Welcome to Deaf Awareness Week—a crucial opportunity to recognise, empathise with, and significantly improve your visitor experience for people who are D/deaf or have hearing loss.

Why Be Deaf Aware?

The most significant challenge to inclusion is communication. Many organisations (including, but not limited to, museums) unintentionally fall short, leading to frustration, misunderstandings, and a poor experience for both staff and visitors.

By focusing on deaf awareness, your organization can:

• Improve Customer Service and the overall visitor experience.
• Develop Staff Communication and engagement skills.
• Enhance your Reputation as an inclusive organisation.
• Attract and Retain more loyal visitors.
• Avoid Unintentional Discrimination.

This week, we challenge you, as an individual or a team, to audit your entire visitor journey. You may discover several "of course, I didn't think of that" barriers.

Types of Deafness and Communication

Understanding the diverse nature of hearing loss is the crucial first step in effective communication. The term D/deaf is often used as an umbrella term, but different groups have distinct experiences, linguistic backgrounds, and preferred communication methods.

Hard of Hearing and Partially Deaf

People who are Hard of Hearing have a slight to moderate hearing loss. They generally use speech and may wear hearing aids or other amplification devices. While they can take part in most everyday activities, they struggle to hear speech clearly, particularly with background noise. Those who are Partially Deaf experience a more severe hearing loss, which significantly affects daily activities and communication. They may use a combination of speech, lip-reading, and sign language, and often wear hearing aids.

Profoundly Deaf

Individuals who are Profoundly Deaf have little or no functional hearing. Their primary communication methods are often visual and vary greatly depending on when their hearing loss occurred and their cultural identity.

Deafened or Late-Deafened: This term describes a person who lost their hearing after acquiring spoken language (after childhood). Since English was their first communication method, they primarily rely on speech and lip-reading. Some may also use Sign-Supported English (SSE) or choose to learn British Sign Language (BSL).

deaf (lowercase 'd'): These are people who were born profoundly deaf but primarily use speech and lip-reading, regarding English as their first language.

Deaf (uppercase 'D'): These individuals use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first or preferred language. They regard themselves as a linguistic and cultural minority and proudly identify with a distinct Deaf Culture and a thriving Deaf Community. For this group, BSL is their natural language, and communication in spoken or written English can sometimes present a barrier due to differences in grammar and language structure.

Important Note: The term "Deaf and Dumb" is extremely offensive and should never be used.

Communication Methods

As there is no single solution that works for all D/deaf people, staff should be prepared to use a variety of methods depending on the individual and the situation. Effective communication methods can be broadly grouped as follows:

Verbal/Visual Methods: These include Lip-reading (which requires clear, face-to-face contact), Manual Sign Language (e.g., BSL), Finger Spelling, and the use of natural Gesture and Mime.

Text-Based/Written Methods: These methods offer a clear alternative and include Written Notes (pen and paper), clear Signage and Literature, and various technological options such as Email, SMS, Web Chat, or Textphones.

By understanding these fundamentals, your staff can choose the most appropriate method to engage effectively with all D/deaf visitors and provide a truly great experience.