Deaf Services Research Articles

The use of TensorFlow Action Recognition as the Main Component in Making a Sign Language Translator Speaker for Speech-Impaired People

Due to communication barriers, deaf and mute students are separated from their friends, families and communities as their schools do not offer sign language instruction. Consequently, this cluster of people may feel excluded from their communities, depriving them the chance of living a normal life that is free from discrimination. The objective of this quantitative experimental study is to use TensorFlow Action Recognition as the main component in making a Sign Language Translator Speaker for Speech-Impaired People. Based on the results, the device can successfully translate sign languages with an average of 5.91 seconds, and translate three signs per 30 seconds. Also, it was found that it can detect distances up to four meters. The study manifested that the device provides the service of breaking past the communication barriers to the speech- impaired and hearing-impaired individuals, which advocates and facilitates effective communication while fostering inclusivity. These results affirmed that it is feasible to make a Sign Language Translator Speaker with the use of TensorFlow Action Recognition. Thus, this Sign Language Speaker device offers the best services for deaf and mute people Qatar and all around the world, as the struggles of hearing and speech- impaired people can be alleviated.

The experiences and opinions of deaf service users accessing radiology

All healthcare providers must ensure unrestricted access to care and equitable opportunity without barriers. Deaf persons, on the other hand, continue to experience difficulties in all facets of the healthcare system daily. Therefore, the study aims to explore deaf people's perspectives of accessing radiology in Ireland to develop further a set of instructions that could optimize communication between deaf people and radiographers. This was a qualitative study in which the experiences of deaf people were explored by conducting a solution-focused workshop with eight deaf participants. The identified themes from the transcript of the solution-focused workshop revolve around the barriers and challenges that deaf individuals encounter when accessing healthcare services. Also, factors such as stigma, lack of patience and poor attitude can influence deaf people's decision on whether they should return to that healthcare setting. Therefore, creating awareness and improving communication techniques could encourage deaf people to return for treatments or services and prevent a delay in healthcare treatment. Also, A national standard for communicating with deaf patients in Radiology Departments is a vital part that must be considered to ensure the area's continued development and advancement and to bridge the gap in communication between deaf patients and radiographers.

Deaf signers and hearing aids: motivations, access, competency and service effectiveness

Objectives This study concerns culturally Deaf signers in the UK who use hearing aids and (i) explores motivations for hearing aid use (ii) identifies barriers and facilitators to accessing NHS hearing aid services, (iii) examines cultural competency of hearing aid clinics and (iv) identifies factors influencing effective adult hearing aid service provision. Design Online survey in British Sign Language and English that was informed by Deaf service users. Study sample 75 Deaf adult BSL users who wear hearing aids and use NHS hearing aid clinics. Results No specific reason emerged as outstandingly important for hearing aid use; however, assisting with lipreading (57%) and listening to music (52%) were rated as very/extremely important. Access issues reported were contacting clinics, poor communication with staff and lack of Deaf awareness. To be an effective and culturally competent hearing aid clinic for Deaf signers, a good understanding of Deaf culture and language was most rated as important (87%). Conclusion The study is the first that explores hearing aid use and experiences of accessing hearing aid clinics from Deaf signers’ perspectives. Enhancements to clinical practice are required to consider culturally Deaf people’s motivations for hearing aid use and make services more BSL-friendly.

Accessing hearing-health services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Parent and child perspectives.

To describe hearing‐health service use, especially use of telehealth, during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic in deaf/hard‐of‐hearing children. In 2020, the Victorian Childhood Hearing Longitudinal Databank surveyed 497 (61.6%) families of deaf/hard‐of‐hearing children aged 0.4–19.6 years, with 449 (90.3%) providing quantitative data and 336 (67.6%) providing free‐text comments about COVID‐19's impact on service use and access. We summarised quantitative data using descriptive statistics and analysed free‐text responses using inductive and deductive reasoning. Of the 1152 services families used during the pandemic, 711 (62%) were accessed via telehealth. Parents reported several challenges and facilitators of service access during the pandemic, particularly regarding telehealth. Parents reported that their child found telehealth appointments more difficult (347/665, 52.1%) and of worse quality (363/649, 55.9%) compared to in‐person. These difficulties were more evident in pre‐school than school‐age children. Consideration of these factors when implementing telehealth practice beyond the pandemic would improve family experiences, ensuring quality of care.

A Service Evaluation of the National High Secure Deaf In-Reach Service

AimsThe National High Secure Deaf Service at Rampton Hospital provides inpatient assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for D/deaf* males living with a range of difficulties including complex responses to trauma, mental health difficulties and/or learning disabilities. In 2011, the Deaf Prison In-Reach Service was established in conjunction with Yorkshire Specialist Commissioning Group and Nottinghamshire NHS Trust aiming to provide specialist support to D/deaf prisoners. * ‘D’ = Deafness as a culture, ‘d’ = deafness as a medical disability.MethodsThe team evaluated the service to raise awareness of the specific needs of D/deaf prisoners by identifying and describing characteristics, demographics, trends and patterns within existing data as well as highlighting the nature of offences, prevalence of trauma and length of time over tariff. A secondary aim was to identify areas for development to adequately meet the needs of D/deaf prisoners.ResultsAfter reviewing data for 29 prisoners (female = 3, male = 26), the most common source of support offered by the DPRIS was signposting (over 50%), followed by direct individual work (with nursing or psychology), assessment and consultancy.Since 2011, the DPRIS has assessed 30 individuals and completed over 717 prison visits for assessments and interventions. Whilst this has been acknowledged as a small number, it has been attributed to the difficulties locating D/deaf prisoners and lack of awareness regarding the DPRIS. Currently, referrals to the DPRIS come from prison healthcare staff, but this fails to address the wider specialist needs of this population: basic communication needs, occupational needs and risk reduction work. It also excludes individuals unknown to healthcare.Direct engagement with the DPRIS included: focused risk reduction work, anger management, mental health monitoring, and 1:1 psychology work. Prior to involvement from the DPRIS, five individuals declined to engage in prison therapy. With support from the DPRIS, two were transferred to more appropriate placements, one was recommended for transfer (not transferred) and one received mental health monitoring (nursing). One continued to decline which could be attributed to potential (lack of) motivation/readiness.This evaluation supports the need for specialist interventions to ensure equitable access to recovery and rehabilitation.ConclusionWhat Next?It is hoped that the unique needs of this population will be communicated amongst professionals and steps will be made to address these as previously recommended in reports from the BDA (2016) and the Howard League.

Design Proposal for Sign Language Services in TV Broadcasting from the Perspective of People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Sign language services are provided so that people with hearing loss are not alienated from socially and politically important information through TV broadcasting. In this paper, we conducted a user survey and evaluation of the current sign language services for deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) people, and solutions were proposed for the problems found in the course of the analyses. To this end, a total of five stages of research were conducted. First, the communication problems experienced by DHH individuals and previous studies on their language and information acquisition were investigated. Second, the most typical types of information delivery channels via TV were defined as news, discussions, and weather reports, and by investigating the actual sign language service cases for each type, three visual information delivery elements were identified: sign language interpreters, reference videos, and subtitles. Third, a preference survey, an interview survey, and an eye tracker experiment on the DHH participants were conducted with varying arrangement options of information delivery elements. Fourth, based on the results of the investigations and experiments, the options to be considered when arranging information delivery elements were compiled. The results showed that the sign language interpreter, which is the first element of information delivery, should be presented in a size clearly visible because the visibility of their facial expressions is important. In addition, it is recommended to present the interpreter without a background since DHH participants did not prefer the presence of a background. As for subtitles, which is the third element of information delivery, it was confirmed that the provision of sign language interpretation and subtitles together helped DHH participants to understand the contents more quickly and accurately. Moreover, if there are multiple speakers, individual subtitles for each speaker should be provided so that the viewers can understand who is talking. Reference videos, which are mainly placed on the screen background, the second information delivery element, were considered less important to DHH participants compared to sign language interpreters and subtitles, and it was found that DHH participants preferred reference videos to be visually separated from sign language interpreters. Fifth, based on the overall results of the study, a screen layout design was proposed for each type of information delivery element for DHH people. Contrary to the general conception that there would be no problem in viewing information-delivering TV broadcasts by DHH people simply by placing a sign language interpreter on the screen, the results of this study confirmed that a more delicate screen layout design is necessary for DHH people. It is expected that this study will serve as a helpful guide in providing better sign language services for TV broadcasts that can be conveniently viewed by both DHH and non-disabled people.

Bimodal Bilingual (Macau Sign Language and Spoken Cantonese) Programming With Four Deaf Preschoolers With Underlying Neurological Conditions: The Macau Project.

Bimodal bilingual (spoken and sign language) programming has been recommended to promote the language and social development of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students as advances in auditory technologies and inclusion placements have opened up opportunities for access to spoken language (Mitchiner et al., 2012). The authors report preliminary findings of a small-scale, service-oriented bimodal bilingual (Macau Sign Language and spoken Cantonese) project at a deaf service center with four preschool deaf children who had underlying neurological conditions. Using a qualitative multiple case study design, the authors document yearlong language and social growth along with caregiver and administrator commentary. Recommendations are made for future empirical studies investigating bimodal bilingual programming in Macau and other Asian jurisdictions with deaf residents.

Defining Essential Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 is a rapidly growing global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. With no vaccine or definitive treatment, public health authorities have recommended a strategy of "social distancing," reducing individual interaction, canceling elective procedures, and limiting nonessential services. Health care providers must determine what procedures are considered "elective," balancing risk of treatment delays with that of coronavirus exposure to patient, family, and providers. Given critical periods for language development and the long-term impact of auditory deprivation, some audiologic and otologic services should be considered essential. In this article, we describe the experience of a quaternary referral pediatric hospital in Seattle, the epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States, and share strategies for risk minimization employed by Seattle Children's Hospital. We hope that this work can be a reference for other centers continuing care for children who are deaf and hard of hearing during the COVID-19 and future resource-limiting crises.

Technology-based services for deaf and dumb people

Nowadays, the deaf and dumb category represents a large number of people in our society, especially in Saudi Arabia. The sign language is considered to be the main way to interconnect with deaf and dumb, but most of the normal people have no ideas about this language. For this reason, there is a growing need to find alternative solutions for communicating with them. In this paper, we propose three different methods that can help deaf and dumb people to have a better and easy life. First, the ABSHER for Deaf service can help deaf people to use their account for the Ministry of Interior which called ABSHER. Second, the Keyboard for Deaf feature can support the sign language images and symbols in the keyboard as a different feature to convert between the normal person language and the deaf language. Finally, Be Aware of your that can help deaf people to understand all the information about the medicine given to them.

Technology-based services for deaf and dumb people

Technology-based services for deaf and dumb people

Psychosis and Deafness in Forensic Settings: How Are Hallucinations and Delusions Shaped by Experiences of Being Deaf

Forensic inpatients who experience hallucinations and delusions present with complex clinical needs, which can be exacerbated through additional individual difficulties and disabilities impacting responsivity. Experiences of hallucinations and delusions are shaped by the individual’s context and culture; however, to date this has not been explored with regards to the experience of deaf persons. The current study employed Multiple Sequential Functional Analysis to conceptualize the developmental nature of hallucinations and/or delusions in a sample of three Deaf men from a secure specialist Deaf service. No evidence was found of unique experiences shaping the content and themes of hallucinations; however, participants reported a learning history of associating deafness with being inferior, which later emerged in delusions of grandeur. Across all three cases, there was a noticeable lack of clinical information available in case notes and a lack of targeted interventions offered by forensic service providers.

Training for hearing care providers.

The lack of an appropriately trained global hearing-care workforce is recognized as a barrier to developing and implementing services to treat ear and hearing disorders. In this article we examine some of the published literature on the current global workforce for ear and hearing care. We outline the status of both the primary-care workforce, including community health workers, and specialist services, including audiologists, ear, nose and throat specialists, speech and language therapists, and teachers of the deaf. We discuss models of training health workers in ear and hearing care, including the role of task-sharing and the challenges of training in low and middle-income countries. We structure the article by the components of ear and hearing care that may be delivered in isolation or in integrated models of care: primary care assessment and intervention; screening; hearing tests; hearing rehabilitation; middle-ear surgery; deaf services; and cochlear implant programmes. We highlight important knowledge gaps and areas for future research and reporting.

Public Library Programs and Accommodations for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children in the United States†.

In today's public libraries, children's librarians are challenged to provide inclusive programming that welcomes all individuals, including deaf and hard-of-hearing children at risk for delayed reading and literacy development. This study, using quantitative survey data and qualitative interview methods, investigated the programs and accommodations public libraries provide for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, the impetus for providing these programs, and the training required. Nearly 500 public libraries in the United States with service areas greater than 100,000 patrons were invited to participate in an online survey. Fifty-nine librarians completed the survey and 11 participated in an additional telephone interview. Results indicated less than half of the libraries surveyed provided services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Nearly all of the programs offered were inclusive; among the accommodations provided were books with sign language and sign language interpreters. Training was the most common limitation facing librarians in their role as community partners in the literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

المشکلات التی تواجه الصم وضعاف السمع فـی مجــال الـرعــایـة الصحیـة المقـدمـة لهـم فی مدینة الریاض بالمملکة العربیة السعودیة The problems faced by deaf and hard of hearing in the field of health care provided to them in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على مدى معرفة الصم وضعاف السمع في مدينة الرياض بخدمات الرعاية الصحية والکشف عن المشکلات التي تواجههم في مجال الرعاية الصحية ومدى رضاهم عن خدمات الرعاية الصحية المقدمة لهم، وقد استخدمت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي وتم استخدام الاستبانة کأداة لجمع معلومات الدراسة وتکونت عينة الدراسة النهائية من 97 فردا من الصم وضعاف السمع. وتوصلت الدراسة إلى عدد من النتائج من أهمها أن مدى معرفة الصم وضعاف السمع بخدمات الرعاية الصحية جاء بدرجة متوسطة وأن المعلومات التي يحصلون عليها عن طريق نوادي الصم وجمعياتهم والأقران الصم جاءت بدرجة أعلى من الوسائل الأخرى کالصحف ووسائل الاعلام، وأنهم يواجهون مشکلات بدرجة مرتفعة في مجال الرعاية الصحية وکان في أعلى قائمة المشاکل ما يتعلق بالمواعيد الطبية وضعف خدمات الترجمة بلغة الإشارة، أما فيما يتعلق بالرضا فقد کان مستوى رضا أفراد العينة بدرجة متوسطة حول خدمات الرعاية الصحية واحتلت خدمات الترجمة بلغة الإشارة أدنى قائمة الرضا عن الخدمات التي يتلقاها الصم وضعاف السمع ، وبناء على هذه النتائج فقد قدم الباحث عددا من التوصيات لتحسين خدمات الرعاية الصحية للصم وضعاف السمع في المملکة العربية السعودية. This study aimed to identify the extent to which deaf and hard of hearing people in Riyadh are aware of healthcare services, identify healthcare problems faced by these people, and to identify to what extent they are satisfied with healthcare services provided to them. The study used a descriptive statistical method and the questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting data. A sample of 97 deaf and hard of hearing individuals have completed the survey. Results showed that their awareness of healthcare services was moderate and that deaf clubs, deaf associations, and their deaf peers were at the top of their resource of information list while newspapers and the media were at the bottom of that list. Findings also revealed that deaf and hard of hearing people faced high rate of healthcare problems and that the appointment issues followed by weak sign language translation services. Findings also revealed that their satisfaction about healthcare services was moderate and that sign language translation services achieved the lowest rate of satisfaction. Based on these findings, the researcher made some recommendations to improve the healthcare services for deaf and the hard of hearing people in Saudi Arabia.

In their shoes: co-creating value from deaf/hearing perspectives

PurposeThis research investigates new innovative service models that provide opportunities for hearing and deaf individuals to switch roles within a co-created service encounter to allow for an enhanced perspective-taking experience. The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of deaf individuals’ experience working within such models using their preferred language, American sign language, to interact with a primarily hearing-majority customer base.Design/methodology/approachData were collected for two studies through qualitative depth-interviews with both the deaf service employees and the hearing-majority customers from a North American restaurant founded on this innovative service model.FindingsResults of these studies yield new insights into understanding the value generated for both the minority and majority populations within this co-creation platform. Notably, the deaf employees primarily recognize the transformative value derived from this service experience, whereas the hearing customers note the missing habitual value elements to which they are accustomed in traditional service encounters that inhibit repatronage intentions.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate the interpersonal service experience of deaf and hearing individuals within these emerging service models. Further, this research represents an initial attempt to explore a co-creative service experience between two different cultures, the deaf-minority and hearing-majority populations, with differing levels of ability.

Report reveals barriers to healthcare services for deaf and disabled people

Report reveals barriers to healthcare services for deaf and disabled people

Intersecting Cultures in Deaf Mental Health: An Ethnographic Study of NHS Professionals Diagnosing Autism in D/deaf Children.

Autism assessments for children who are deaf are particularly complex for a number of reasons, including overlapping cultural and clinical factors. We capture this in an ethnographic study of National Health Service child and adolescent mental health services in the United Kingdom, drawing on theoretical perspectives from transcultural psychiatry, which help to understand these services as a cultural system. Our objective was to analyse how mental health services interact with Deaf culture, as a source of cultural-linguistic identity. We ground the study in the practices and perceptions of 16 professionals, who have conducted autism assessments for deaf children aged 0-18. We adopt a framework of intersectionality to capture the multiple, mutually enforcing factors involved in this diagnostic process. We observed that professionals working in specialist Deaf services, or with experience working with the Deaf community, had intersectional understandings of assessments: the ways in which cultural, linguistic, sensory, and social factors work together to produce diagnoses. Working with a diagnostic system that focuses heavily on 'norms' based on populations from a hearing culture was a key source of frustration for professionals. We conclude that recognising the intersectionality of mental health and Deaf culture helps professionals provide sensitive diagnoses that acknowledge the multiplicity of D/deaf experiences.

Deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia: Status of early intervention services

ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the status of early intervention services provided to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their parents/caregivers from birth to five years of age at two main state hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on their parents' perceptions. MethodA descriptive quantitative research design was used to determine the status of early intervention services for deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia based on their parents' perceptions. Semistructured interviews based on a questionnaire were conducted with 60 research participants from two main state hospitals where early detection and intervention services are provided. A purposive sampling technique was employed. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data collected. ResultsThe participants' children were diagnosed at a substantially late age, resulting in delayed ages for initial hearing aid fitting and enrolment in early intervention services. A significant relationship was found between the residential area of the participants and timely access to intervention services. The results indicated that participants residing in Riyadh were fitted with hearing aids and enrolled into EI services earlier than those living outside of Riyadh. The delivery of information also emerged as a weakness in the EI system for the majority of participants. ConclusionThe findings of the study suggested that limited services of detection and intervention for deaf or hard of hearing children and residential area of participants are likely to be barriers to early access to intervention services. It is proposed that the benefits of UNHS accompanied by appropriate early intervention services should be made available in all regions throughout Saudi Arabia.

Deaf Culture Centre: How the Community Takes Its Rightful Place in History

This article describes the vision and realization of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a beacon of Deaf heritage contribution in Canada and internationally, with a focus on community-generated accomplishment and celebration. The authors highlight the unique historical role of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as a freestanding cultural space set in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, which is a hub of culture, arts, and entertainment. The center features the diverse ways in which the community influences both itself and society at large. This contrasts with other institutions that place themselves in tandem with Deaf schools or service agencies and/or focus on external impacts on the Deaf community. The authors reflect on the importance of the DEAF CULTURE CENTRE as the embodiment of Deaf self-determination in public history both in its institutional context and in its public exhibits. Together they provide an affirming message about the cultural contributions of the Deaf community in public history.

Including Language Access into Medicaid ACO Design

Quality health care relies upon communication in a patient's preferred language. Language access in health care occurs when individuals are: (1) Welcomed by providers regardless of language ability; and (2) Offered quality language services as part of their care. Federal law generally requires access to health care and quality language services for deaf and Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients in health care settings, but these patients still find it hard to access health care and quality language services.Meanwhile, several states are implementing Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiatives to reduce health care costs and improve health care quality. Alternative payment methods used in these initiatives can give Accountable Care Organizations more flexibility to design linguistically accessible care, but they can also put ACOs at increased financial risk for the cost of care. If these new payment methods do not account for differences in patient language needs, ACO initiatives could have the unintended consequence of rewarding ACOs who do not reach out to deaf and LEP communities or offer quality language services.We reviewed public documents related to Medicaid ACO initiatives in six states. Some of these documents address language access. More could be done, however, to pay for language access efforts. This article describes Medicaid ACO initiatives and explores how different payment tools could be leveraged to reward ACOs for increased access to care and quality language services. We find that a combination of payment tools might be helpful to encourage both access and quality.