Hard Of Hearing Community Research Articles

Police Interactions With the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Abuse, Audism, and Accessibility

Police brutality is a salient issue in recent years, especially in the United States. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as disabled people, experience higher rates of police violence than white and nondisabled individuals, and it is important to recognize and scrutinize this pattern of injustice. This project investigated police interactions with members of the D/deaf and Hard of Hearing (Deaf/HH) community, and analyzed the intersection of race and disability in the context of policing. Four Deaf/HH individuals were surveyed, and twenty anecdotal accounts from social media were analyzed. Research findings indicate that the Deaf/HH community faces unique challenges when interacting with police. These include difficulties communicating hearing status, misinterpretation of Deaf/HH communication methods, the formulation of strategies for safely navigating police encounters, the intersection of race and disability, and accessibility concerns. The consequences of these issues can be dire, often deadly, and thus potential solutions are discussed to help mitigate future harm.

Sign Language Analysis Using CNN Algorithm

Sign language is a rich and diverse mode of communication used by Deaf and hard of-hearing communities around the world. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of sign language, focusing on its linguistic and gestural elements. Our study encompasses an exploration of the structural properties of sign languages, their historical evolution, and the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying sign language processing. We begin by providing an overview of sign language as a natural and fully developed language with its own syntax, semantics, and phonological features. Drawing from various sign languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), British Sign Language (BSL), and others, we investigate the grammatical aspects and iconicity within signs. Furthermore, we examine the role of facial expressions and non-manual markers in conveying essential linguistic information. This analysis also delves into the historical and cultural dimensions of sign languages, shedding light on the evolution of sign languages and the influence of Deaf culture on their development. It highlights the importance of recognizing sign languages as unique cultural and linguistic entities, distinct from spoken languages. Keywords:Computer Vision; Convolutional Neural Networks; Sign Language Recognition

Dentists' considerations concerning treating patients from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community: A national survey.

Research shows that adults who were Deaf or Hard of Hearing (HoH) had poorer oral health than adults who did not belong to this community. The objectives were to assess dentists' education, knowledge, attitudes, and professional behavior related to treating patients from the Deaf or HoH community and the relationships between these constructs. A total of 207 members of the American Dental Association and the Michigan Dental Association responded to a mailed or web-based survey concerning their education, knowledge, attitudes, and professional behavior related to treating patients from the Deaf or HoH community. On average, the respondents disagreed that they were well educated in classroom-based, clinical, or community-based dental school settings (five-point answer scale with 1=disagree strongly; mean=2.29/2.27/2.35) or by their professional organization (mean=2.00) about treating Deaf or HoH patients. However, the more recently the respondents had graduated from dental school, the better they described their education about this topic (r=0.29; p<0.001). Additionally, 45.9% agreed/strongly agreed that they would like to attend a continuing education course about this topic; 68.9% agreed/agreed strongly that negative consequences for patients' general health can occur; and 61.1% that patients cannot be well educated about oral hygiene if Deaf or HoH patients do not have appropriate interpretive support in dental offices. The better dentists were educated about this topic, the more knowledge they had (r=0.50; p<0.001). On average, the respondents agreed more strongly that they were comfortable treating adult patients who communicated orally than patients using American Sign Language (4.02vs. 3.25; p<0.001). These findings show that efforts are needed to improve dental school and continuing education curricula about dental treatment for Deaf and HoH patients. The more recently the respondents had graduated, the more positively they described their education. Increased dental school and continuing education efforts are still urgently needed.

Understanding the Potential of Mental Health Apps to Address Mental Health Needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Mixed Methods Study.

BackgroundMental health concerns are a significant issue among the deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) community, but community members can face several unique challenges to accessing appropriate resources.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the mental health needs of the D/HH community and how mental health apps may be able to support these needs.MethodsA total of 10 members of the D/HH community participated in a focus group and survey to provide their perspectives and experiences. Participants were members of the Center on Deafness Inland Empire team, which comprises people with lived experience as members of and advocates for the D/HH community.ResultsFindings identified a spectrum of needs for mental health apps, including offering American Sign Language and English support, increased education of mental health to reduce stigma around mental health, direct communication with a Deaf worker, and apps that are accessible to a range of community members in terms of culture, resources required, and location.ConclusionsThese findings can inform the development of digital mental health resources and outreach strategies that are appropriate for the D/HH community.

SignNet II: A Transformer-Based Two-Way Sign Language Translation Model.

The role of a sign interpreting agent is to bridge the communication gap between the hearing-only and Deaf or Hard of Hearing communities by translating both from sign language to text and from text to sign language. Until now, much of the AI work in automated sign language processing has focused primarily on sign language to text translation, which puts the advantage mainly on the side of hearing individuals. In this work, we describe advances in sign language processing based on transformer networks. Specifically, we introduce SignNet II, a sign language processing architecture, a promising step towards facilitating two-way sign language communication. It is comprised of sign-to-text and text-to-sign networks jointly trained using a dual learning mechanism. Furthermore, by exploiting the notion of sign similarity, a metric embedding learning process is introduced to enhance the text-to-sign translation performance. Using a bank of multi-feature transformers, we analyzed several input feature representations and discovered that keypoint-based pose features consistently performed well, irrespective of the quality of the input videos. We demonstrated that the two jointly trained networks outperformed their singly-trained counterparts, showing noteworthy enhancements in BLEU-1 - BLEU-4 scores when tested on the largest available German Sign Language (GSL) benchmark dataset.

Preparedness Training Programs for Working With Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities and Older Adults: Lessons Learned From Key Informants and Literature Assessments.

The objectives of this study were to (1) identify available training programs for emergency response personnel and public health professionals on addressing the needs of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals and older adults, (2) identify strategies to improve these training programs, and (3) identify gaps in available training programs and make recommendations for addressing these gaps. A literature review was conducted to identify relevant training programs and identify lessons learned. Interviews were conducted by telephone or email with key informants who were subject matter experts who worked with Deaf and hard of hearing persons (n=11) and older adults (n=11). From the literature, 11 training programs targeting public health professionals and emergency response personnel serving Deaf and hard of hearing individuals (n=7) and older adults (n=4) were identified. The 4 training programs focused on older adults had corresponding evaluations published in the literature. Three (43%) of the 7 training programs focused on Deaf and hard of hearing persons included individuals from the affected communities in the development and implementation of the training. Key informant interviews identified common recommendations for improving training programs: (1) training should involve collaboration across different emergency, state, federal, and advocacy agencies; (2) training should involve members of affected communities; (3) training should be more widely accessible and affordable; and (4) training should teach response personnel varied communication techniques relevant to the Deaf and hard of hearing and older adult communities. Developing effective, accessible, and affordable training programs for emergency response personnel working with Deaf and hard of hearing persons, some of whom belong to the older adult population, will require a collaborative effort among emergency response agencies, public health organizations, and members of the affected communities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:606-614).

Investigating Teen Audism: The Development and Use of a Survey Scale to Measure Misconceptions of the Deaf Community in a Hearing High School

The intention of this study was to investigate the patterns and frequency of misconceptions that hearing high school students have towards the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) community. These misconceptions about the Deaf community commonly involve false beliefs about Deaf intelligence, social norms, and political practices. In this study, a new survey scale was created specifically asking younger students for their opinions on the Deaf and HoH community. The results from the students suggest that misconceptions surrounding American Sign Language (ASL) and cochlear implant surgery are the most frequently occurring, while misconceptions about home ownership and literacy were the least common. Also, the frequency of misconceptions was mediated by the amount of prior exposure the participant had with the Deaf and HoH community. Age did not appear to play a role in mediating the amount of misconceptions participants displayed.

Substance Abuse: A Hidden Problem Within the D/deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities

ABSTRACT Current research indicates that D/deaf and hard of hearing clients seeking treatment for substance abuse often encounter obstacles in receiving the help they need. Many of these obstacles are the result of a lack of knowledge and experience with regard to treating D/deaf and hard of hearing people. Programs designed for hearing people that attempt to serve those with a hearing loss often do more harm than good. Even the identification of D/deaf or hard of hearing individuals with substance abuse problems is ineffective. This article reviews factors that result in disparities in substance abuse treatment for this population including approaches, accessibility and adapted materials.

Using Focus Groups to Create Culturally Appropriate HIV Prevention Material for the Deaf Community

The Washington, DC Department of Health and the HIV/AIDS Administration in collaboration with Deaf-REACH, a Washington, DC community service center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) individuals, sponsored a qualitative research study to develop HIV and AIDS prevention materials specifically targeted for the deaf and HOH community. This article describes the process of creating a prevention poster and condom card targeted for Deaf and HOH individuals who use American Sign Language. This study utilized a series of five focus groups with members of the deaf community. The focus groups targeted three areas: (1) assessment of needs; (2) designs for prevention materials in terms of language appropriateness, graphics, and cultural relevance; and, (3) final choice of design and evaluation of language, graphics, and cultural relevance. Results of the initial focus groups indicated that there was a lack of general knowledge about HIV and a lack of culturally specific prevention and education materials, especially for subgroups within the deaf community. In the second phase, group members provided suggestions for character placement, setting, and cultural cues for prevention materials. Finally, an HIV prevention poster and brochure were chosen, produced, and disseminated at places deaf individuals frequent. Practitioners who provide HIV services to the deaf community must be aware that traditional methods of educating and outreach to members used in the hearing community may not be effective in the deaf community. Consideration should be given to the unique cultural and linguistic needs of the deaf community.