Two specialists in special education called for the provision of employees specialized in sign language in centers and institutions that witness a turnout from members of society, to enable the deaf and hard of hearing to obtain their requirements and needs.
They urged making learning sign language an essential part of training programmes before practising service professions in the private and government sectors, especially shopping centres, hospitals and banks, or appointing people who are proficient in sign language to communicate with them and meet their needs.
A mother of four deaf and hard-of-hearing children said that her children face a language barrier in many aspects of their lives, such as shopping and visiting private hospitals and banks, as many of these institutions do not pay attention to the need to appoint specialists trained to deal with this category of people with disabilities.
She said that she has four other healthy children, and that she and her entire family had to learn sign language to communicate with her children and translate their words and desires to others.
She stressed the possibility of going to learning centres that graduate sign language specialists, to benefit from them in appointing employees in private sector institutions.
(Umm Khalid) demanded that this category be taken into consideration in the media content presented through visual communication stations and platforms, especially news bulletins and programmes, by providing a special translation for them.
Salma Al Tamimi, Secretary General of the Emirates Association for the Deaf, said that the deaf and hard of hearing face a real barrier that makes it difficult for them to integrate into society, due to the special nature of this group, which requires the presence of people trained to understand sign language, to deal with them and facilitate their tasks.
She pointed out that many institutions need to provide sign language specialists, including hospitals, customer service centers, and educational institutions.
She said that they choose their majors based on the presence or absence of language specialists in the field they are studying, not based on their personal desires. She called on shopping malls to take this category into consideration “to break their isolation due to the difficulty of communication.”
She stated that instant translation applications could be provided for this category, facilitating their communication with members of society.
She also urged that sign language be made more widely available, so that most members of society can understand it, by opening up areas and providing opportunities for wider training in it.
Director of the Human Feelings Center, Dr. Nadia Al-Sayegh, said that many people of determination, who are deaf and hard of hearing, lack specialists trained in sign language in many public places, calling for learning sign language to be made an essential part of training programs before practicing service professions, in the private and government sectors.
She stressed the importance of including sign language in school curricula, and said that “transforming this language into societal behaviour is a civilised aspect that reflects general awareness.”
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