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“Not all Deaf people know sign language and not all sign languages are the same”

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Psychology student, Silvia Janickova discusses how inclusivity and accessibility have got considerably better but there is still a long way to go.

a pic of Silvia Janickova

Silvia Janickova

1. What are your thoughts on the significance of popular culture, especially film, in representing the experiences of deaf and hearing-impaired people?

One thing I would like to see more of is the representation of Deaf and hearing people interacting more with each other. CODA (the Oscar-winning film) and other films with Deaf or hard-of-hearing characters often portray hearing and Deaf communities as largely separate entities with the conflict revolving around the gap between them. I feel this is not reflective of the life richness that goes way beyond deafness versus “hearingness”.

2. What is the biggest misconception people have about people from the deaf community?

One of the misconceptions is that we are excellent lipreaders. In reality, lipreading is hard and largely a guesswork. Face masks during the pandemic have made the already precarious lipreading art even trickier.

There is also a gap between how many Deaf and hard-of-hearing people perceive themselves and how we are perceived by the society. Deafness is often seen as a “deficit” or impairment, but for us, the real issue is communication barriers and lack of inclusive environment.

Another misconception is that all Deaf people know sign language and all sign languages are same. For example, when doing my BSL courses in London, BSL used in Manchester had such a different accent that at times it felt like a whole new language for me!

3. Do you feel things have got better for deaf people, when it comes to understanding and inclusivity?

I think inclusivity and accessibility have got considerably better compared to even just a decade ago. That said, there is still a long way to go.

For example, and related to the film theme, cinema screenings often come unsubtitled so we cannot go and see the films we would like to watch.

Deaf people are also underrepresented in professional roles and there are persisting barriers in the job market.

Social events can be also difficult. In the end of the day, we are all humans and above all, we all want to feel that we belong. Many of us have learnt to be great pretenders and nod and smile at the right places. Simple things such as facing us, speaking clearly and typing things when it gets too noisy around can make a big difference.

4. What’s your own personal experience as someone who is deaf?

As a Deaf person who grew up entirely in the hearing world, finding way both to the hearing and the Deaf communities as an adult has been a journey for me. It has often been difficult, but it has also enabled me to meet many amazing people, both Deaf and hearing, and gain and wealth of experiences. Ultimately, all of this has shaped who I am, as a solution-seeker and a lifelong learner, not only in the academic sense, but also in terms of always learning something new about myself and other people.

5. What support have you received from Birkbeck?

As a substitute for spoken aspects of lectures, I use captioning or transcription and electronic note-taking. Studying as a Deaf student can be harder, since DSA (governmental funding scheme for communication support) only covers partial expenses for Deaf students. The pandemic has brought increased accessibility due to widespread use of automatic subtitles, but also additional challenges. However, the Psychology Department, where I study, and my disability team have been absolutely fantastic and really went extra mile to ensure the great studying experience for me.

The diversity of the student body has been also very attractive for me as a Deaf mature student. I am now in my final year and loved my Birkbeck experience so much that I am hoping to continue here for my Masters.

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“British Sign Language is receiving far more recognition”

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Ari Laughlin, Psychology student, offers a perspective as a Deaf student, including praise for Birkbeck’s “high quality” and “versatile” disability services.

Pic of Ari Laughlin

Ari Laughlin

– How does popular culture, especially film, represent the experiences of deaf and hearing-impaired people?

I think that popular culture is extremely significant for representing the experiences of D/deaf and hearing-impaired people, especially since most hearing people have never met or have had to interact with a d/Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing or hearing-impaired person before. Popular culture forms a significant gateway for learning about groups of people. “A Silent Voice” is a very accurate representation of many deaf people’s experiences because it demonstrates how little sign languages are generally known by the public, and shows how Shoko Nishimiya, the deaf character, struggles to hear in most situations with just her hearing aids and needs Japanese Sign Language to be fully immersed in social interactions.

– Can you share the biggest misconception people have about people from the deaf community?

That there is only one, singular Deaf community with one sign language and culture across the globe when there are thousands of Deaf communities with their own individual cultures, sign languages and regional dialects. These communities and sign languages, particularly those from other countries in the Anglosphere, are often misperceived as belonging to American Deaf cultures, which, on the other hand, receive a lot of media and pop culture coverage. In contrast, British Sign Language and British Deaf cultures receive little representation and coverage. Rose Ayling-Ellis’ appearance on “Strictly Come Dancing” is probably the most exposure British Sign Language and British Deaf cultures have had so far in popular culture and in the media.

– Do you feel things have got better for deaf people when it comes to understanding and inclusivity?

For British d/Deaf people, yes and no. Yes, since British Sign Language is receiving far more recognition today than it was before and Deaf psychology – particularly the clinical, counselling and neuroscience fields – is gaining traction and breaking barriers for d/Deaf people. However, schools for the d/Deaf across the UK are shutting down and more d/Deaf children are having to attend mainstream schools. Deaf education is still highly stigmatised and most d/Deaf children, including those with cochlear implants, struggle significantly in mainstream schools where they cannot hear their teachers and classmates or may not even understand English itself. Teachers of the Deaf, who use British Sign Language, form bridges to the curriculum for d/Deaf children because English is largely inaccessible for many of these children since they cannot hear it. British Sign Language is fully accessible to d/Deaf children and acts as a steppingstone for the acquisition of English skills. D/deaf children often cannot have this highly specialist support in mainstream schools and many have very poor English receptive and comprehension skills because of this.

– What’s your own personal experience as someone who is hearing-impaired?

I can only really speak as a deaf person who was brought up as oral with exposure to Deaf cultures and British Sign Language much later in life. Although I had to attend mainstream schools – which I struggled significantly in – I was lucky enough to be able to eventually attend a school for the d/Deaf and largely receive the support that I needed. Regarding Deaf communities, my own experiences have varied vastly. Despite having experienced awful racism from some Deaf people about my partial East Asian heritage, many others have taken me under their wing to teach me British Sign Language and their cultures. I think that that is down to the general lack of accessibility, which pushes Deaf communities and d/Deaf people to the very edge of society and consequently shuts them off from the wider world. I was also very fortunate to be able to receive psychological therapies from Deaf clinical psychology services, which are very scarce throughout the UK.

– What support have you received from Birkbeck?

I have received specialist electronic note taking for the d/Deaf and live captioning support. This support meant that I could transfer very easily to online learning and that the pandemic had no negative impacts on my studies. Seminars and lectures became far more accessible and inclusive for me. The disability support that I have received from Birkbeck has been the highest quality and the most versatile for my needs so far. I cannot further express how phenomenal Birkbeck’s Psychology Department, Disability and Dyslexia Service and Mental Health services have been throughout my studies.

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