Subtle Barriers

By Pamela Meinhardt, Employment Specialist
Montana Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

This last year the Montana Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services was one of the Rural Institute's demonstration sites on the Montana Rural Employment Initiative. We worked with Organizational Consultant Mike Flaherty to learn how to develop jobs for the people we serve. While Mike taught us a great deal about job carving, systematic instruction, and situational assessments, Mike also learned a great deal about the deaf culture and the subtle barriers people who are deaf or hard of hearing face in the work place.

Anyone who works in job placement and job coaching knows that consumer motivation is an essential factor in a consumer's job success. The consumer needs to be motivated to work with the agency at finding a job, then motivated to keep the job. Success stories are always rooted in the consumer's interest in being a productive member of society and earning his/her keep. When the consumer isn't motivated, the agency has a poor chance of helping the consumer succeed. Now the tricky part is, what if the consumer is "handicapped" in a certain way because he/she has not been taught to utilize all his/her abilities? What if the consumer doesn't understand some subtleties required to work to his/her fullest potential? Almost all jobs require the subtle knowledge of the cultural rules that govern what you say, when you say it, and how you say it. Who is responsible for explaining these subtleties if consumers are not aware of their value and impact on their job success? Is it the employer's responsibility to teach the employee? Is lack of understanding an excuse consumers can use to explain failure? Is this a real problem?

As I have worked with deaf and hard of hearing consumers, I have learned the magnitude of this obstacle of subtleties. Many of the consumers have a sincere wish to be employed and improve their self-image. Their job success is not as whole as it could be. Their limitations reach beyond the limitations of communication. Literal communication happens with sign language, writing, using an interpreter, using a word processor, using gestures, or with speech and lip-reading. But literal communication isn't complete communication. The consumer might ask questions that perhaps unintentionally suggests another meaning, or may say something that sounds different than it was intended. Or the employer will say something that perhaps suggests something different than the literal meaning of the words. An example of this is: if a person says, "That sounds good," but vocally puts emphasis on the word "sounds" instead of the word "that" or "good," the meaning changes completely. If the vowels in "sounds" are drawn out, the meaning is subtly different than if the vowels are clipped. In addition, there are cultural rules tied in with our language use that are programmed into our subconscious. Deaf or hard of hearing people do not always have access to these rules as they are growing up and are not aware they exist. These rules are learned through interaction. What if a person does not have access to this interaction for any reason, especially the inability to hear well enough to pick up on nuances and subtleties? This puts a deaf person in a very awkward and detrimental position in the workforce where politically correct terms and euphemisms are frequently used. This has nothing to do with the consumer's motivation, but everything to do with job success.

The first obstacle they face when they walk into the workplace to fill out an application is how to ask for an application. Whom do they ask for? Tripping on this first step can wreck the job search process before it even really starts. Then during the interview, many more opportunities for misunderstanding come into the picture. Then if they are hired, they face the chance of being misunderstood, or misunderstanding everyday. I have seen a deaf consumer walk into his job place, and on the first day ask what time he will be off. This suggests to the employer that he isn't interested in working. While this may be the case, again it might be an innocent question on the consumer's part. The complexities increase when the deaf or hard of hearing employee has questions, concerns, or complaints. Questions can seem like objections, concerns might sound presumptuous, complaints might sound like insubordination, or questions can seem like insubordination. The list can go on and on.

What can the job coach do? It would be impossible for the job coach to teach a consumer all of the subtleties of human communication in the duration of the relationship. The job coach can inform the possible employer of this obstacle for the deaf and hard of hearing consumer. This is creating access for the consumer, not excuses. The job coach also needs to inform the employer that the deaf or hard of hearing consumer must be treated as fairly as possible. Fairly does not mean equally; it means the best possible access for the consumer. For deaf and hard of hearing consumers that means accommodations in communication with all its nuances and subtleties. However, the consumer should not be excused for disruptive or unproductive behavior such as (but not limited to) fighting, stealing, and harassing other employees or customers. The job coach can also inform the consumer that he/she needs to become a self-advocate. The consumers need also to be aware that they might misunderstand, or be misunderstood, and why. They also need to learn to ask questions for clarification in a manner that will not hurt their job relationships.

Employers who work with deaf and hard of hearing consumers need to be aware of these obstacles as well. They are responsible for the consumer's job success to a point. If it is a communication deficiency on the employer's part, he/she has a responsibility to be aware of the deaf or hard of hearing employee's need for accommodation. If the employer is using euphemisms and suggestions or, even worse hints, then he/she needs to be clear. They may need to be up-front and literal in what they say to avoid confusion or misunderstandings. The employer's awareness and willingness to accept a part in the employee's communication is a big part of the deaf or hard of hearing consumer's job success.

Naturally, the consumer is also responsible for his/her own job success. Deaf and hard of hearing people as a whole have a wide range of abilities, understandings, and of course personalities. Individuals need to learn what they can do to help themselves and to help others help them. As self-advocates, they need to know what to ask from the employer and to remember that the spoken language has many meanings that might not be clear. When this happens, they need to be brave enough to ask for clarification. They can't just walk away and passively let the situation go, because that one situation might fuel further misunderstandings. Of course, they do not need to have an angry outburst, but they do need to learn how to ask questions appropriately. This is another area where a job coach can help. Finally, the consumers need to understand that they might not always get the access or accommodations they need. If they face this situation, they need to know what to do to overcome these obstacles.

Deaf and hard of hearing people normally do not need extensive accommodations, however the accommodations they do need are usually so small and subtle that without them, over time, misunderstandings can accumulate and make a big difference. By the time the problem is noticed, it is often too late to repair the employer/employee relationship. The job coach, employers, and the employee all need to work together to make sure job success is a strong possibility, not a "maybe."