Teaching Guide for Faculty and Staff

Strategies for Interacting with Students with Disabilities

1. General Considerations
2. Communicating with Students Who Are Deaf
3. Using an Interpreter

General Considerations

• Do not assume a student with a disability needs your help. Ask before doing.
• If you offer assistance and the student declines, do not insist.  If the student accepts, ask how you can best help and follow his or her directions.
• If the student with a disability is accompanied by another individual, make eye contact with and address the student directly rather than the companion.
• When interacting with a student with a disability, treat him or her as you would any other student.  Avoid words and actions that suggest the student should be treated differently.  It is appropriate to ask a person in a wheelchair to go for a walk or to ask a blind person if he or she sees what you mean.
• When referring to a student who has a disability, mention the person before the disability. Say, “student with a disability” or a “student who is deaf” rather than “disabled student” or “deaf student.”
• Avoid referring to people by the disabilities they have.  Use their names.  If you need to refer to a student’s particular disability, use appropriate terminology.
• Most students have disabilities that are not visible.  It is inappropriate to ever say, “You don’t look disabled.” Invisible or hidden disabilities can have an academic impact on students just as much as obvious disabilities, resulting in the need for accommodations.
• Students are not “bound” or “confined” to a wheelchair.  Wheelchairs increase mobility and enhance freedom.  It is more appropriate to say, “wheelchair user” or “student who uses a wheelchair.”

Communicating with Students Who are Deaf

Students who are deaf communicate in different ways depending on several factors including, the amount of residual hearing, type of deafness, language skills, age at onset of deafness, speech abilities, speechreading skills, personality, intelligence, family environment and educational background.  Some are more easily understood than others.  Some use speech only or a combination of sign language, fingerspelling, speech, writing, body language and facial expression.  Students who are deaf use many ways to convey an idea to other people.  The key is to find out which combination of techniques works best with each student.  The important thing is not how you exchange ideas or feelings but that you communicate.

To communicate with a person who is deaf in a one-to-one situation:

• Get the student’s attention before speaking. A tap on the shoulder, a wave, or another visual signal usually works.  Clue the student into the topic of discussion. It is helpful to know the subject matter being discussed in order to pick up words and follow the conversation. This is especially important for students who depend on oral communication.
• Speak slowly and clearly. Do not yell, exaggerate, or overenunciate. It is estimated that only three out of 10 spoken words are visible on the lips. Overemphasis of words distorts lip movements and makes speechreading more difficult. Try to enunciate each word without force or tension. Short sentences are easier to understand than long ones.  Look directly at the student when speaking. Even a slight turn of your head can obscure the speechreading view.  Do not place anything in your mouth when speaking. Mustaches that obscure the lips and putting your hands in front of your face can make lipreading difficult.  Use pantomime, body language, and facial expression to help communicate.
• Maintain eye contact. Eye contact conveys the feeling of direct communication. Even if an interpreter is present, speak directly to the student. He or she will turn to the interpreter as needed.  Avoid standing in front of a light source, such as a window or bright light. The bright background and shadows created on the face make it difficult to speechread.
• First repeat and then try to rephrase a thought rather than repeating the same words. If the student only missed one or two words the first time, one repetition will usually help. Particular combinations of lip movements sometimes are difficult to speechread. If necessary, communicate by paper and pencil or by typing to each other on the computer, e-mail or fax. Getting the message across is more important than the method used.
• Use open-ended questions that must be answered by more than “yes” or “no.”  Do not assume that the message was understood if the student nods his or her head. Open-ended questions ensure that your information has been communicated.

Participating in group situations with people who are deaf:

• Seat the student to his or her best advantage. This usually means a seat opposite the speaker so that he or she can see the person’s lips and body language. The interpreter should be next to the speaker, and both should be illuminated clearly. Be aware of the room lighting.
• Provide new vocabulary in advance. It is difficult, if not impossible, to speechread or read fingerspelling of unfamiliar vocabulary. If new vocabulary cannot be presented in advance, write the terms on paper, a blackboard, or an overhead projector. If a lecture or film will be presented, a brief outline or script given to the student and interpreter in advance helps them in following the presentation.
• Avoid unnecessary pacing and speaking when writing on a blackboard. It is difficult to speechread a person in motion and impossible to speechread one whose back is turned. Write or draw on the blackboard, then face the group and explain the work. If you use an overhead projector, don’t look down at it while speaking.
• Make sure the student does not miss vital information. Provide in writing any changes in meeting times, special assignments, or additional instructions. Allow extra time when referring to manuals or texts since the student who is deaf must look at what has been written and then return attention to the speaker or interpreter.
• Slow down the pace of communication slightly to facilitate understanding. Allow extra time for the student to ask or answer questions. Repeat questions or statements made from the back of the room. Remember that students who are deaf are cut off from whatever happens outside their visual area. Use hands-on experience whenever possible in training situations. Students who are deaf often learn quickly by doing. A concept that may be difficult to communicate verbally may be explained more easily by a hands-on demonstration.
• Use of an interpreter in large, group settings makes communication much easier. The interpreter will be a few words behind the speaker in transferring information; therefore, allow time for the student to obtain all the information and ask questions.

Using an Interpreter

• Speak clearly and in a normal tone, facing the person using the interpreter (do not face the interpreter). 
• Do not rush through a lecture or presentation. The interpreter or the deaf student may ask the speaker to slow down or repeat a word or sentence for clarification. Allow time to study handouts, charts or overheads. A deaf student cannot watch the interpreter and study written information at the same time.
• Permit only one person at a time to speak during group discussions. It is difficult for an interpreter to follow several people speaking at once. Since the interpreter needs to be a few words behind the conversation, give the interpreter time to finish before the next person begins so the deaf student can join in or contribute to the discussion.
• If a class session is more than an hour and a half, two interpreters will usually be scheduled and work on a rotating basis. It is difficult to interpret for more than an hour and a half, and following an interpreter for a long time is tiring for a deaf student. Schedule breaks during lengthy classes so both may have a rest.
• Provide good lighting for the interpreter. If the interpreting situation requires darkening the room to view slides, videotapes, or films, auxiliary lighting is necessary so that the deaf student can see the interpreter. If a small lamp or spotlight cannot be obtained, check to see if lights can be dimmed but still provide enough light to see the interpreter. If you are planning to present any video-taped materials in your classroom, please order tapes that are closed captioned. Equipment that will display closed captioning, or a VCR with a closed captioning decoder can be requested from Media Services.
• You may ask the student to arrange for an interpreter for meetings during office hours. Often your classroom interpreter can schedule this time with you. For field trips and other required activities outside of regularly scheduled class time, the student should make a request to the DSS office as soon as possible, but preferably at least two weeks before the event.
• Some courses require frequent use of a textbook during class time. Providing a desk copy to the interpreter for the semester will often facilitate communication. For technical courses, this can allow interpreters time to prepare signs for new vocabulary before interpreting the lecture.

Bound by a professional code of ethics, interpreters are hired by the university to interpret what occurs in the classroom. Interpreters are not permitted to join into conversations, voice personal opinions, or serve as general classroom aides. Do not make comments to interpreters that are not intended to be interpreted to the deaf student.