Hear Beyond Words - Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals across everyday situations

My project is called “Hear Beyond Words – Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing People Across Everyday Situations.” I chose this topic because, as someone who is deaf, I wanted to use my own experiences to help other people better understand deafness and the challenges that Deaf and hard of hearing people can face in everyday life. I wanted to create something that could be useful for social workers, healthcare workers, teachers, psychologists, and other professionals who may work with Deaf or hard of hearing people. I also wanted to challenge some of the misunderstandings surrounding deafness and show that every Deaf person has different needs and experiences.

The research that I did involved looking into the common difficulties that Deaf and hard of hearing people can experience across different environments. I researched accessibility and communication in hospitals and healthcare, times of danger, schools, workplaces, shopping centres, public transport, team sports, public places, and at home, including swimming and holidays. I also used my own experiences to identify situations where accessibility and communication can become difficult. Throughout the project, I researched different communication methods, accessibility tools, discrimination, and ways that professionals can better support Deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

The main product that I created was a resources kit called “Hear Beyond Words.” The kit provides information about deafness, common difficulties, my personal experiences, and practical tips, tricks, dos and don’ts for supporting Deaf and hard of hearing people. I designed the resource to be informative and practical so that people could use it when working with someone who is Deaf or hard of hearing. I wanted the kit to show that there is no single way to support every Deaf person because every individual has different communication needs.

The biggest thing I learnt from this project was that accessibility is much more than simply providing an interpreter or a hearing device. I learnt that small changes in communication, patience, understanding, and awareness can make a significant difference to a Deaf or hard of hearing person. I also learnt more about my own experiences and how they have shaped the way I see accessibility and the world around me. Another important skill I developed was learning how to take personal experiences and research and turn them into a professional resource that could be useful to other people.

The feedback that I received throughout the project helped me to look more deeply into the Deafness space and consider how my resource could be useful to professionals. I was encouraged to make sure that I included a range of different situations and practical information rather than focusing only on my own experiences. This helped me expand the resources kit and make it more informative and relevant to a wider audience.

If I were to complete this project again, I would start by creating a clearer plan for the resources kit and setting smaller goals for each section from the beginning. Because the project became much larger than I originally expected, I sometimes found it difficult to keep up with everything I wanted to include. I would also collect more feedback from Deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as professionals who work with them, to make sure the resource was as useful and accessible as possible. Most importantly, I would trust my ideas earlier in the process and recognise that my own experiences are valuable when researching and explaining deafness.

The Big Picture Learning Goals demonstrated through this project were all four learning goals. For Communication, I used my resources kit, research, writing, and personal experiences to communicate information about deafness and accessibility. For Social Reasoning, I explored discrimination, accessibility, communication barriers, and the experiences of Deaf and hard of hearing people in society. For Empirical Reasoning, I researched different sources, investigated accessibility in real-world situations, and developed a resource based on evidence and personal experience. For Quantitative Reasoning, I used statistics and research relating to deafness, hearing loss, and accessibility to support the information included in my project.