Smoke curls like a snake around the firefighter's face as fire hisses from the bedroom door. The young mother on the other side couldn't hear the firefighter frantically yelling, “Open the door!”

Luckily her two young children, who were sleeping in an adjacent room, crawled out their bedroom window into a neighbor's waiting arms. Their dad, who was working the midnight shift at the local newspaper, hurries home after a frantic phone call to find his oldest daughter, only 9, repeating hysterically, “Mommy is still in the house!”

The firefighter breaks down the locked door, finding the woman screaming unintelligibly. She bolts and runs to her daughters' fire-engulfed bedroom. She immediately feels the firefighter pulling her back and turning her so that she is facing him. Quickly he signs, “Your daughters are safe. Come with me.” Once on the front porch, the firefighter again signs to the deaf mother, “Your daughters are safe. They are alive. They are not hurt.”

Only the previous week this firefighter had completed a two-week course in American Sign Language basics, and his signs of solace and confirmation of the children's safety turned a tragic possibility in the mind of the young mother into joy amidst the crackling of her burning home.

Cultural differences

A firefighter's attempt to speak with a deaf person can be frustrating, if not impossible, for both parties because the deaf person's speech may sound unintelligible to someone who is unfamiliar with it. This is due to the fact that although most deaf people have perfectly normal organs of speech, their lack of hearing makes them unable to monitor the way their voices sound.

To many, the terms “deaf,” “hard-of-hearing,” or “hearing-impaired” imply defectiveness, disability, something that must be remedied, and/or intellectual abilities not on a par with hearing people. Such descriptors are not only misleading, but are erroneous.

Actually, deaf people are much more like hearing people than they are unlike them. The hearing impaired are active, functioning and contributing members of society. They have families, raise children, attend church, throw wild parties, and laugh and cry just as hearing people do. The greatest barrier for the hearing-impaired person involves the inability to communicate in a deep and meaningful way with hearing members of society. This linguistic barrier affects the deaf person's social, educational and occupational worlds.

Without appropriate accommodations related to communication, those who are deaf often are inadvertently excluded from the entire communication setting. But communication can be made more readily accessible if firefighters just follow some simple suggestions and learn the culture of deaf people.

Deaf people communicate differently depending on the age at which the person became deaf, the type of deafness, language skills, speech and speech-reading abilities, intelligence, personality, and education.

For many deaf people, English is a second language, if not a foreign one. Their first language is American Sign Language. For this reason, the average deaf person has a difficult time interacting with the written form of English. In fact, the average reading level of the deaf is between third and fourth grade. This reflects a linguistic deficit caused by not being able to hear the language spoken, and in no way should be construed as an indication of the deaf person's intelligence.

Even though some deaf people are able to benefit from a hearing aid or cochlear implant, many hearing aids simply amplify sounds and don't make speech any more intelligible. The mere presence of a hearing aid or cochlear implant does not guarantee that the person actually understands the spoken word, especially in a stressful situation or noisy environment.

Forms of communication

Deaf people have diverse degrees of hearing loss. Some may be able to hear certain sounds like whistles, sirens or shouting, while others may not. It's important to understand that just hearing certain sounds does not necessarily ensure the deciphering of speech.

The firefighter who has a basic understanding of communication and cultural sensitivity can better assist the deaf individual in an emergency situation. As with any language minority individual, being able to converse in the minority's first language is extremely important in establishing meaningful communication, so the department may want its firefighters to enroll in courses in American Sign Language.

In addition, when interacting with a deaf person in an emergency, a firefighter should:

Get the deaf person's attention. A firefighter could gently tap him or her on the shoulder or arm, tap the area near the person, or flick a light or flashlight in his or her field of vision. Also, the firefighter might loudly call out the deaf person's name in a respectful manner.

Face the deaf person while speaking. Even if the deaf individual depends on the use of sign language for communication, he or she may be able to lip read some key words that are spoken. Certainly, the deaf person will be able to discern facial expressions.

Speak slowly and clearly, but avoid exaggerated pronunciation of words. Exaggerating the enunciation of words often is more confusing than helpful. Over-emphasizing or yelling distorts lip movements and makes lip-reading difficult. When addressing the deaf person, firefighters should speak as they would to someone who is able to hear.

However, firefighters need to keep in mind that the majority of deaf individuals are poor lip readers, even though some might have the innate ability to read lips to some degree. A small percentage of spoken words are visible on the lips for even the expert lip-reader.

Do not place anything in your mouth when speaking. Mustaches that hide the lips or behaviors such as pencil chewing or smoking while conversing can make it difficult for the deaf person to understand what's being said.

Use pantomime and body language. Because the firefighter can't depend on the person's hearing, the eyes become the conduit of information processing.

Avoid standing in front of a light source. Any type of bright light that causes glare and shadows can make it almost impossible for the deaf person to understand what is being said.

Maintain eye contact. The deaf person is primarily a visual learner and communicator. Therefore, maintaining eye contact conveys a feeling of direct communication.

Make sure the deaf person understands the topic of discussion. The deaf person must be able to pick up key words to have a grasp of the issues. A firefighter can write, gesture or pantomime the message.

Don't hesitate to communicate by using paper and pencil. However, firefighters should remember that the average deaf person might be reading only at the third- to fourth-grade level; therefore, they should keep the message simple.

Don't assume that the deaf person understands the message just because he or she nods in acknowledgement or agreement. Quite often, he or she is feigning understanding. Hearing people are guilty of using this same face-saving technique.

If an interpreter is present, don't address the interpreter; talk directly to the deaf person. The only role of the interpreter is to be the conduit of communication, not the advocate or proxy for the deaf person.

Communication of a meaningful nature can be established between the firefighting professional and the deaf person, and of necessity, must be. The firefighting professional also can grasp a basic understanding of the different, yet very similar, cultural ties that act as a unifying bond for the deaf community.

“Deaf people can do anything hearing people can — except hear.” Although true, this statement made by Dr. I. King Jordan, the deaf president of Gallaudet University, may seem incredulous to those who are not acquainted with deafness.

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J. Freeman King, Ed.D., is the director of deaf education at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He has directed teacher training programs in deaf education at the University of Southern Mississippi and at Lamar University. King has worked as a classroom teacher, coach, dean of Students, and supervising teacher at the New Mexico School for the Deaf and the Louisiana School for the Deaf. He has published numerous articles for professional journals and is the author of two books, Basic American Sign Language Principles for Hearing Parents of Deaf Children and Introduction to Deaf Education: A Deaf Perspective. Deaf Perspective.

Pub-Ed for the Deaf

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits state and local governments from discriminating against people who are deaf, and from excluding participation or denying benefits of programs, services or activities to people who are deaf. This includes typical fire department pub-ed programs.

Become familiar with support services that are provided in your area for deaf individuals. In larger communities, there often is a community-based center for the deaf, a local interpreter agency, or deaf club where a fire department can begin its deaf education.

Some of the deaf people whom pub-ed instructors might encounter will strongly identify, both culturally and linguistically, with the deaf community. American Sign Language will be the language of choice, and social activities will center on deaf-related activities. Other deaf people will come from an oral/aural background, and are either in the process of being assimilated into the deaf community or have chosen to be involved primarily with those who hear. Knowing the difference is as important in pub-ed as it's in an emergency, as it will help the instructor identify learning strategies.

For example, the deaf person does not have the luxury of “over-hearing” comments or class interactions. Therefore, incidental learning of an auditory nature happens infrequently in the typical classroom setting. Comments or discussions that may be deemed as idle or unimportant have the potential to severely affect the deaf person's overall understanding of the topic being discussed.

It's important to remember that the deaf individual learns visually, the more information that is relayed through this channel, the better communication will be. Use a blackboard, overheads or PowerPoint. This minimizes the risk of misinformation and misunderstanding.

Pause long enough to allow the deaf student to take notes. Because the deaf person is primarily a visual learner as opposed to being an auditory learner, the lag time between presentation of information and writing it down is naturally longer. Also, it's a good idea to hand out information packets to take home.

References

The following organizations can be contacted for more information regarding the deaf:

National Association of the Deaf
814 Thayer Ave.
Silver Spring, Md. 20910-4500
301-587-1788; e-mail: nadinfo@nad.org
www.nad.org

National Center on Deafness
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, Calif. 91330-8267
818-677-2099
http://ncod.csun.edu