Whatever Works, Works! :

ALDA Communication

ALDA was founded to help those who had suffered adult hearing loss cope with their situations and live happier, more satisfying lives. One of its basic and most strongly held beliefs is that hearing loss should not be considered as a "handicap", but rather as a condition. That condition, whatever its cause, most often manifests itself as difficulty in communicating with other deaf persons and with members of the hearing community. For that reason, much of ALDA's effort has been and will continue to be focused on how we can better communicate with others, both deaf and hearing.

Our philosophy regarding communicating can be summed up in just three words: WHATEVER WORKS, WORKS! We believe that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to achieve effective communication, only that different methods work best for different people. Choosing how to understand and be understood by others depends on many factors. These include but are not limited to the degree of hearing loss of each person involved, whether speech impairment is also involved, opportunities to discover, learn and practice various approaches and what is probably most important, personal preference.

How, then, do ALDA members communicate with each other and with hearing persons? The following are a few of the frequently used and most effective means:

CART

In formal meetings, presentations, workshops and other large group activities there will most often be wide variety of preferences for and skill levels in the various communication methods - signing, speech reading, etc. On such occasions it is necessary to provide assistance that will meet the needs of everyone in attendance and this is best done through Communication Access Real-time Transcription (CART), also called Computer Assisted Real-time Translation. CART is the instant translation of the spoken word into English text using a stenotype machine, notebook computer and real-time software. A hearing person, usually trained in legal court reporting, types what each speaker says and the text appears instantly on a computer monitor or other display. This technology provides a visible, readable translation of the speaker's words for the entire audience: deaf, late-deafened, hard of hearing and hearing.

SPEECH READING

Speech reading, often called "lip reading", may well be the most common and frequently used form of communication for people with hearing loss. This is especially true in dealing with hearing people since the likelihood of a hearing person knowing sign language is very small. Speech reading consists of close observation of the speaker's lip and tongue movements, facial expressions and hand and body "English" and attempting to determine from that combination of clues what the person is saying. Although no speech reader would ever claim one-hundred percent accuracy, many ALDAns are amazingly proficient in communicating this way. Although various training programs are available, most really good speech readers will admit that they became skilled in the art largely through necessity and practice. It is a far from perfect but surprisingly effective communication skill for many late-deafened persons.

SIGN LANGUAGE

A number of ALDA members are excellent signers: some classify themselves as "so-so" in that department and others sign not at all. Of those who do sign, because their hearing loss occurred post-lingually and after some years of using standard English, a great many use what is known as Signed Exact English (SEE). SEE provides a sign for each word and signing is done in standard grammatical order. In that sense it is the form of signing closest to spoken English. Others are proficient in American Sign Language (ASL). In actual practice, most probably use a version of signing known as Pidgin Signed English (PSE), using ASL signs in English order. Although SEE, ASL and, to a degree, PSE are quite different from each other in structure as well as in actual use, ALDAns always seem to find a way to communicate with each other regardless of the signing system used. An interesting note: probably the most commonly expressed reasons given by hearing impaired people for NOT signing is the lack of available classes and too little opportunity to practice.

INTERPRETERS

Often at formal meetings, workshops and other group activities, sign language interpreters are used to translate a speaker's words into sign language. Interpreters are, in a way, the human equivalent of CART (see above) except that they translate speech into sign language rather than text. Highly trained and superbly skillful in the various versions of sign language, interpreters listen to the spoken word and translate it into a pre-agreed upon version of sign language, usually SEE. In many if not most cases, interpreters also use what is known as oral interpretation in which the interpreter clearly and distinctly mouths what is being spoken for the benefit of speech readers in the audience. Often, especially in large group meetings, both interpreters and CART are used simultaneously, thus increasing communication opportunities for everyone regardless of their preference or skill level.

NOTE WRITING

It is not uncommon at many ALDA events to see a number of people carrying a pad of paper and a supply of pencils or pens or even a laptop computer - their versions of a "conversation tool kit". Note writing is considered by some to be a communication "method of last resort," but it is very frequently employed by individuals in situations and where no other approach seems workable. It is especially effective in group situations where distracting factors may hinder communication, when interacting with persons with speech difficulties who do not use sign language or where there are other factors making communication difficult. Although it is the slowest mode of communication for deaf people, it is also likely to be one of the most accurate and sometimes the only way to understand and be understood.

SUMMARY

There are no doubt other communication methods in use in the deaf community. However, these are the ones most commonly in use among ALDA members and are most often used in various combinations. Each has its own advantages and, in some situations, disadvantages. What works well for one person may work less well or not at all for another. Much depends on past experiences, opportunities to learn and practice a method and simple personal preference. However, our determination to ALWAYS find a method or combination of methods which allow us to effectively communicate with each other and with hearing people demonstrates the true meaning of our motto:

WHATEVER WORKS, WORKS!