Do written notes offer an effective means of communicating with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals?
This will depend on the reading level of the individual. The reading level of many deaf individuals is much lower than that of hearing people. Additionally, many deaf people consider American Sign Language (ASL) to be their first language. Because the grammar and syntax of ASL differ considerably from English, writing back and forth may not provide effective communication between the deaf patient and the health care provider. Moreover, written communications are slow and cumbersome in a health care setting, and information that would otherwise be spoken may not be written. If a health care professional is providing less information in writing than he or she would provide when speaking to a hearing patient, this is an indication that writing is not effective communication in that context. For many deaf individuals, the services of a sign language interpreter offer the only effective method of communication. However, some deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals who do not use sign language,
Related Questions
- Is lip-reading (currently the term is speech reading) an effective form of communicating with deaf and hard of hearing individuals?
- Do written notes offer an effective means of communicating with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals?
- What are the choices for communicating with my deaf or hard-of-hearing child?
