Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD)’s Post

Here I share why we need more allies to push for “deaf awareness training” in the workplace. The reality is that many employers which do not take up the training are the ones that need it most. Yet we also know training people, who are reluctant to be there, is usually not helpful. Therefore we all have a role to play in highlighting the benefits of disability and deaf awareness training. This is where being an ally can make a difference. This week I shared a negative story on LinkedIn about how a hospitality business failed to meet the Equality Act leading the customer and her family to leave before they even ordered food. But I don’t like using negative stories because evidence from Scope suggests that individuals' perceptions of disabled people worsened when they get complaints or facts that show them that this is bad for their business. Nevertheless there are occasions when it does need to be shared. But these must be followed up with positive stories and facts. Here is an excellent article  from the  Harvard Business Review sharing the benefits of employing Deaf people. To name just a few - innovation including the texts we have on phones, compassionate workforce, sharing different ways of communicating using visual language and images etc.  I would encourage everyone to read and share. We need to remove barriers and stop making assumptions, which is one of the biggest barriers we face in the workplace and wider society. https://lnkd.in/eK7_ZS4W Get in touch with us for deaf awareness training or other training that will support your business to thrive. Visual description: image of a side profile of a face in purple. The image of the face is not fully visible. Title of the article " Is Your Organisation Inclusive of Deaf Employees." #Allyship #PostiveStories #DeafAwareness #EqualityAct #InclusionMatters

Hi, I’m Kayla, and I’m Deaf. Miscommunications with interpreters cost me time and money. But DVC allowed me to connect directly with a Deaf representative—no misunderstandings, no frustrations. Want to know how? Watch my story. Join us at the 2024 Disability:IN Global Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Let’s talk about DVC and equitable communication! 🎲 www.csd.org/realtalk #AreYouIN? #INfor2024 #DisabilityIN #Deaf #DeafCulture #EquitableCommunication #DirectVideoCalling #DVC #CSD #ASLNow [Video Description: A woman with short blonde hair, wearing a gray cardigan over a black top, seated indoors with a green plant and a blue and white decorative wall hanging in the background. Transcript: Hi. I’m Kayla and I’m Deaf. I use Direct Video Calling (DVC). Before DVC, getting in touch with different customer supports was painful and frustrating. Why? For instance, I remember one situation with a car accident. To make a claim, I was explaining what happened about the car accident. The interpreter I was using for my call kept misunderstanding me and used a tone that did not fit the situation I was in. As I tried to explain, it was difficult, and the miscommunication led to my insurance rates doubling. I was stunned. That experience, and many similar situations where I had to use an interpreter, caused miscommunication and misunderstanding. But when I first used DVC, I remember needing to transfer someone’s name to my name for a phone provider. When I called directly, I got a Deaf representative, and I couldn’t believe it. I signed in ASL, and the representative signed back, completely understanding me. The interaction was incredibly smooth. I didn’t have to repeat anything, there was no misunderstanding, and the representative had no issue in understanding me and got everything resolved quickly. Not kidding, the situation I needed to be handled was solved in a minute. Since using DVC, it has been wonderful. My experience in connecting with companies has improved so much. The companies that provide DVC really show they value accessibility and inclusivity, making me feel like an important customer. I’m excited to stay connected with the companies I’m loyal to and encourage my friends to consider their services. Want to discuss more about making this vision a reality for you? Get in touch with us at CSD or the ASL Now team; we’re here to help. Thanks for watching my story; join us and make equitable communication happen.

Xfinity, the national internet service provider for parent company Comcast, has launched its in-store American Sign Language (ASL) translation services to the public this week. This groundbreaking service offers live on-demand, remote ASL interpreting services for deaf customers, making it the first of its kind in the country. At Caption Consulting, we understand the importance of creating an inclusive environment for all individuals, which is why we are so impressed with Xfinity's commitment to accessibility. This new service allows anyone to walk into the store and instantly access an ASL interpreter through video calls, similar to a Zoom call. This level of inclusion may seem small, but it’s actually a huge step forward in breaking down barriers for the deaf and hard of hearing community. The decision to roll out this technology in San Jose first was deliberate, as it is in close proximity to the California School for the Deaf in Fremont. "Accessibility is everyone's job," Kat Zigmont, senior director of operations and deputy director at the World Institute on Disability, reminds us. https://lnkd.in/ghhfiJez #AccessibilityIsEveryonesJob #AccessibilityMatters #Inclusion #ASLInterpreting #TechForAll #DeafCommunity #XfinityAccessibility #CaptioningServices #CaptionConsulting

Did you know that 15% of the world has a disability, 285 million people of all ages are visually impaired, 466 million people have disabling hearing loss, 1-3% has an intellectual disability, as many as 200 million people and approximately 18.5 million people (about the population of New York) have speech, voice, or language disorder, according to 2021 MAGNA global Digital Accessibility inclusion report.   As a Kenvue Impact Network Diverse Ability Advancement (DAA) want to highlight how important it is to embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through the lens of accessibility; Many of us are unable to participate in aspects of society because we use our own abilities as a baseline; The humanity make things that are easy for some people to use but difficult for everyone else; understanding why and how people are excluded gives us actionable steps to take towards inclusive development in both physical and digital spaces.   At Kenvue we are embracing digital and physical accessibility, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence that reflects the diversity of our stakeholders and the markets we serve, align with our committed to create a more inclusive and accessible world for everyone.   #WeAreKenvue; #GAAD

One hundred sixty two million 162,000,000 in the world. One hundred sixty two million in the world people are deafblind. One hundred sixty two million of people in the world are both deaf and blind. This is the number of people who are within the DeafBlind spectrum. One hundred sixty two million people live n this world are living as deafblind, where they are experiencing both a form of hearing loss AND vision loss. (In the U.S., there is approximately 6,680,000 people who are DeafBlind.) One hundred sixty two million DeafBlind people… where - many are still uncounted for. - many are sheltered. - many are hidden. - many are without equitable access. - many are not given equal opportunities. - many are without genuine access to technology that works for them. - many are placed in either low paying jobs, given a low status position, or many are without jobs. - many are unemployed laced with inexperienced (and unauthentic) counselors. - many are not getting adequate services. - many are without experienced deafblind interpreters. - many are without deafblind role models. - many are misunderstood. - many are in abusive situations. - many experienced gaslighting. - many have families that don’t communicate with them. - many are dismissed. - many are overlooked. - many are mis represented and underrepresented. - many are isolated. - many are underprivileged. This is one of the most marginalized groups and still is. Let that sink in. Want to change that, then connect with us and learn from us, hire us, invite us. *Source regarding stats from a combination of resources from NCDB and WFDB (google it or reach out via DM). ID: a screenshot of a background with texts that reads 8.1 billion x .02 = One hundred sixty two million. #TheMoreYouKnow #DisabilityInclusion #A11y #Deaf #Blind #DeafBlind #InclusionMatters #GameChanger #ChangeTheNarrative #HireUs #WednesdayWisdom

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion #DEI is a huge topic of conversation in so many places. That is why I want to talk about it as it relates to Deaf/ hard of hearing. Today, I'm focusing on diversity. The definition, or explanation, of diversity here, says, "multiple identities represented in an organization." More than 10% of Americans are Deaf/ hard of hearing, but that is not the case in the workforce in America (or really anywhere that I know of) . From my experience working at Vocational Rehabilitation in 2 different states, I can tell you that this discrepancy of Deaf/ Hard of Hearing people represented in the workforce is not only related to a lack of skills in that population. When there is a challenge to provide accommodations for a population to be successful (whether that is in the workplace or elsewhere in the community), do we decide that we don't want that diverse population represented? What can we do about it? Let's talk. I've got some ideas, but I would love others to join the discussion. #diversity #belonging #deaf #hardofhearing #employment

I teared up at this article. The power of shared experience, of being seen and understood, of not having to hide parts of yourself never ceases to blow me away. Why can't workplaces be a place for this to happen too? We need to create spaces for people to connect with each other as humans, whether it's a D&I Committee or through using internal comms to showcase all the many life experiences and diversity that make up our workforce. And for those of you who need a business case or cost benefit analysis for investing in things like this - it's engagement 101, but it's also a way to support people to reach their full potential. I may have been deaf for decades before I started at Deaf Connect but through meeting the staff here I have learned a frankly absurd amount about how to better navigate the workplace as a deaf person. #disabilityleadership #deaf #diversity #engagement

It's Deaf Awareness Week (6-12 May) - this week is a reminder of the support employers should have in place for their staff, and highlights the typical challenges faced by millions in their daily lives. "With hearing loss affecting one-in-eight adults of working age, it’s essential that employers know how to support people so they’re not missing out on vital talent." In this article, Teri Devine, Director for Inclusion at RNID, explains how to improve the working environment for deaf people and those with hearing loss. https://bit.ly/3JWhLNa #DeafAwarenessWeek #Deaf #Accessibility #Disability #Inclusion

Please join us in congratulating our 2024 Design for Good grant winners, Talking Money - with Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Step and Stone as very close runners up! 🥳 It has been a tough job deciding the winners, but also an absolute pleasure working through the shortlisting process with our partners at Voscur (Jenny Wildblood) and Quartet | Pro Help (John S.). Talking Money - Winner: Talking Money is a small independent money advice agency based in central Bristol. They exist to help alleviate poverty through the provision of advice, support and information to local people in financial hardship. In recent years, they have gone through several organisational changes - including their working purpose, their understanding of the world, and their supporting structures. They applied for support to get their outward facing communications and brand aligned with their internal changes - so that people in the city looking for advice, and people looking to fund and support the organisation, get an authentic sense of what their charity and work is all about.  Centre for the Deaf - Runner up: The Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (CfD) is the only Bristol-based third sector organisation that represents all deaf adults in the city and the surrounding areas. They support all adults who have a hearing loss, whatever the severity/age of onset, and campaign to make key services accessible to deaf people and encourage the development of deaf-led activities. With our guidance, their work and resources have the potential to have greater impact by being shared across the region and wider area. This means people are more likely to find out information about CfD’s events and activities which will help to bring deaf people together and combat the isolation that many Deaf and hard of hearing people experience. Step and Stone - Runner up In 2023, more than 94% of people with a learning disability were unemployed. Step and Stone exists to change this by providing support and training to people with learning disabilities who face additional barriers to accessing employment. In their application they shared that the number of opportunities Step and Stone are able to provide for Work Ready trainees is dependent on the number of employers willing to work with them on this process. Having a cohesive and professional digital presence which reflects the genuine skills and value of trainees will help them to successfully connect with employers, and lead to life changing career opportunities. We want to say a massive thank you to everyone else who applied. Reading all the applications has been an inspiration, and highlighted the amount of incredible people and organisations in our local third sector. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to apply, share the content and spread the word. #designforgood #bristol #designstudio #bristoldesignstudio #thirdsector #webdesign Anna Brown, Kerryn Bell, Justin Smith, Georgia Smith

Did you know that 15% of the world has a disability, 285 million people of all ages are visually impaired, 466 million people have disabling hearing loss, 1-3% has an intellectual disability, as many as 200 million people and approximately 18.5 million people (about the population of New York) have speech, voice, or language disorder, according to 2021 MAGNA global Digital Accessibility inclusion report.   As a Kenvue Impact Network, Diverse Ability Advancement (DAA) want to highlight how important it is to embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through the lens of accessibility; Many of us are unable to participate in aspects of society because we use our own abilities as a baseline; The humanity make things that are easy for some people to use but difficult for everyone else; understanding why and how people are excluded gives us actionable steps to take towards inclusive development in both physical and digital spaces.   At Kenvue, we are embracing digital and physical accessibility, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence that reflects the diversity of our stakeholders and the markets we serve, align with our committed to create a more inclusive and accessible world for everyone.   #WeAreKenvue; #GAAD