Simple until you try it
My question is can you read my lips 💋? Probably not, so don't underestimate our daily struggles.
A task that is not simple to perform...
This alone powerfully describes my limitations and others especially now during the COVID19 experience as a person who is deaf. I would like to remind hearing people reading this just how much the majority of people rely on their sense of hearing to communicate daily, with that taken away you are left with lip-reading which is a very hard skill to use as it not as simple as following the movement of your lips alone it's facial expressions, hand gestures etc.
My face daily 😏 pure exhaustion
Studies show that only about 30 to 45 per cent of the English language can be understood through lip-reading alone. Even the most talented lip readers are not able to gather a full message based solely on lip reading, although they are often quite skilled at interpreting facial cues, body language, and context to figure it out. As you can imagine, this technique works the brain in several different ways and becomes exhausting after some time.
When a person who is deaf uses speech like myself and is capable of reading lips, hearing people may not understand the set of challenges they are overcoming just to have a simple one-on-one conversation. The hearing person might get annoyed that they are frequently asked to repeat themselves or to speak more slowly and clearly; they might lose patience and cut the conversation short 😡.
Just because a person who is deaf can read lips it does not mean that is the best way to communicate with them. The hearing community lacks an understanding of the real effort that goes into accessing conversation this way.
Too often, I am told by other people like myself who are deaf who have been denied interpreters in the workplace, schools, or any setting, because hearing people their approach about providing reasonable accommodation use their judgment to decide that the deaf person’s lip-reading skills would be sufficient. Communication is a human right and refusing it is a subtle form of oppression.
In our modern world, with technology connecting us in ways never before thought possible, there are a wide variety of ways to communicate with another person. People who are deaf come from all walks of life and all backgrounds.
Some people are hard of hearing and have cochlear implants or use hearing aids, they generally choose to lip read and use auditory cues when possible, although they may know SIGN LANGUAGE too. Some people are late-deafened, they might choose to learn SIGN LANGUAGE but for the most part, rely on auxiliary aids and lip-reading. And then some identify as Deaf use only SIGN LANGUAGE.
Deaf/ HoH people are individuals who have each adopted their ways of accessing the world around them. If you are truly interested in having a conversation with another person, then you want that person to be able to express themselves in a way that is comfortable for them. What is the best way to communicate with a deaf person? Just ask the individual!
Now you may be wondering what a reasonable accommodation looks like, and how you can provide this in a way that complies with the Disabilities Act. There are several ways to meet a deaf/ HoH person’s needs.
When the person reading lips does not know SIGN LANGUAGE, a qualified Communication Access Realtime Translation provider can help them effectively piece the conversation together by transcribing all the audio into text. Yes, a skilled lip reader can use context to piece together some of the conversations, but interpreters and interpreters providers offer an additional tool for understanding the message. This is especially necessary if the conversation is long or if the conversation involves multiple parties. In a group, keeping up with a conversation by lip reading is nearly impossible.
The “Can You Read My Lips” question did a great job stripping hearing people of their advantages, causing hearing people to ponder the reality of speech without sound. Humans desire connection, and people who lip read work harder than most to achieve that, stretching the boundaries of their senses to engage with the majority culture. By acknowledging this fact and taking the little extra steps to create communication access for deaf/ HoH people, we can all help bridge the gap and bring humanity together.
When I’m out walking by myself, chances are I’m that idiot who does not move out of the way for runners, walkers and bikers alike. This is mainly because unless you’re in my peripheral vision, you do not exist. It’s pretty easy for someone to sneak right up on me in normal conditions. But now there’s the added factor of “Hey, we’re living through a pandemic! How close did that person get to me and am I going to get sick now?” OCD diagnosis doesn't help 😭🥺
There’s also the matter of wearing masks when we’re out in public. Cool, great, all for it – except for one thing: I have no idea what you’re saying. And chances are, you have no idea what I’m saying because my speech is a tiny bit off. The way my hearing works is I have an easier time understanding some voices than others – and I use lip reading to make sense of sound. Take one of those elements away and not only does the interaction become lengthier, but I default to feeling frustrated because I can’t do something and I don’t like being unable to do something.
Please help me raise awareness👊🏼💪🏼
Excellent article thank you for sharing it with us. 1 in 6 people in this are deaf, hard of hearing or deafened and there's still the lazy, ignorant tendency to lump all 9 million people into the same access to communication pot. Check out the Association of Lipspeakers ALS (lipspeaking.co.uk) who have professionaly trained lipspeakers there who work in a similar but different way to sign language interpreters. I wish you well and applaud you for raising awareness about the realities of lipreading in the modern world.
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