Deaf and capable - employing deaf individuals - includes related article

HR Magazine, August, 1994 by Barry Culhane, Jack Clarcq

Here is practical advice on employing and accommodating this segment of the workforce from a college that prepares deaf students for the workplace.

To remain competitive today, business and industry have a critical need for a highly skilled and competent workforce. If some of those people happen to be deaf, their disability need not be a detriment to employment.

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a part of Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, is one of the largest programs that prepare deaf students for the workplace. NTID also helps employers by identifying accommodations that meet the needs of deaf persons in the workplace.

How can you access this capable pool of potential employees? Contact your local Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and ask for the rehabilitation counselor working with deaf individuals. He or she can refer potential employees to you and work with you during the orientation phase.

BEGIN BY TRYING A CO-OP STUDENT

We suggest using a cooperative education experience as the first step in employing deaf individuals. Cooperative education allows the employer to develop an understanding of how to work with a deaf individual before making a long-term commitment. Experience at NTID suggests that companies that employ a deaf coop student are pleased with the individual's performance and ability to get the job done. In fact, many companies are eager to hire the person when he or she graduates.

Connie Rothenberger, a 1992 NTID architectural technology graduate, is a shining example of how a coop work experience can translate into a permanent position. "Because of her work performance over the summer and the quality of her work at school, we offered Connie a permanent position upon graduation from NTID," says Steven R. Dinin, unit director of the Architectural and Structural Design Group at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York.

"My summer with Connie was a pleasant learning experience," says her mentor, Robert Wallace. "She is a quick learner, and she asked many well-thought-out questions that were beyond those of a typical summer student. I believe that Kodak's summer intern experience with Connie was a good investment."

NTID's National Center on Employment of the Deaf (see box, Employment Assistance Center) serves as a resource to employers, providing information about hiring, accommodating and promoting deaf people.

The accommodations necessary for deaf employees will vary depending on the person's degree of deafness, education, type of work and communication needs. However, there are some general strategies for maximum access and productivity.

ACCOMMODATION STRATEGIES

Telephone TDD (Teletypewriter). The TDD was invented by a deaf man, Robert Weitbrecht, who devised an acoustic coupler to link the teletypewriter to the telephone. Ironically, the telephone was invented by a great advocate for deaf people, Alexander Graham Bell, yet it became one of the greatest obstacles to work for deaf people.

Now, with TDDs and relay services across the United States as well as computer linkages, the communication barrier is being traversed. TDDs in the deaf employee's office and key locations in the company as well as public telephones that have a TDD installed will go a long way toward making the workplace accessible and the employee productive. Clearly, technology is on the side of accommodation.

Visual alarm system. Many hotels are using fire alarm systems with strobe lights and audio directions. While the audio portion does not help, the visual alarm provided by the strobe lights is an essential safety modification to the workplace, particularly if the deaf employee works alone in the office. In any event, plans for emergency work situations need to be clearly communicated with everyone in advance of a serious event.

Training. A program that informs other employees about deafness and deaf culture as well as practical tips for effective communication will go a long way toward permitting deaf people to demonstrate their capabilities.

Computer. For company communication, you will find the computer to be most useful. In many companies, communication occurs via electronic mail. In this case, working with a deaf employee is no different from communicating with a hearing person. In cases in which instructions are being given, you may want to write the instructions but also to demonstrate one-on-one how you want the job done, thus allowing questions to be answered in person.

Statewide relay service. Currently, each state in the United States is establishing a statewide relay service. This will become interstate in time. With the relay service, the deaf person uses his or her TDD to call an 800 number. This number is answered by a TDD operator who places the call to the hearing person and "voices" the message from the deaf person to the hearing person and vice versa. The hearing person may also call an 800 number and communicate via an operator with a deaf person who uses a TDD. Thus, deaf employees are able to use the telephone and place calls as part of their daily job responsibilities.