Future for deaf takes on rosy glow

Transition from school to work courses are run by van Asch College in Christchurch and Kelston School for the Deaf in Auckland, but this is the first time a course has sprung up outside that structure.

This course took shape for a specific reason. Bill Glassy, a labour department vocational guidance officer said: “There was this group of young deaf people on the books for some time, who had left school and either not found work at all, or found work and then lost it.

At the end of last year, when the local department had to submit a plan of areas it would like to tackle, those young deaf people were high on the list of priorities.

After consultation with the Education Department and the polytech, things started happening. Eight young people between the ages of 18 and 25, with many different backgrounds, were referred by the Labour Department.

RUBELLA

For many of today’s deaf school-leavers, deafness is not the only problem. Most of those coming on to the job market now are the recipients of the 1963-65 rubella bulge, where a high proportion of deaf children were born.

But rubella does not only affect the ears. Deafness is often accompanied by other physical disabilities when caused by that disease.

It is easy to understand the problem. Not only is employment scarce, but there is a larger than normal number of deaf job-seekers. As many of those job seekers have more than one disability, they have to dace more than the usual amount of reluctance on the part of employers.

That reluctance is understandable says Anne McLaughlin, a liaison tutor on the course. “Many of the population in general simply do not understand how to work with deaf people, and they are quite scared. That’s readily understandable if you don’t have contact with deaf people.

“I think a lot of people are totally unprepared for deaf people, and they are really quite shocked when they hear them speak. They act very embarrassed, because communications is just so important.

“I encourage employers to use pen and paper if necessary, but even basic, simple solutions like that embarrass people.”

Mrs McLaughlin knows for herself just how difficult it is for someone when they are first confronted with communicating with the deaf. Before this course she had never any dealings with people who couldn’t hear.

A three-day training course helped, but even so, the first introductions were a bit tense. “They weren’t terribly happy about having me there at first – after all, I represented the polytech structure, and they knew I was a beginner.

“I started by saying ‘I’m hopeless at this’. They laughed. At the end of the first week two of the students brought me flowers. I still make heaps of mistakes, but they forgive me.

“I find these young people are exactly the same as other students I’ve had. They have the same needs for job-seeking skills, they have the same emotional problems, and suffer the same frustrations many young people are finding when it comes to getting work.

“I say to employers, look, I can communicate with these people. If I can, you can. It’s turned out to be a real confidence-booster for employers.

Several of the students have lost jobs because of problems associated with deafness. Nicky Long, another tutor and trained speech therapist said: “They have very poor social skills. They can’t communicate with their workmates terribly well.”

“Lots of things which people absorb by innuendo, they are just not aware of, so they make mistakes which hearing people don’t.”

Leanne Lawson, a 19-year-old student, lost one of her jobs and blames her failure on her partial deafness. “I was filling in the wrong forms, or missing important things that should have been corrected.” She feels certain she could have done better if she was given more help.

Losing the job didn’t do much for her confidence. “I hated myself for it, because looking at hearing people, they could do things and I couldn’t. I still feel that way now.”

CONFIDENCE

Building confidence is one of the things the course is all about.

“As a polytech tutor, one of the things that’s really pleased me is the confidence the students are now showing in and around the place,” Mrs McLaughlin said. “When they first came here, they more or less huddled in the room, and were very self-conscious.

Now, she said, they could wander round, looking like any run-of-the-mill student, as well as anybody.

Part of that confidence boosting process involves work experience. For two or three days each week the students go out and get some practical know-how.

Kevin Carroll spends three days a week at Coachwork International, in the jigging section. His foreman Brian Lawson describes Kevin’s work as semi-skilled.

Kevin enjoys his work, and he says he gets on well with the other workers. He’s also working toward his heavy traffic licence through the polytech course.

There have been no problems accommodating Kevin, Mr Lawson says, as there are three deaf workers already in the building. The other workers were already used to communication with the deaf.

“We’ve had no problems at all. The others acknowledge that deaf people are here, and always speak to them.”

“Employers shouldn’t be worried about taking on deaf people if they have the necessary skill, Mr Lawson says. “I think deaf people try harder because of their disability. They are really conscientious. It’s like anybody you take on, you’ve got to give them a trial period.

Other employers who’ve taken students from the course on work experience are also impressed.

Paul Heek, DIC’s customer services manager, took on one girl who has since found a fulltime job. “She was excellent. If she hadn’t got a fulltime job, she would have been well in line to get one with us.”

Extra effort was needed to adjust, he said, but the staff were willing to make that effort. “Everyone on the staff, without exception, responded A1. They were particularly careful not to forget she was there when morning tea and lunch came.

“The biggest difficulty was found that habitually we all talk too fast. They found that they deliberately had to slow down.”

It was a pity many employers were not comfortable with deaf people, said Mr Heke. “Many are not sufficiently open-minded to realise that appropriate circumstances these people can be just as good as other people.”

That lack of open-mindedness worries those involved in the course, because they see a need for some sort of support once it winds up. There is a provision for the 12 weeks to be extended to 15 if that follow-up is needed.

Deaf workers need an advocate to help with any communication problems with employers, says David Penfold, Education Department adviser on deaf children. “They need someone to liaise – it needs to be a constant thing. That’s something I can do a minimum amount of, but it would almost become a fulltime job in itself.” Full time field workers are employed in Auckland and Christchurch.

The course is aimed not just at getting the students jobs, but at developing them to a stage where they can hold down a job.

“It’s been a new course for all of us, and we are finding our way” says Mrs McLaughlin. “But even if the students don’t get jobs out of it we feel there’s been a lot of positive action.”