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Browsing by Subject "Hearing impaired"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Interpretive accommodations for National Park Service visitors who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing
    (2014-09) Hansen, Elsa Marie
    The National Park Service (NPS) works to protect natural and cultural landscapes for the American people. Part of achieving their mission includes providing the best possible services to visitors, including interpretive services. The goal of interpretation is to increase the visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of the parks. It is stated that the “NPS will ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that persons with disabilities receive the same interpretive opportunities as non-disabled persons, in the most integrated setting possible” (National Park Service, 2005-2011, section VIII.I, para. 1). About 7.6 million people in the U.S. (3.1%) experience a hearing difficulty, “defined as experiencing deafness or having difficulty hearing a normal conversation, even when wearing a hearing aid." Many national park units experience high visitation, yet provide varying levels of accessibility offered for interpretive services. This study provides an overview of the interpretive accommodations currently provided to NPS visitors who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (HoH) through a survey of national park units. Results show that most park units do provide some form of interpretive accommodations for visitors who are d/Deaf or HoH. Many park units have also completed accessibility assessments, which have been used to guide the provision of accommodations for visitors with disabilities, including visitors who are d/Deaf or HoH. Still, results also indicated that many park units perceived their unit was not sufficiently meeting the needs of visitors who are d/Deaf or HoH, and many respondents felt that their unit should be doing more. This along with a high overall survey response rate v suggests something other than an attitudinal barrier to ensuring non-hearing visitors and hearing visitors have similar interpretive experiences. Respondents indicated that barriers to providing interpretive accommodations included budget and staffing constraints, competing priorities for general and interpretive budgets and staff time, lack of knowledge or familiarity with possible services used by visitors who are d/Deaf or HoH, and limited knowledge of legal responsibilities or guidelines pertaining to visitors who are d/Deaf or HoH.
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    Members of faculty with hearing impairments in academia: what are their needs?
    (2011-11) Roufs, Kathleen S.
    Seventeen percent of adults in the United States suffer from some degree of hearing loss, and this impairment can pose considerable personal, professional, social, and psychological challenges, often, to people reluctant to seek help (Hearing Loss Association, 2011). Post-secondary faculty members with hearing loss are among us, and most of them navigate their professional lives silently. Support for hearing loss is easily accessible for students on our campuses, but there is an apparent gap in knowledge about and utilization of support and services for faculty members with hearing loss. This study examines the barriers to full participation in the academy for faculty members with hearing impairments. This exploratory, descriptive study, framed in the minority model and the social model of disability, investigates the marginalization, isolation, coping mechanisms, and needs of faculty members with hearing loss at a public research university. An email invitation to participate in the study was sent to 3,104 faculty members with teaching responsibilities, employed sixty-six percent time, or more. The invitation asked the participants to think about their hearing and how it affects teaching in the classroom, participation in departmental discussions, interactions with students and colleagues, and interactions at professional and social events. The invitation included the following questions: Do you have to concentrate more intensely to follow conversations? Do telephone conversations become more problematic because of your hearing? Do background noises interfere with your hearing? Do you find yourself asking ―Pardon me?‖ in and out of the classroom more frequently? Is it becoming more difficult to hear in the classroom or at departmental meetings and social gatherings? If the recipients answered ―yes‖ to any of the questions, they were encouraged to continue with the inquiry; a link was provided to the web-based survey. The survey consisted of 39 questions about hearing loss, relationships with colleagues and administrators, knowledge of accommodations and services, budgets from which accommodations are paid, and if, how, and when that knowledge is communicated. Of the 144 faculty members who began, 84 completed the survey. The results are based on the 84 completed surveys. The respondents were mature professionally and chronologically. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents who disclosed their ages were 46 years of age or older and 74 percent of those who disclosed their ranks were either associate, full, endowed, or Regents professors. Seventy-five percent of the respondents said their hearing losses were either mild or moderate (on a four point scale: minimal, mild, moderate, or profound). Two percent of the respondents identified with Disability Services. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents said that resources for faculty members with hearing loss were not discussed at any departmental orientations or meetings. The quantitative and qualitative comments of faculty members suggest that acoustics in classrooms and meeting rooms are problematic for many. Other results, based on the responses of faculty members with hearing impairments, identify some of the system wide changes that would benefit faculty members with hearing loss – including more frequent discussions about hearing loss at college and department levels, more knowledge about support and resources to accommodate hearing loss, class and meeting rooms with better acoustics, and more choices in telephone systems. The results suggest that administrators need to be coached about how to discuss hearing loss, support, accommodations, and budgets. The study also found that hearing colleagues need to better understand the experiences and the challenges of their peers who have hearing impairments. The study concludes with recommendations that will help all faculty members, especially those with hearing loss, maximize their engagement in the academy.