http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/9/28/lifefocus/15538049&sec=lifefocus

Thursday September 28, 2006

On being Deaf

Wheel Power : By ANTHONY THANASAYAN

H OW much do we know about our local Deaf community?

Answer the following quiz to find out. Then check your responses against the correct answers found below each question. Ready?

·All Deaf people read lips well.

False: Just like any other skill, the ability to read lips is different from one individual to another. A skilled lip-reader can only understand 30%-40% of spoken sounds by watching the lips of a speaker.

·All Deaf persons are bright.

False: The range of intelligence among Deaf persons does not differ from the hearing community.

·Deaf individuals enjoy the same social activities as the non-Deaf.

True: They work, raise families, shop, watch TV, enjoy travelling and sports, and even pay taxes. Just like their non-Deaf counterparts, the Deaf also have individual preferences.

·A hearing aid makes speech clear.

False: Hearing aids, like tiny public address systems, make sounds louder. They amplify all sounds, including speech, but do not make speech clearer to the Deaf. Unlike glasses, hearing aids are not corrective.

What you have just read are some of the topics covered in a new book on Deaf people in Malaysia. Called Understanding Deaf Culture: Malaysian Perspectives (UDC), the 150-page book is the brainchild of the Majudiri Y Foundation for the Deaf in Kuala Lumpur – together with help from the Deaf and non-Deaf community.

Launched on Sept 17, the book touches on a wide range of Deaf issues which has never been covered before.

It starts off with the latest understanding and position that the Deaf community – both abroad and at home – has adopted. UDC explains that the terms “Deaf community” and “Deaf culture” (notice the capital “D”) refer to persons who are culturally Deaf as opposed to “deafness” (small “d”) from a medical, audio or pathological perspective.

This sets a whole new paradigm shift and concept in understanding what being Deaf is all about. The reader enters the world of the Deaf from a new perspective.

The book presents a brief history of the Deaf in Malaysia, and some of the pioneers of Deaf work like Tan Yap, known as the “Father of the Deaf,” and others are mentioned.

UDC also traces how Malaysia’s Deaf clubs had offered a “healthy environment” for the Deaf. They slowly moved away from a charity-based understanding to a more rights and dignity advocacy group. This came about with the establishment of the YMCA Deaf Club in KL in the early 1970s.

History aside, the book takes readers into the everyday lives of the Deaf. They get to see how a Deaf person wakes up in the morning when they can’t hear an alarm clock.

They also learn about some of the advantages of being Deaf – like being able to sleep through the din created by humans and animals in the middle of the night.

Some of the problems the Deaf face in education are highlighted as well as what employers think of their Deaf employee’s performance.

Sports and recreation are also included, with a list of the successes of the Deaf in local and international sports.

The book also explores the various services available for Deaf Muslims.

The section on “The Deaf and Information Communication Technology” looks at the Internet, Intranet and SMS as a godsend for the Deaf who previously only had the telephone for communication.

UDC explains how difficult it is for the Deaf to communicate with others through the telephone.

A deaf caller would have to get a non-Deaf friend to speak on the telephone, whilst the Deaf receiver on the other end of the line would have to get another non-Deaf helper as a mediator. Now the use of e-mail allows the Deaf to keep in touch with people from all over the world.

For a copy of Understanding Deaf Culture (RM30), please contact Lucy Lim-Yip of Majudiri Y Foundation for the Deaf ( 03- 2274 3766 / fax: 03-2274 0839 / e-mail: lucy@mydeafoundation.org / website:www.mydeafounda tion.org)