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8 June 2016

 

One in six Australians has a hearing health and well-being

issue. We need you to share our campaign with your friends,

colleagues and family members to encourage them to sign up.

Over 4 million people who have a hearing loss are generally not

recognised within the public consciousness as having a serious

disability that impacts on almost every aspect of a person’s life.

My story During my life as a hearing impaired person, I experienced the

lack of understanding of the effect of my hearing loss, as the

greatest single barrier towards effective communication. It has

been my experience over time that nothing has changed.

Why deaf people are 'in your face!' An increasing number of deaf people maintain they would notchoose to be hearing. To them, cure – deafness as pathology – is

anathema.

Inquiry into captioning in New Zealand  “We hope that full accessibility to broadcast media will become a

reality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing New Zealanders, the same as

it is in Australia.”

We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and

ommunity. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present. We acknowledge the

hallenge that faces Indigenous leaders and families to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among first

Australians.

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6. Don’t let children fall through the gaps with changes to the way hearing services

will be delivered in Australia.

Hearing impaired and Deaf children and their families are among those most at risk from

plans to transfer the responsibility for delivering their services from the Australian

Government Hearing Services Program to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Under the NDIS there will be a choice of service provider for the first time. Personal choice

is a concept we would all support, however it is concerning in this instance because the

private market is untested in the delivery of services to children with hearing loss. The

introduction of contestability introduces significant risks that must be understood and

managed in terms of access, expertise, quality, standards and client outcomes.

The Government should create an expert panel, with proper representation of the people

who will be most affected by these changes to advise it on the risks and the ways to avoid

and minimise risks.

Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for

Improving Access and Affordability

In the United States, the National

 Academies of Sciences, Engineering,

and Medicine convened an expert

committee to study the accessibilityand affordability of hearing health care

for adults in the United States.

The committee recommends key

institutional, technological, and

regulatory changes that would enable

consumers to find and fully use the

appropriate, affordable, and high-

quality services, technologies, andsupports they need.

The resulting report, Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and

 Affordability , provides those recommendations.

http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/reports/2016/Hearing-Health-Care-for-Adults.aspx 

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My name is Peter Lindley. I am 78 years of age, and have had a profound hearing loss

since I was seven, having lost my hearing as a complication of mumps at that time. This

had a major impact on all aspects of my life.

I lived in an age when the pace of life was slower, following the end of the second World

War, and at a time when technology as we know it today was still in its infancy. People

then spoke more slowly than they do today, and their speech tended to be somewhat

easier to decipher for someone who was hearing impaired and wore a hearing aid - though

still requiring intense concentration.

This is not the case today, and with the advent of the technological age the rate of speech

has become much faster, in line with the pace of life and the speed of change. In the area

of hearing loss, that change in technology has been remarkable, with the advent of hearingaids which are far superior to the primitive hearing aid I used to wear. I now have a

cochlear implant which provides me with a better level of sound than I had previously with

a hearing aid.

However, neither aid nor implant enables me to clearly understand what I am hearing. I

need people to be prepared to face me, speak clearly and not too quickly. Like

many of my hearing impaired friends today, a request to speak clearly and not too rapidly,

almost without exception, falls on 'deaf ears' – and becomes a daily experience outside of

the home environment.

Let me give you an example. Recently, I have visited two different medical specialists. In

such an environment it is imperative for me to understand what they are saying because

my health and well being depends on it. On making the request, I received a blank look,

as much as to say, “He has a cochlear implant – what is this all about.!” The result was

that neither doctor made the slightest attempt to comply with my request. If my wife had

not been present, I would have been none the wiser about the outcome of the

consultations.

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Most people with hearing loss cannot process spoken information at the same rate as a

person with intact hearing – and almost all the hearing impaired people I have had contact

with over the years, agree with my perceptions and experiences - which is why I want to

support Deafness Forum in their campaign to have hearing loss classified as a National

Health Priority. This includes the need for a National Hearing Health Campaign as a public

awareness raising objective on television, in line with programs such as the cancer,

diabetes, heart disease and the slip, slop slap campaign.

Over 4 million people who have a hearing loss are generally not recognised within the

public consciousness as having a serious disability that impacts on almost every aspect of a

person’s life. During my life as a hearing impaired person, I experienced the lack of

understanding of the effect of my hearing loss, as the greatest single barrier

towards effective communication. It has been my experience over time that nothing

has changed.

I would like to quote from the Executive Summary of the 2010 “Hear Us” Senate Inquiry

into hearing loss in Australia. I quote: “Australians with hearing loss must live with the

paradox that their disability is so prevalent in our community and yet suffers from a

generally low level of awareness and understanding.”

I spent almost all of my working life as an employee in a hospital and occasionally as a

patient. Given that effective person to person communication is an essential component of

good health care, and is also essential in other areas of life, it has always left me

wondering as to why, awareness raising about the serious effects of hearing loss is not a

priority in so many areas of public life.

I believe that much of the advertising on television and in the print media, contributes to

the public misconception and gives the impression that all that is needed to correct a

hearing loss is a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. That is not to decry the value of these

technologies – they are an essential component of hearing health. But equally so, is the

human factor in providing appropriate communication to  fully supplement the benefits of

the technology.

Failure to communicate effectively can lead to misunderstanding which can have frustrating

consequences which can sometimes lead to serious or catastrophic outcomes. Having lived

for 71 years as a hearing impaired person who has had to deal with the frustration and loss

of control of my situation, through misunderstanding what people are saying, leading

sometimes to serious consequences, I am convinced that public education about the true

nature of hearing loss is an issue that needs to be addressed as a high priority.

I agree with and wholeheartedly support Deafness Forum's 6 point plan. 

Peter Lindley, Brisbane 

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DRAFT  AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM 

FOR AUSLAN

 The draft Foundation – Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Languages for Auslan has

been released for public consultation from 19 May to 14 July 2016.

 ACARA is seeking feedback on the draft Auslan curriculum from the Deaf

community.

Consultation forums will be held in a number of cities. These forums will provide

an opportunity to share information about the draft Auslan curriculum with the

Deaf community, and to ask community members their views on the structureand content of the curriculum, including learner pathways.

Feedback received will inform revisions before the final Auslan curriculum is

submitted to education ministers for their approval.

To view or download the draft Auslan curriculum, visit the Australian Curriculum

consultation website at http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ 

To RSVP for a meeting, please contact languages@acara.edu.au.

This is your chance to get involvedand provide feedback to ACARAabout the draft Auslan curriculum. 

Community Consultation Forums

http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mailto:languages%40acara.edu.au.?subject=Auslan%20Community%20Consultations%20%26%20Forumsmailto:languages%40acara.edu.au.?subject=Auslan%20Community%20Consultations%20%26%20Forumshttp://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

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Inquiry into captioning in New Zealand 

The New Zealand Government will conduct an inquiry into

captioning in its country.

The NZ Government Administration Committee is calling for the

public to make submissions.

The announcement was a culmination of four years of

advocating by The National Foundation for the Deaf for

captioning to be made mandatory for television broadcasters.

Chief Executive of The National Foundation for the Deaf (NZ)

Louise Carroll said she was delighted by the announcement of

the inquiry.

 “We hope that full accessibility to broadcast media will become a reality for Deaf and Hard

of Hearing New Zealanders, the same as it is in Australia.”

 “Our thanks to the Deafness Forum of Australia for your support and we hope your

organisation, and your members will be making organisational and individual submissions

on how legislating captioning has impacted your communities and personally too,” Ms

Carroll said.

Submissions can be made to:

http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/make-

submission/51SCGA_SCF_00DBSCH_INQ_69222_1/inquiry-into-captioning-in-new-zealand 

The closing date for submissions is Thursday 28 July 2016.

Terms of the inquiry:

  International comparisons of captioning access

 

Issues around royalties and intellectual property

  Legislation and regulation in terms of export of films (import to New Zealand)

  Public education/attitude towards captioning

  Responsibility for the provision of captioning (e.g. comparison with the Relay Service, an

obligation under the Telecommunications provisions for Telecommunications companies

to provide)

  Requirements under existing legislation and regulation in relation to advertising

 

Potential for Captioning Watchdog (as in the United Kingdom)

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The Wellbeing in Chronic Conditions Study

Researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute are collaborating with the Ear Science

Institute Australia on some exciting research investigating the mental health, wellbeing andschool experiences of young people diagnosed with a hearing impairment who attend a

mainstream school in WA.

It is hoped that this research will lead to the development of programs designed to better

equip young people to improve their school experiences, mental wellbeing, and their quality

of life.

They are looking for parents with a child aged 6-18 with a hearing impairment who attends

a mainstream school to participate in this research. Participation involves completing anonline survey about your child’s hearing impairment, their wellbeing and experiences at

school. The survey should take about half an hour to complete online. If your child is

aged 11 to 18, you can complete a similar survey to hear about their experiences.

For more information and to complete the survey, please go to

www.telethonkids.org.au/wellbeing-study 

Contact Rena Vithiatharan, the Wellbeing in Chronic Conditions Study Coordinator,

Rena.Vithiatharan@telethonkids.org.au.

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Why deaf people are 'in your face!'

Part of an article by m Huynh, lecturer in international relations at the Australian National

University. 

Recently I attended a multisports day for deaf kids organised by Deaf Sports Australia andDeafACT. What stood out most about the event was the quiet. There were no whistles

blowing, half-time sirens, barracking parents or competitors screaming "Pass it to me!"

Just the sound of kids striving to win and laughing with delight.

Such Deaf community gatherings are essential in small cities such as Canberra where deaf

and hard of hearing children attend mainstream schools rather than special programs.

Being deaf in rural Australia often means almost never coming into contact with people

who are like you. Kristy Serafin, who travels in the Yass and Goulburn regions teaching

deaf children, points out that her main job is to help her students socialise with others.

Deaf children are significantly more likely to be depressed, obese and diabetic than their

hearing classmates. It is also not uncommon for them to be wrongly diagnosed with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or found to have learning difficulties when in

fact they are suffering from isolation and awkwardness. Many deaf kids say, "We sound

like retards when we talk", and so shut up altogether.

Not long ago deaf people were systematically marginalised and disparaged. From the late

1800s until the mid-20th century, an oralist movement in deaf education policy argued that

sign language – derided as manualism – was not really a language at all. The best thing

for deaf people was to lip read, speak and be "normal". It was an impossible ask that left

most deaf people without any language competency. For doctrinaire oralists, this only

further proved that deafness was a deficiency that should be eradicated.

The capital-D Deaf community formed and rose up in reaction to efforts to disempower

them. Today, there is a crucial distinction between being little "d" deaf (a physical

condition) and being big "D" Deaf, which denotes belonging to a linguistic and culturalcommunity. People who are Deaf are usually born deaf or become deaf in infancy and do

not feel a need to integrate into the hearing community.

 Andrew Soloman explores deafness as an identity in his book Far from the Tree   and

suggests the distinction between Deaf and deaf is similar to that between gay and

homosexual. He argues that in the US "an increasing number of deaf people maintain they

would not choose to be hearing. To them, cure – deafness as pathology – is anathema;

accommodation – deafness as disability – is more palatable; and celebration – Deafness as

culture – trumps all".

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New online call tutorial

People wanting to learn about National Relay Service (NRS) calls without actually making

one, can now experience SMS or internet relay through the NRS Call Tutorial.

The NRS has launched the new online resource to show that relay calls are not difficult orintimidating. The tutorial gives potential users a sense of what it’s really like to make or

receive a relay call.

Managing Director of NRS Outreach Deborah Fullwood explained “Making the first relay call

can be quite scary for some people. This online call tutorial sets out what happens behind

the scenes. And it gives tips for a positive NRS experience.”

 “The NRS Call Tutorial is a way for people to learn more about the relay service. It can

also help businesses gain a better understanding of the NRS and feel confident that theirstaff know what to do when they take a call from a customer using the service,” said Ms

Fullwood.

The interactive site allows people to choose their journey through a simulated SMS or

internet relay call from an ‘NRS user’ or ‘other party’ perspective.

To try the NRS Call Tutorial go to http://calldemo.relayservice.gov.au/ 

The NRS is the Australian Government phone solution for people who are deaf or have a

hearing or speech impairment.

Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children

rewards Caringbah student

Caringbah’s (NSW) Joyce Tan hopes to make a difference to children with hearing loss,

now that she has finished her studies.

Ms Tan is one of 75 trained graduates who were recognised at a ceremony at Royal

Institute for Deaf and Blind Children for completing their postgraduate qualifications in

sensory impairment.

She completed her Masters in Special Education (Hearing Impairment) through the

institute’s Renwick Centre, the largest provider of postgraduate education programs in the

education of children with a sensory disability in Australia. The centre operates in affiliation

with the University of Newcastle.

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Ms Tan was offered a teaching position at the institute’s Garfield Barwick School – a school

for children who are deaf and use spoken language to communicate.

 “I always knew I had an interest in helping and teaching children but it wasn't until I

started my university teaching practicals that I realised I wanted to be a specialist teacher,”

she said.

 “Working in the field and following and observing talented teachers made a huge

difference.”

Educational achievement: Joyce Tan receives her testamur from Professor Greg Leigh

Shortly after she started her new direction in special education, Ms Tan’s mother told her

that her aunty was deaf.

 “My mum’s aunt was unable to communicate with her family with sign or spoken language

and used only basic gestures. During this time, education in China was not accessible for

all and an understanding of children with additional needs was very limited. This gave me

further reason to help the children I teach.”

She says it is critical that children with hearing loss continue to receive specialist support

from trained teachers.

 “All children deserve to have access to education. Specialist teachers are extremely

important as they provide the additional support to enable the same learning opportunities

as any other child in Australia.”

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/3932667/graduate-to-support-kids-with-hearing-loss/ 

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Be part of the movement! 

One in six Australians has a hearing

health and well-being issue. We

need you to share our campaign with

your friends, colleagues and family

members to encourage them to sign up.

 You can either do that by  sharing the

Break the Sound Barrier page on

Facebook . 

The more stories we can all tell and

share, the more we can make sure we’re

heard!

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/breaksoundbarrier/ 

Website http://breakthesoundbarrier.org.au/ 

Know someone who might like to receive One in

Six?

To subscribe, drop us a line to info@deafnessforum.org.au Have something to contribute? Let’s hear from you.

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