Here And Now

Deaf Awareness Week is an annual campaign set up by the UK Council on Deafness, highlighting and promoting the positive aspects of living with deafness.

The theme for this year’s awareness week is Deaf Inclusion raising awareness of the isolation that deaf people can experience and promoting the importance of social inclusion in the deaf community. Deaf awareness is hugely important as it facilitates a bridge between hearing and deaf people.

Every deaf person is different, with different levels of deafness, hearing aids and communication preferences. Here are some of our top tips for communicating with a deaf person.

1. Not all deaf people use British Sign language, so it is advised to find out the preferred method of communication. This could be speech, BSL, lip reading or a mixture. 
2. Get the attention of the person you would like to talk to by tapping their shoulder, waving, or gently knocking a surface near them.
3. Ensure the person you are talking to can see your face clearly when you are talking, moving around can make it difficult to be heard and hinder lip reading. Speak clearly and naturally and try not to cover your mouth, chew gum, or eat while communicating. 
4. Use visual cues where possible, point to what you are talking about or use gestures.
5. Group conversations can be difficult to follow if multiple people are talking. Make it easier by taking it in turns talking or asking people to make a sign if they wish to speak. Background noise can also make it very difficult to concentrate, block out any unnecessary noise where you can to ensure the conversation can be as clear as possible.

For more information about Deaf Awareness Week and how you can get involved, visit the UK Council of Deafness website here.