of paper and show passers-by or passengers in transport so that they would tell you when to get off, where to go. But in this, of course, we lag behind foreign countries. “In addition, people are often frightened when a deaf person approaches them. There are still some prejudices. It is more convenient for them not to come into contact with this topic,” Pavel notes.
“First of all, the problem is access to information. A person receives 70 percent of information through sounds. Television, radio, conversations with friends, colleagues. We receive a lot of auditory information while studying. So for us, an accessible environment is, first of all, a visual, which must be adapted to the needs of the deaf, - Maxim Larionov explains. - And if we are talking about cinema, television, then first of all we need subtitles. Now federal channels are closed captioning, in the region of 16 thousand hours a year. This, of course, is not a complete volume, but still a serious step forward. These are Channel 1, Russia, NTV, Karusel, Children's Channel and Culture. We are used to seeing them. But we would like all channels that broadcast on the territory of the Russian Federation to have programs accessible to people with hearing impairments in their schedule,” says Maxim Larionov. VOG is currently negotiating with the Ministry of Communications on this issue.
And of course the accessible environment is very important in education. Both in the middle and in the university. “We need sign language interpreters. By the way, by law, a deaf or hard of hearing student must be provided with such an interpreter. But there is no mechanism for exercising such a right. VOG, together with leading scientific organizations, is developing this mechanism. We hope that next year the order of the Ministry of Education and Science will be introduced in this direction,” emphasizes Maxim Larionov.
"Don't be people passing by!"
Why is a deaf person often perceived negatively? “You know, when people communicate with each other, and someone constantly asks: “What? I don't understand, huh?!" - the interlocutor lights up a light bulb in his head: “Fool. You explain to a person, but he does not understand,” says Maxim Larionov. - When a deaf person is addressed aloud, he tries to point his finger at his ears that he does not hear. Sometimes in a voice or a note asks to repeat. What is the speaker doing? There are few options. More often people stop, shut up and leave. Why do they need it? Extra problems. I just went through the wrong doors... That's just the stereotype. People don’t want to continue communication, explain something… they just pass by.”
Sometimes, Maxim tells about his experience, people understand the problem - they can get a piece of paper or repeat their question by typing on the screen of a mobile phone. But this is rare. “You just need to have humanity inside yourself. You can not be a "person passing by"! A person who passes by then sits down at his desk and is approached by a deaf person for a job interview. He will not take him, because he is "a person passing by." Inside each person, a "green" light should light up: "This person does not hear, but I will communicate with him, because he is no worse than me." And now, when there will be more such people in our society, it will be easier for a deaf person to live in it.”
The editors would like to thank Karina Chupina for her help in organizing interviews with experts.
For deaf and hard of hearing people are constantly coming up with new gadgets-keys from the country of the deaf to the world of sounds. We have written about such devices and concepts more than once: headphones-translators, pocket sound amplifiers, special glasses and silent alarm clocks... It's time to collect them in one review: meet top ten amazing devices for the deaf and hard of hearing!
call out to the deaf
Communicaid is a gadget that does not improve hearing, but compensates for it with vision. It is designed to help the adaptation of people with hearing impairments in the work team: thanks to it, colleagues will be able to call out! The gadget picks up even quiet sounds and translates them into a visual signal: the flickering of red lights.
Silent Cinema
Deaf and hard of hearing people have every reason to be dissatisfied with cinemas: there are too few films with subtitles, and they are not to the taste of ordinary visitors. Contradictions will be smoothed out by Mo Pix glasses: through them, the user will see an additional screen behind the usual screen, with subtitles. Ordinary viewers will not notice anything.
Sony glasses
Another movie glasses for the deaf was prepared by Sony. They do not require an additional screen to work: the subtitles will be encrypted in the image itself, but you will need special glasses to see them.
Teaching a deaf child to speak is not an easy task. A group of Korean designers developed the VV-Talker concept to solve this problem: this small toy-like gadget will translate a child's words into a voice diagram. A hearing-impaired child must achieve its coincidence with the sample for a given word. The device will help children master phonetics even alone, while the teacher is away.
TV cushion for the hearing impaired
Hearing-impaired people often turn on the TV at full volume, thereby driving the neighbors into a frenzy - and still hear so-so. A pillow will come to the rescue. Designed by a team of Swedish designers (Fredrik Hylten, Isabelle Olsson and Maria Johansson), the Ictus device is an amplifier pillow. It needs to be connected instead of a speaker and put your head on it - according to the authors, it will be heard even by an almost deaf person.
The unusual concept of Babel is called by the author a "visual hearing aid" - in fact, he will listen for the user. Microphones are built into the temples of the glasses, which pick up speech and translate it into words. Of course, the speech recognition system will sometimes give the user complete nonsense, but lip reading is also not without flaws.
Sound is vibration. And if it is inaccessible to the ear of a deaf person, then it can be transmitted ... directly to the head! Pierre-Antoine Bouzard's Shake concept will give the user the ability to judge the intensity and direction of sound through vibrating headphones.
Gesture catcher for the deaf and dumb
Often deafness is associated with dumbness. Sign language comes to the aid of deaf and dumb people, but, unfortunately, it is only for internal use. "What should you do if you need to explain yourself to the authorities? Or hire a special translator, or use a sign-to-word translator. London-based designer of Ukrainian origin Victoria Voloshin (Viktoria Volosin thinks that it will look like this, but it will still be easier to teach "gestural understanding" to regular smartphones.
Sleep watcher
The Soft Touch concept alarm clock can wake the sleeping person to work, even if he is completely deaf: the user puts a bracelet on his wrist before going to bed, and when he needs to get up, the alarm clock will start to inflate it and put pressure on his hand. In addition, Soft Touch can warn the sleeper of serious dangers: fire, bombing, and so on.
Soccer ball for the deaf
It's not easy to play football with an opponent who never hears the referee's whistle! For such cases, a luminous ball for the deaf LED Ball was invented: instead of a whistle, the referee holds a controller, which, if necessary, turns on the LED bulbs. Players will immediately understand that the signal to stop has been given.
This is where we will end the review of gadgets - with the hope that
cinema, sports, study, work, travel and many other wonderful things will become available for deaf and hard of hearing people in full.
The fact that hearing-impaired and deaf people perceive sound poorly or not at all does not mean that they do not show interest in music - musicals and rap battles in sign language, which are gaining popularity, testify to this. However, people are still limited in their ability to attend mass music events, writes BuzzFeed.
According to the American National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disabilities, approximately 90% of deaf children have hearing parents, but only a few learn ASL (ASL, American Sign Language - the main language in deaf English-speaking communities) and often do not think about the fact that the lack of opportunity to visit the musical event further isolates them from society.
"For me, music is not a sound, it's a physical sensation," says Lisa Cryer, a fully deaf BuzzFeed interviewee. "I hear through my eyes and my body." At the American festival Lollapalooza, she stands at the speakers and leans on the metal railing of the stage; for a hearing person, the volume is unbearable, but Lisa does not perceive it, feeling only the vibration from the bass.
The ability to feel music for a deaf music lover is given by an ordinary empty water bottle or any container that also transmits vibration. Hearing-impaired concert goers tend to get in the front rows to stand or sit next to the speakers: that's the only way they can hear the vocals.
As BuzzFeed points out, historically the community of deaf and hard of hearing music fans who wanted to gain independence "in the hearing-centric music world" tried various ways to gain access to it. They began to hold their own specialized festivals - BrickFest, Louisville's DeaFestival Kentucky and San Antonio's Good Vibrations. At dance parties where music with strong bass sounds, DJs familiar with the characteristics of hearing impaired people try to turn the speakers to the floor, and not put them up Deaf musicians and entrepreneurs are developing Bluetooth-enabled devices in the form of vests, backpacks and wristbands that can be synchronized to the beat of the music.
Despite these innovations, Cryer notes that most concert halls and festivals do not have access points for the deaf. Cryer insists that sign language interpreters and dedicated seats should be available at every music festival, as was done for wheelchair users: this is required by law, regardless of whether the organizers know in advance about possible hearing-impaired visitors or not.
For many fans of certain artists, it is important to hear the lyrics, but having a sign language interpreter at the festival is the exception rather than the rule.
“If I want to go to a concert, I have to plan ahead: ask for access, hope they find people to help me, hope they will be qualified,” complained Lisa. “I can never just buy tickets to last minute or just to join friends: it takes a lot of time and is not easy to do, which is annoying, because US disability law requires concerts to be accessible to everyone.
Meanwhile, thanks to the concerted efforts of deaf and hard of hearing community advocates, after 2014, major festivals began to create accessibility programs for guests with hearing disabilities and provide special places for them. Since 2015, priority access has been introduced for deaf and hard of hearing fans. In 2017, a sign language interpreter was present for a fifth of the 170 performances at the Lollapalooza festival. In June of that year, American hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper announced that he had hired a team of sign language interpreters for the remainder of his tour, which would include stops at major festivals.
Cultural events for Russian deaf people
In Russia, 13 million people have hearing impairments, 250,000 of them are partially or completely deaf, and the same problems are relevant for them as in the United States: despite the fact that the world’s first theater of facial expressions and gestures for deaf people appeared in Moscow, musical events adapted for the deaf are rare in Russia; sign language interpreters accompany the performances of artists, mainly at specialized festivals.
"Among the cultural practices that are characteristic exclusively of the "culture of the deaf", the most popular is attending performances in sign language at the Theater of Mimicry and Gesture, the Specialized Academy of Arts, and so on. About 35% of respondents noted that they had been to these performances more than twice over the past year, and even more than 40% attended performances 1-2 times over the past year.In addition, people with hearing impairments attend concerts with the participation of deaf and hard of hearing artists and performers, as well as specialized events (festivals , concerts, competitions) for the deaf and hard of hearing in Moscow parks," the authors of the study "Patterns of Cultural Consumption of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Inclusion or Isolation?" Nadezhda Astakhova and Nikita Bolshakov in the Journal of Social Policy Research.
At the same time, 30% of the deaf and hard of hearing are active visitors to performances and concerts, and more than 60% of people with hearing impairments would like to visit them more often.
Since 2009, the World of the Deaf festival has been held in Moscow. The event is timed to coincide with the World Day of the Deaf and is organized by the Peace and Love Charitable Foundation. One of the permanent partners of the inclusive festival is the Russian mobile operator VimpelCom (provides services under the Beeline trademark). Since 2006, the company has been developing mobile technologies and special applications that can be useful for people with hearing and vision impairments.
"In our work to introduce assistive mobility solutions into everyday life, we pay special attention to the need to break stereotypes. For example, every year we tell and show at our festival how musical and receptive to music deaf people can be. Our festival of the deaf is absolutely musical - it consists of songs (accompanied by translation into sign language), dances in which deaf dancers take part.The festival is equipped with a special dance floor that can transmit vibrations, - Evgenia Chistova, head of Beeline social projects, told +1. stars of the first magnitude agrees to take part in the festival. This is all propaganda of a healthy attitude of society towards this topic."
Chistova notes that the equipment makes it possible to display on the part of the screen that broadcasts what is happening on the stage, a sign language interpreter explaining the meaning of the songs. "This is enough for the musical culture to know no limits," the expert believes.
The material was provided by the "+1" project.
When people hear about the accessible environment, many people think that it is only ramps and elevators and only for wheelchair users. But accessibility problems are experienced not only by citizens with limited mobility, but also by people with sensory difficulties - for example, auditory and visual. Hearing impaired people need full and equal access to oral information, so ramps and elevators are not the right solution for them.
Unfortunately, in many discussions about accessibility, they only talk about the problems of citizens with limited mobility, but forget about the deaf and hard of hearing, and ironically even share videos and audio about accessibility that are not available to the deaf through verbatim subtitles in the same language - this is what excludes them. . Many videos and broadcasts about the deaf are accompanied without subtitles, and sign language translation, if provided, is not understood by most deaf people. Many representatives of manufacturers of hearing prostheses and supporters of oral speech in Russia generally exclude the deaf in videos and audio in Russian that are not accompanied by verbatim subtitles. How can the deaf understand if verbal information in video, audio and at events is not available to them? Even experienced wearers of hearing aids need subtitles. Many events about the deaf and about accessibility in general also exclude people with hearing impairments.
What is an accessible environment for the deaf and hard of hearing? Many do not know about this, even the deaf themselves - mainly because of the ignorance of the deaf about their rights to barrier-free access to oral information, especially in Russia, where they are taught to adapt to the hearing and not complain about the lack of an accessible environment. The deaf are all very different, so their accessibility needs are different. Two deaf people with the same audiograms may communicate and perceive verbal information differently.
Many people think that hearing aids and cochlear implants are, but this is far from the truth. Even hearing aids need an accessible environment. Also, many people think that sign language is the only type of medium available, but many deaf people use spoken and written language, so they do not know or understand sign language. So the most versatile type of accessible medium for most deaf people is .
In order for the deaf to enjoy television, movies, video clips on the Internet, they need access through high-quality verbatim subtitles (not auto captions!) in the same language. Unfortunately, not all Russian channels and programs are available on TV, and even more so on the Internet. This also applies to films. In the USA and some countries on TV on Russian-speaking channels due to the difference in technology, and access to the websites of some Russian-speaking channels outside of Russia is closed.
In addition to subtitles for recordings, there are also "live" subtitles - real-time text accompaniment. Unfortunately, in Russia there are not yet such subtitles during live broadcasts on TV, during webinars, at events. Many people think that speech technologies are the solution to such problems, but this is far from the truth. They cannot replace highly skilled typists and stenographers (whose services are popular in the US and the West) and cannot follow many of the rules of good subtitling. Live subtitles help not only the deaf, but even many with normal hearing! In the US, these services are often offered to deaf students and students in the classroom, deaf professionals at work meetings, deaf attendees at various social events such as conferences, webinars, clubs, speeches, performances, oral messages in various public places, etc.
Sign language and sign language are important for indigenous and experienced deaf sign language users to facilitate oral communication and during lessons, work meetings, and various events. Not all sign language users prefer sign language interpretation - in some situations they may prefer subtitles. For some events, they may request dual access through subtitles and sign language - at least that's how they do it in the US. And at large events and conferences for the deaf, all kinds of accessible environments are usually provided (as in the example of the attached photo above in this article).
Experienced hearing aid and cochlear implant wearers who understand speech often use induction loops to block out ambient noise and help them hear speech better. However, induction loops, as sign language translation is not universally accessible to the majority of the deaf and cannot help all wearers of hearing aids. Many also read subtitles in addition to induction loops because it is very tiring to strain your attention on understanding spoken language all the time, especially during long and difficult speeches and when people are talking very fast or muttering or speaking with a heavy accent. Even many with normal hearing can hardly understand such people and say how subtitles help them a lot.
In order to improve the accessible environment for the deaf and hard of hearing, one must take into account the situation, as well as the different communication skills and different needs of different deaf people in different types of access to oral information:
- Verbatim subtitles in the same language (recorded and live);
- Sign language and sign language translation;
- Hearing aids, cochlear implants, induction loops;
- Optimal conditions for lighting, acoustics, seating, standing, walking during a conversation or event.
Don't make the assumption that deaf people may or may not understand how they can best take in information. Also, if they do not ask for an accessible environment, this does not mean that they do not need it. It is paradoxical that foreigners with normal hearing are ready to provide translation into their languages even without prior request, but are often denied an accessible environment for their own citizens with hearing impairments after repeated requests.
At the same time, it is very important to take into account the QUALITY of the available environment. Bad subtitles, bad sign language translation, bad acoustics - this is NOT an accessible environment and is NOT better than no accessible environment. Hearing-impaired people are often scolded for complaining about the lack or poor quality of the available environment, but it should also be taken into account that this is no different from the absence or poor quality of sounds, which many hearing people also very often complain about. If all hearing people have the right to quality sound, then all deaf and hard of hearing people also have the right to quality accessible environments. Hearing and voice are NOT the only way to communicate and access information. Any information can be transmitted by any means, and all oral information must be accompanied by alternative methods in order to be more accessible to a wider range of people.
A perfect example of an accessible environment is the island of Martha's Vineyard in the United States, where everyone communicated in sign language from the early 18th century until the 1950s, regardless of their hearing. Deaf people were not even considered disabled there, because they did not experience difficulties in communicating with hearing people who also knew sign language.
Many deaf and hard of hearing are very smart, educated, interesting people who can do everything like the rest. They suffer not from deafness, but from the stigmatization of deafness and the lack of an accessible environment. If deaf or hard of hearing people live in a barrier-free environment, they can function on an equal footing with others and not feel inferior.
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