"Deaf Friendly"

by Sara Geballe
Seattle Diversity Works!
March 1997

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own. If you'd like to contribute an article to this forum, please send it to

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Is Your Company 'Deaf Friendly?'

Would a deaf employee feel welcome in your workplace? Or merely tolerated? Is your business "communications accessible?" Or just paying lip service to the idea? Would a deaf person be socially integrated into your company? Or feel rather isolated? Would deaf staff be tapped for promotions and training opportunities as readily as hearing staff? Or sort of overlooked? In your organization would good communication be viewed as a "two-way street" for which everyone is equally responsibility? Or mostly left up to the deaf individual? In a word, is your workplace "Deaf Friendly?" Or not…

As with any corporate value, becoming "deaf friendly" starts from the top down. When upper management displays an attitude of mutual respect and a sincere commitment to embracing diversity, the key ingredients are in place. With that backdrop, the hiring of a deaf worker will be seen as an exciting opportunity, not a burden. Rather than taking the cup half-empty approach: "Oh great, now I'm going to have to write everything down and it's going to take twice as long…," the arrival of a deaf employee can instead be viewed in the cup half-full light: "Neat! Now I can actually learn some sign language and show my kids - they've been learning it in school for years!"

Each deaf person is, of course, a complete and complex individual with the full range of human experiences, wants, and needs. What may be different is the mode of communication. What's the same is everything else. By using a creative combination of methods to communicate, you can soon make that all-important human-to-human connection with a deaf colleague. That's when the magic of diversity begins - when the underlying humanity we all share is touched.

Most deaf people are actually excellent communicators. Think about it for a moment and you'll understand why. Every day deaf people must navigate their way through a largely hearing world. Out of necessity they have developed many ways of communicating with the hearing majority. It may be through writing notes back and forth, using email, using gestures and body language, pantomiming, pointing, lipreading and speaking, or through sign language and fingerspelling.

Your ability to successfully communicate with a deaf colleague is probably 99% dependent upon your attitude. A willingness to try to communicate is far more important than being a fluent signer. Be flexible, be creative, and use whatever works. This may mean stepping slightly out of your comfort zone and communicating in new ways - learning some basic signs, using body language and facial expression, or miming actions.

For instance, if you want to communicate that you don't know something, try shrugging your shoulders and looking puzzled. If you want to indicate that everything is fine, try giving the thumbs up gesture. If you want to indicate that you're hungry, try rubbing your stomach and point toward your mouth. Using common sense and universal gestures can go a long way toward conveying simple ideas and concepts. It doesn't matter if you are not using formal signs; what matters is that you are communicating.

At the very least, virtually everyone on the "deaf friendly" work team can learn the 26 handshapes that comprise the manual alphabet from A to Z. This will allow you to fingerspell word for word to a deaf colleague what you would normally speak, and vice versa. Fingerspelling is a lot slower than either speaking or signing, but it works. And it shows deaf co-workers that you are willing to participate in the process; not leave the onus of communication it all up to them. Don't worry if you can't sign or fingerspell well. What is far more important than speed or accuracy is that you are trying. And with the trying, many of the attitudinal barriers will simply melt away and the smoother the communication will become with time and practice.

One of the least "deaf friendly" attitudes seen in the workplace is avoiding or ignoring a deaf colleague simply because communication feels awkward or takes longer. Just about every deaf person has numerous sad-but-true stories of hearing co-workers who have literally turned around, walked away, and vanished as soon as they realized the person was deaf.

Here are some simple things you can do to make your workplace more "deaf friendly":

Be sure the receptionist is comfortable making deaf employees, applicants, and customers feel welcome when they walk in the door. Just being able to sign a few simple greetings such as "Hello," "Good Morning," or "Please have a seat," will go a long way toward making the deaf person feel at ease and respected.

Think visual to make sure deaf employees aren't left "out of the loop." For instance, if you are sending a voice mail to all staff, be sure to send an email as well. If you are developing a new corporate videotape, make sure it is either open or closed captioned.

If your office doesn't have an email system, consider posting announcements on a centrally located bulletin board in a timely manner.

Be sure deaf employees are thoroughly included in social as well as work-related activities - i.e., provide an interpreter for the company picnic, invite a deaf co-worker to join you for lunch and write notes back and forth on napkins, make sure deaf employees are filled in on important personal news in your department such as wedding and birth announcements, staff changes, staff illnesses, vacation plans, etc.

Consider finding a "buddy" or "mentor" to help acclimate a new deaf employee to the work setting. This person - ideally someone who already knows some sign language, or seems excited by the chance to learn - can also assist in making sure the deaf employee is fully included in the social fabric of the workplace.

Be willing to take extra time to communicate.

Have a professional evaluation of your workplace done to see what, if any, reasonable accommodations might be needed to assist deaf employees in performing their jobs.

Hire professional sign language interpreters for situations in which full two-way communication is critical such as new employee orientations, job trainings, performance evaluations, staff meetings, and important social functions.

Consider setting up an introductory sign language class in the workplace.

Resources for more information

Seattle Area Deaf Community Resources

Seattle Central Community College
1701 Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122
Information Center - V: 206/587-3800
Disability Support Services - V/TTY: 206/587-4183
Languages & Cultures - V/TTY: 206/344-4347

Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center
1625 19th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 323-5770 Voice/TTY

Library Services for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Seattle Public Library
1000 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104-1109
(206) 386-4673 Voice/TTY

Washington State Resources

Washington Relay Service
1-800-833-6384 Voice
1-800-833-6388 TTY

Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
P.O. Box 45300
Olympia, WA 98504-5300
206-753-0699 TTY; 206-753-0703 Voice

Washington State Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
P.O. Box 20334
Seattle, WA 98102
206-781-2109

National Resources

National Association of the Deaf
814 Thayer Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500
301-587-1789 TTY, 301-587-1788 Voice, 301-587-1791 FAX
Email: NADinfo@nad.org

Gallaudet University
National Information Center on Deafness
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-651-5051 Voice/TTY

National Technical Institute for the Deaf
52 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
Office of Admissions: 585-475-6700 (voice/TTY)

National Captioning Institute
Contact Info

Sara Geballe started Seattle Diversity Works! (now owned by the Hearing Speech and Deafness Center in Seattle), a consulting firm that provides customized trainings on how to create a "deaf friendly" workplace. Services include the workshop series, "Working Together: Deaf & Hearing People," reasonable accommodation evaluations, bi-cultural mediation, and on-site sign language classes.