For the remaining weeks of my Free Inquiry Inquiry Project I hope to explore the resources available that exists for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. As well, I would like to identify local resources available in Victoria and BC.

I began my research by exploring the Canadian Hearing Services website. An incredible resource that I found was the Effective Practices Guidebook for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students transition to post-secondary education and employment guide. The section that I focussed on the most was Empowering Education, where there was extensive information about terminology, accessibility, universal design, system change, and attitude changes.

Within the terminology section I was able to learn more about using the audiological labels of Deaf vs. D/deaf vs. deaf when referring to students. For instance, Deaf students are those that identify with the Deaf community as a distinct cultural group and use sign language to communicate. Whereas hard of hearing or deaf students typically use the spoken language and their residual hearing to communicate, which may be supported by additional strategies such as speech reading, sign language, the use of hearing aids or other technical devices.

This resource also identifies several communication barriers that D/deaf or hard of hearing students commonly face. Some examples of these barriers include:

  • Environmental barriers such as the sight lines available, lighting levels, distance and additional noise.
  • Access to different services such as sign language interpretation, real-time captions or written notes, etc.
  • Availability of technology at schools such as assistive listening devices and effective computer communication.
  • Misconceptions about D/deaf and hard of hearing students by their peers, teachers, school faculty, etc.

In our discussion with Tracy Humphry’s she discussed ableism and the belief system that exists towards peoples with disabilities and how society misconstrues D/deaf or hard of hearing individuals’ abilities. Audism is a form of discrimination that is based on a person’s hearing ability or their ability to behave in the manner of someone who hears. Something powerful from her presentation was when she was addressing what we can do as teacher candidates for students with disabilities.She stated that advocacy is essential; being willing to advocate for students within their education experiences will validate them and make them feeling valued within your classroom. As teachers it is so important that we make our students feel seen, heard and valued, as well as making sure they see themselves being represented in the school content and activities.