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Physical Environments & Culturally Deaf Survivors

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Issues Related to the Physical Environment

The physical environment is very essential to the safety of Deaf survivors. While some Deaf survivors may have residual hearing, many Deaf people do not have residual hearing and the vast majority rely on visual or vibrating systems for emergency or other notifications. For example, strobe lights, a visual or vibrating alarm system, or a vibrating pager are used to alert Deaf people when a fire or security alarm has been tripped. Similar systems are used by Deaf people to detect and indicate a wide variety of sounds such as a knock on the door, an alarm clock, or a baby crying. These visual cues help to ensure the safety of Deaf survivors, but are not often in place at most domestic violence programs and rape crisis centers.

Other environmental factors such as backgrounds, visual noise, lighting, seating, and positioning are important for people who are highly visual. For example, background noise and busy backgrounds (or visual noise) can be very distracting to Deaf survivors. They can distract people from being able to clearly follow a conversation that is being interpreted (i.e. a conversation that relies on carefully following physical movements). Similarly, Deaf people may struggle to see interpreters and, therefore, follow the information if they are in a poorly lit room. Deaf survivors may also feel very disconnected from other people in a group setting if they cannot see all of the participants. All of these factors impact the extent to which Deaf survivors feel welcomed and engaged in a program, and, at the end, they feel they benefit from the services offered.

Examples of Problems

  • A Deaf survivor is in a meeting room waiting to meet with an advocate. A fire alarm sounds in the building and everyone is evacuating the building. She has no idea because there are no visual alarm systems in the environment.
  • A Deaf woman is staying in a shelter. Her advocate said that she would come get her from her room when she is ready to meet. The advocate pounds on her door, but, since there is no doorbell or door knocker light in place, the Deaf woman doesn’t respond. The staff member assumes she feel asleep and goes back to her office. 
  • An advocate is meeting with a Deaf woman in the shelter’s common space. There are a lot of children running around and people moving in and out of the room. She is very distracted by the movement and can’t focus on the conversation.
  • A provider is inflexible about where a survivor wants to sit. The survivor knows that by moving to another location she can see the provider more clearly and avoid the sound of the fan. The survivor is not used to advocating for her needs. When the provider was asked about the two of them re-situating, her expectation was that the survivor was getting too close to her. The provider made an assumption about the reason for the request, and simply stated no. The survivor accepted the providers’ authority and deferred.

Suggested Solutions

  • All alarm systems need to be visually and aurally accessible. Flashing lights assist those who cannot hear the audible alarms to know an alarm has been tripped.
  • Providers should make an evacuation plan for people with disabilities. Access New England, a publication of the New England ADA & Accessible IT Center has compiled resources on Emergency Preparedness and Accessibility, Spring 2006, available at http://adaptiveenvironments.org/neada/site/newsletter. An evaluation plan should be specifically designed for Deaf people, as it is different for people with disabilities.
  • Consult with Deaf survivors before meetings occur to see if they are comfortable with the way the seats are set up and with the room lighting. Change the set-up according to their input.
  • Open-up your spaces to allow everyone to see each other during meetings or activities. Consider arranging tables or chairs in a circle.
  • Reduce glare from windows during meetings, and use multiple sources of light to create an even illumination. Deaf survivors rely on vision and need to be able to see people, especially interpreters, clearly without shadows.
  • Make assistive technologies such as a visual/vibrating infant monitor, alarm clock, or other devices that will assist Deaf survivors available.
  • Put communication devices such as TTYs, videophones, and computers in a private area where other people would not be able to see the communication exchange to increase privacy and confidentiality.