Communication

Clear communication is important for everyone, but even more so for deaf people. There are several ways of communicating between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people.

For general tips on how to communicate with people with hearing loss click here.

Sign language

BSL – British Sign Language is used by over 70,000 profoundly deaf people. It is a fully functional and expressive language, but at the same time it is very different from spoken language. BSL is a visual-gestural language with distinctive grammar using a combination of hand shapes, facial expressions, gestures and body language to convey meaning.

SSE - Sign Supported English - is the use of BSL signs, finger spelling and spoken English used together in the same order as the spoken word.

Words such as: the, for, are, a, of, etc. are not signed, as they are not important to the sense of the sentence, but they are still spoken.

Lip-reading / Speech-reading

To lip-read, deaf people will watch closely the lip movements and facial expressions made by a person using speech. About 70% of lip-reading is guesswork. It can be improved if the person has an idea of the subject of the conversation.

These forms of communication are commonly used by people who have lost their hearing in adult life.
Remember - a lot of things hearing people take for granted have to be emphasised when talking to a deaf person.

Light

Having the light from a window or lamp behind you creates a silhouette of your face and body. This makes lip/speech-reading very difficult. In order for a deaf person to see your face clearly it is essential you stand with light on your face. Seeing your lips and gestures clearly helps a deaf person lip/speech-read. If you are signing, seeing the hands and facial expressions is essential.
For example, don’t speak with your mouth full or with a pen in your mouth. Also some people subconsciously cover their mouth or play with their hair. All these are off-putting for a deaf person trying to understand you.

Gestures

Gestures are essential as they add character and mood and enhance the subject being talked about. Indicating the subject you wish to talk about before you start to talk helps the person understand the context in which the following sentence is given.

Words

Some words will need to be emphasised as they not only sound very similar but look similar when lip-reading. Emphasis is important to aid understanding but slowing down speech too much can have the opposite effect. Deaf people will not read every individual word but grasp the overall idea of what is being said. On a one-to-one basis, concentrating on a conversation is relatively easy, but a deaf person may find it very hard to follow a three/four/five way conversation. It is important in this case that one person turns back to the deaf or hard of hearing person to check that they are receiving all the information and if possible fill in.

Touch

Touch is important in order to gain the attention of a deaf person. For example, if you are in a supermarket and you come up behind someone who is in the way you would say, "excuse me." A deaf person would not be aware that you were there and so you would need to tap them on the shoulder.
One of the most important things is not to worry about getting it wrong. Always try to communicate with a deaf person if you are with them.