Deaf Coworker?

[bern1812]

We have a new IT intern starting who happens to be deaf. I have never had any experience working with any deaf people, so it should be a pretty interesting and growing experience. In the brief time I met with her I noticed she did read lips a little bit, which should help, but a lot of things needed to be written down. She seemed pretty sharp, so she shouldnt have too much trouble actually doing the IT work, but communication could be an issue.

Have any of you had experience working with deaf individuals, or have any advice on how to most effectively communicate?

 

[renewed]

Ask her what her preferred method of communication is. The end.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Ask her what her preferred method of communication is. The end.

Yup, then treat her like anyone else. Cause, you know, she is...

 

[renewed]

Yup, then treat her like anyone else. Cause, you know, she is...

Bingo.

 

[abijnk]

Ask her what her preferred method of communication is. The end.

Great advice. The thing with people who are deaf, blind, etc is that they aren't ignorant of their disability (for lack of a batter word). Be straight forward about how to get around it and then in no time you won't even notice it is there.

And I can't believe no one has asked the important question: is she hot????

 

[Mac'nCheese]

You and another friend need to ask her out. Both of you wine her and dine her. Let her fall in love with both of you. Then, when she chooses one of you for an exclusive relationship, that guy should dump her. When she goes back to the other dude, he dumps her, too. Ten years later, you can be the D.A. of Gotham.

P.S. Is she hot?

 

[Sun Baked]

Avoid letting her know about this thread, really good for starting some bad conversation topics.

 

[Melrose]

Whatever you do, don't treat her differently or avoid her because you can't speak to her. Don't treat her inability to hear as a disability. Deaf people tend to be very straight forward, so being direct about your language barrier shouldn't be a big deal at all. She's got to be used to dealing with it anyway and may have some ideas for how you can understand each other.

American Sign is very easy to pick up, and even if you just learned a few basic words or phrases she'd probly be very happy you put the effort in.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Cause there was this movie and that's what they did.......

 

[Tomorrow]

Have any of you had experience working with deaf individuals, or have any advice on how to most effectively communicate?

Lots of experience here. I've worked with two different deaf people at different jobs.

Without question, the most effective form of communication between us was sign language for face-to-face talking, and we would use IM or Chat in place of phone conversations.

I never took any formal classes in sign language; but if you have someone who's willing to be patient with you - like a deaf co-worker - you can learn it as you go very easily.

 

[mscriv]

Dust off those Charades skills and start using them. You, know "movie title, two syllables, sounds like..." etc. etc.

I'm totally kidding. The advice that's already been given is perfect. Be direct, ask her what she thinks will be the best way for communication to be handled. You might find that she does a better and more thorough job because of how intentional the work communication becomes. There will likely be less opportunity for miscommunication as opposed to more.

Email, IM, text, etc. will all be useful mediums.

If you are honest about your being nervous about this, but show a genuine desire to find the best possible solution then everything will be fine.

 

[Cameront9]

Ask her what her preferred method of communication is. The end.

As someone who is about 60% hearing impaired, this is what you need to do. Everything else will work itself out. She's probably quite used to people not knowing what to do around her, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

and then one of guys played the Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight....

 

[Tomorrow]

Email, IM, text, etc. will all be useful mediums.

Oh yeah, Ozzy uses text messages to order his coffee all the time.

 

[highdough]

Cause there was this movie and that's what they did.......

Don't worry. I got the reference. Took me a second for the DA of Gotham one, though.

 

[bern1812]

Started today, and overall went pretty well. She showed up 20 minutes early, and jumped at the chance to do any sort of work. Shes new, so she will learn quickly enough that thats not how we do business here

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Started today, and overall went pretty well. She showed up 20 minutes early, and jumped at the chance to do any sort of work. Shes new, so she will learn quickly enough that thats not how we do business here

WAS SHE HOT OR NOT?
Sorry for shouting but you see...

 

[bern1812]

WAS SHE HOT OR NOT?
Sorry for shouting but you see...

Id have to say not