Hi, everyone!
I hope this is an appropriate place to post this question.
I am a hearing person myself, but my best friend is deaf. She does not sign, and has difficulty with language comprehension, even with hearing aids. We attend the same church, so we are trying to assist with accommodations, as trying to comprehend the sermon, etc, has been a source of great frustration for her--she communicates best in writing. So far, the pastor is wearing a mic that links to her hearing aids, and also provides an outline of the sermon in advance so that she can follow it better. I am also transcribing the sermons for her later. I wish I could do it live, but alas, I can only type so fast.
My question is two fold:
(1) Does anyone here have any further suggestions? The outline has proved helpful, but the fact that the transcript comes several days later means there is still some frustration in immediate comprehension. If there is a way to improve the situation, I would like to know. And I'm sure my friend would as well. We have brainstormed this question many times, but are about out of ideas. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
(2) Is this a common problem? It occurs to me that there may be many people like my friend who either were raised without sign language or else acquired deafness later in life and do not sign fluently. I am wondering whether we might be able to assist other people in our local area who might want to participate in church but have similar frustrations with understanding. Or is this a rare situation?
Thank you!
I hope this is an appropriate place to post this question.
I am a hearing person myself, but my best friend is deaf. She does not sign, and has difficulty with language comprehension, even with hearing aids. We attend the same church, so we are trying to assist with accommodations, as trying to comprehend the sermon, etc, has been a source of great frustration for her--she communicates best in writing. So far, the pastor is wearing a mic that links to her hearing aids, and also provides an outline of the sermon in advance so that she can follow it better. I am also transcribing the sermons for her later. I wish I could do it live, but alas, I can only type so fast.
My question is two fold:
(1) Does anyone here have any further suggestions? The outline has proved helpful, but the fact that the transcript comes several days later means there is still some frustration in immediate comprehension. If there is a way to improve the situation, I would like to know. And I'm sure my friend would as well. We have brainstormed this question many times, but are about out of ideas. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
(2) Is this a common problem? It occurs to me that there may be many people like my friend who either were raised without sign language or else acquired deafness later in life and do not sign fluently. I am wondering whether we might be able to assist other people in our local area who might want to participate in church but have similar frustrations with understanding. Or is this a rare situation?
Thank you!
