Deaf Health Equity Films

“Black background with white letters: Deaf patient-provider communication and lung cancer screening: HINTS-ASL

White letters: Kushalnagar, P., Engelman, A., & Sadler, G. (2018). Deaf patient-provider communication and lung cancer screening: Health Information National Trends survey in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL). Patient Education and Counseling.

On the upper center, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up vertically. White letters after the logo say: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER.

On the bottom center, there is a yellow logo. Blue letters after the logo show: GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY. Adjacent to this logo, there is another logo in gray, white, and blue. Grey letters after this logo show: NIH, National Institutes of Health.

On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up vertically. White letters after the logo says: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION and QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER. This logo will stay visible for the entire duration of the video.

Next scene:

A White man with dark brown hair is wearing a blue shirt with violet blue background.

On the bottom right, there is a white text: Andrew Biskupiak, Lab staff

“Our lab gathered and analyzed smoking data from our HINTS-ASL survey. Patient Education and Counseling Journal recently published this paper. Our lab collected data from February 2017 to August 2017. A total of 703 deaf adults answered questions about lung cancer screening test. However, this paper focused on 188 deaf older adults aged between 55 years old to 80 years old. Some of those respondents had an interpreter provided at their doctor visits. Some of them did not have interpreters. Results showed that having an interpreter helped deaf patients ask about lung cancer screening test. Having a full access to language encourages deaf patients to ask their doctors about lung cancer screening test.”

Next scene:
Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar is wearing a light blue shirt with a lab coat, sitting in her office.
“I would like to thank the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for supporting this project.”

A white font appears on the upper right as Dr. Kushalnagar is signing, with a NIH logo: Research reported in this film was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant number 7R15DC01481602 awarded to Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.

Fades in black.

The logo appears and fades.

Acknowledgments:
Producer: Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.
Collaborator: Georgia R. Sadler, Ph.D.
Collaborator: Alina Engelman, Ph.D.
Editor: Brittany Willis

Narrator: Andrew Biskupiak, B.A.

Grant Awarded to Dr. Kushalnagar:
National Institutes of Health
R15 DC014816
“

“[Grey background with white letters: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION: SEEK, SHARE & CONNECT.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. White letters after the logo says: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION and QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER. This logo will remain there on the very bottom left for the whole video.

On the bottom right, there is a faded black square with white letters: Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D., Director

An Indian woman with black hair is wearing a black shirt with a lab coat seated on a wooden bench with green plants and trees in the background.

“Hello! We at the Deaf Health Communication and Quality of Life Center are very excited to share a film. This film will discuss two different research projects. One project focuses on deaf college students and their trends in searching, finding, and sharing information for health-related decision making. The other project focuses on a nationwide sample of deaf adults and their trends in searching for information, which source they go to first and who they share this with, and what they do with that information. We will have a lab staff who will share results from these two studies. After that, we will have deaf community members sharing their actual experiences related to searching, sharing, and connecting health information.”

Next scene:
On the bottom right, there is a faded grey square with white letters: TraciAnn Hoglind, Research Lab Staff

A Caucasian female with brown hair is wearing a blue blouse with a grey background.

“Where do deaf people look for health information? How many? We don’t know. Have you shared, posted, asked or searched for health information?”

Next scene:
A grey background with all white letters: As college students start to transition to living independently from their family, they assume responsibility for making health related decisions and maintaining good health.
Smaller font: Kushalnagar, P., Ryan, C., Smith, S., & Kushalnagar, R. (2017). Critical health literacy in American deaf college students. Health Promotion International.

Next scene:
Grey background with blue letters on the top: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #1:
White letters: Where did deaf ASL users
Blue letters: Search
White letters: for health information?
A pie chart below shows 78% of a blue colored circle, with the remaining pie in orange.
Black letters inside the blue circle: 78%, books, brochures, organization, family, friend, doctor, internet, library, magazines/newspaper, phone info.

Next scene:
The pie chart zooms smaller and into the left. A citation appears below the pie chart with white letters: Kushalnagar, P. & Kushalnagar, R. (forthcoming). Health-Related Information Seeking among Deaf Adults: Findings from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL).
TraciAnn appears in the middle.

“Over 500 Deaf Americans who use ASL answered questions related to searching for health information. 78% of them have searched for health information from a source. Within this subgroup, 52% went to the internet first.”

While signing, the pie chart disappears and on the right of TraciAnn signing, a bar graph appears with blue letters on the top: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #2:
White letters: Where did deaf ASL users
Blue letters: go first
White letters: for health information?
A list are shown in white letters: books, brochures, organization, family, friend, doctor
Blue letters: Internet
White letters: library, magazines, newspaper, phone info, others.
Orange bars appear in different sizes showing the amount of participants who answered they went first for health information. The most appeared for “internet.”

The bar graph disappears, and then a new infographic appears on the left with blue letters: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #3:
White letters: How many said the health information they found was too
Blue letters: hard to understand?
10 rows of icons of persons appear, with five blue rows on the top, and 5 bottom rows are white.

TraciAnn says, “Yet, 50% of the people who searched for health information from a source said the information was hard to understand and frustrating. Are they alone? No. Family and friends should connect and support each other.”

White letters pop up on the left as TraciAnn signs: Family, friends
On the right: Support

Next scene:
A grey background with blue letters: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #4:
White letters: In the last 12 months, have you used the internet to
Blue letters: share
White letters: health information on social media sites?

Next scene:
The camera moves to the right to see a Caucasian male wearing a blue shirt sitting on a wooden bench, petting a yellow Labrador service dog sitting on the ground with his right arm. The scene changes to a zoomed-up frame of the male with green plants in the background. On the bottom left, a faded grey square appears with white letters: Remy, service dog. On the bottom right, a faded grey square appears with white letters: Hayden Shock, Stage 5 kidney failure.

Hayden signs, “Hello, my name is Hayden and I want to tell you my story. Last year, I found out I had a stage 5 kidney failure. I posted and shared this news on social media. A deaf person reached out to me, saying she had the exact same disease. She shared how she felt, and I shared how I felt. This made me feel better, knowing I will be okay. She shared her experience, and it was nice knowing someone who went through the same thing. I felt relieved learning she was okay, so that meant I will be okay too. The hospital behind me provided interpreters 24/7. We sat down with the doctors and they explained everything. No information was left out. I feel healthy and am ready for a second chance at life. I am ready for a new kidney transplant soon!”

Through Hayden’s video, a screenshot of his Instagram post pops up on the left and scrolls up to show the community’s comments.

Next scene:
Grey background with white letters appears on the left: Deaf Health ASL Survey. A USA map is below it, with red dots in different locations of the country. TraciAnn appears on the right.

“For those deaf people who took our health survey, 70% used social media. In this subgroup, 50% of deaf people who used social media also shared health information.”

As TraciAnn is signing, an infographic appears on the left. Orange numbers: 70%
White letters: of deaf respondents use social media.
10 rows of persons are shown, with the top 7 rows colored orange and the bottom 3 rows colored white.
It then changes to blue numbers: 50%
White letters: of deaf respondents use social media to
Blue letters: share health information.
Of the 10 rows of persons, 5 rows are now colored blue, then 2 rows orange, then the last 3 rows are white.
A citation is below the infographic with white letters: Kushalnagar, P. & Kushalnagar, R. (forthcoming). Health-Related Information Seeking among Deaf Adults: Findings from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL).

Next scene:
Grey background with blue letters: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #5:
White letters: What did deaf people do to
Blue letters: look and find
White letters: information about health or medical topics from any source?

Next scene:
Grey background with TraciAnn in the middle. A white flashing light appears.

TraciAnn: “You can communicate and share information with people through FaceTime or videoconferencing.”

Three buttons show up to make it look like a FaceTime call. The left button is white with a reverse icon. The middle button is green, with a phone icon. The right button is white, with a microphone icon. TraciAnn clicks on the green icon to accept the call, which changes to the next scene.

Next scene:
An Indian female is standing on a busy sidewalk with metal fences and green trees in the background. A faded black square appears on the bottom right, with white letters: Maleni Chaitoo, Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor.

Maleni: “Hi, my name is Maleni and I am a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor. I was diagnosed 20 years ago, right after I completed my freshman year at Gallaudet University. I received chemotherapy with 12 treatments every 2 weeks from May to November. When this was completed, I had radiation therapy every day for 5 weeks. This took about 10 minutes per visit. I finished all treatments by December 31, 1997. When I was sick during that time, I had to stay at the hospital for 3 weeks. Back then, the hospital did not provide interpreters. I was young at only 20 years old. I did not know what to do, so I relied on my older sisters and mother to help interpret. Sometimes, the hospital would provide an interpreter if this happened. I did not know how to get an interpreter. Back then without the Internet, cancer information sources were not easy to access. I read articles, magazines, newspapers, and books that my sisters brought and helped explain. I used them to research and learn more about cancer. I also talked with my family, friends, and former science teachers. I was nervous, scared, emotional… I was confused. Back then, when people had cancer, they usually died. Only a few that I knew survived cancer in late 1990s. I was not sure what would happen to me. 20 years later, today, deaf people now have access to information through computer, mobile phones, and cancer survivors. People are willing to share. Hospitals now provide interpreters. People have so much more access nowadays compared to 20 years ago when I got Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Looking back, I am blessed to have made it through life.”

Next scene:
Grey background with TraciAnn on the right and a person on the left pops up. A thought cloud with a red cross appears, then a light bulb goes on above the head.

TraciAnn: “Critical health literacy is key.”

TraciAnn moves to the left, with three people appearing on the right with graduation caps. Two speaking bubbles appear on the left and right with red crosses. Then a light bulb appears in the middle.

TraciAnn: “Deaf college students who share health information with their friends show improved critical health literacy skills. Health information is not always accessible in ASL. Health videos with captions are sometimes hard to understand. What do we do about this? How do we share health information? You, your friends, family can educate each other and help share information. Post information on social media. This will help promote deaf community’s health knowledge. This can help with making health choices and decisions, knowing what they need to do to take care of their health.”

While TraciAnn is signing, she moves to the right. A person icon shows up on the left top, then three persons pop up below, then four people appear below that with a heart. Then the people turn blue from top to bottom. It changes to a light bulb on the top, with white letters: Health information. A group of 14 people are blue and smiling. It fades, then white letters show up: Decisions, choices.

TraciAnn: “Communication and sharing information is important.”

Next scene:
Grey background with blue letters: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #6:
White letters: Do you have friends or family members that you
Blue letters: discuss
White letters: with about your health?

Next scene:
A Sri Lankan male with black hair and a chin beard is wearing a grey shirt seated on a blue chair in the library with books in the background. A faded black square appears on the bottom right with white font: Sajiran Nadarajah, has family histories of diabetes & cancer. As Sajiran signs, a family tree pops up on the top left of the screen, with a few red persons, which means they are affected with diabetes or cancer.

Sajiran: “Hello, my name is Saj. I have a family history of diabetes and cancer. My grandfather passed away of cancer, so I never met him. When I was growing up, my aunt and uncle got cancer and diabetes. Both were hearing. When I asked them about this, they just said they would be fine. Later on, my mother got diabetes. We went to the doctor, and then I did some research on the Internet. I did not realize how serious having diabetes would be. You have to adjust what you eat and what you do. It made sense my mom had diabetes, because my other family members had similar history. I was worried I would be next, so I took care of my health. I care about my mother. It is very important to know your family history, so you can prepare for yourself and your family.”

Next scene:
Grey background with TraciAnn slightly on the right. Infographics appear on the left with blue letters: HINTS-ASL Survey Question #7:
White letters: Have any of your
Blue letters: family
White letters: members ever
Blue letters: had cancer?
10 rows of person icons appear, with 6 ½ rows blue, and 3 ½ rows white.

TraciAnn: “66% deaf people have family history of cancer. This is similar to the general hearing population. Cherish your family, your history.”

As TraciAnn is signing, the same family tree infographic appears on the left, with a blue heart on a person.

Next scene:
Maleni stands in front of green trees wearing a grey jacket.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for support.”

Next scene:
Hayden stands in front of a water fountain with Remy.
“Keep the deaf community healthy and strong!”

Next scene:
Sajiran stands in an aisle of books.
“Share, explain and ask. Honestly, it can save your life.”

Next scene:
TraciAnn with a grey background.
“Knowledge is healthy. Seek, share, and connect.”

Fades in black.

Next scene:
Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar is wearing a light blue shirt with a lab coat, sitting in her office.
“I would like to thank the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for supporting this project. The funds helped support travel to different states to recruit participants. For those who participated in this project, you are important. Thank you.”

A white font appears on the top left as Dr. Kushalnagar is signing, with a NIH logo: Research reported in this film was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant number 7R15DC01481602 awarded to Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.

Fades in black.

Grey background with white letters: DEAF HEALTH: SEEK, SHARE & CONNECT.

The logo appears and fades.

Acknowledgments:
Producer: Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.
Director: TraciAnn Hoglind, B.A.
Student Videographer/Editor: Dimitri Foreman
Film Consultant: Stacy Lawrence, M.A.
Project Consultant: Georgia Robins Sadler, BSN, MBA, Ph.D.

Community Member Narrators:
Maleni Chaitoo
Sajiran Nadarajah
Hayden Shock & Remy (service dog)

Student interpreters:
Lena Jenny, female voice
Jeremy Miller, male voice

Volunteer:
Chris Khanoyan

References:
Kushalnagar, P. & Kushalnagar, R. (forthcoming) Health-Related Information Seeking among Deaf Adults: Findings from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey in American Sign Language (HINTS-ASL). e-Health: Current Evidence, Promises, Perils, and Future Directions.

Kushalnagar, P., Ryan, C., Smith, S., & Kushalnagar, R. (in press). Critical Health Literacy in American Deaf College Students. Health Promotion International. Doi: 10.1093/heapro/dax022.
“

“[Black background with white letters: HPV & THE DEAF COMMUNITY.

On the upper center, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. White letters after the logo says: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION and QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER. This logo will be moved and remain there on the very bottom left for the whole video.

On the bottom center with white letters: Film produced by: Deaf Health Communication and Quality of Life Center
On the bottom center, there is a gold logo. Blue letters under the logo say: Gallaudet University

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. A female Caucasian female nurse in blue nurse attire is shown working with a young olive-skinned girl with brown hair who is a patient in a room at a doctor’s office with a fatherly olive-skinned, middle-aged man with brown hair looking after his daughter and a female Caucasian interpreter with short brown hair interpreting to the girl.

Nurse: Good, and can you hold it there for me?
Thank you.

Nurse: Okay, great. So, I’ll go tell the doctor now, and she’ll be in soon.

Patient: Okay, sounds great!

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. A female Caucasian doctor with long strawberry-blonde hair in a white lab coat is shown entering the room along with the interpreter, meeting the patient and her father.

Doctor: Hi! I’m Dr. Spellun.

So how are you doing today?

Patient: I’m great, actually, but my dad won’t stop talking about me being a baby.
I feel like, ‘Come on!’

Doctor: I hate to say it, but you’re gonna be his baby forever.
So I was looking at your records, and it looks like you’re actually due for one more vaccine.
You’ve had the flu vaccine, the Tdap vaccine, the hepatitis vaccine, and the varicella vaccine, but you’re still due for the HPV vaccine.

Interpreter: Dad’s saying…

Dad: Excuse me, HPV? Can you tell us more about that? What exactly does that prevent?

Doctor: So, HPV stands for human papilloma virus, and this is a virus that can be transmitted sexually and can cause different types of genital warts as well as cancer, but the vaccine can actually prevent the transmission of that virus.

Dad: Uhh… umm… Doctor. You are talking about sexual activity. My daughter’s far too young for that. She’s only 11 years old. Why would you need to give her a shot right now?

Doctor: Lots of parents have the same question. It’s actually important for kids to get the vaccine before they’re even sexually active. That way, the body can build up an immunity to the HPV virus so that they’re protected when they do get exposed later.

Dad: Did you understand what the doctor’s saying?

Interpreter: And the patient’s saying…

Patient: No.

Interpreter: Dad’s saying…

Dad: So basically, the doctor wants you to get this vaccination now for a disease called human papilloma virus, or HPV. Right, and so, my concern is that obviously you’re not making out with anyone. You’re far too young for any of that kind of activity, so don’t worry about it.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. A white male narrator with brown hair in a blue shirt appears.

Narrator: This father’s concerns are completely understandable and not uncommon among parents of young children. However, it’s crucial that children be vaccinated early on, between the ages of 11 and 12, so that their bodies have time to develop an immunity against HPV. If children are not vaccinated ahead of time, they may be susceptible to HPV when they later become sexually active. For this reason, early vaccination is key.

Doctor: Any other questions?

Patient: I do, actually, I have a question. So, I just looked at that paper, and it said something about causing cancer? Like, how does that work?

Doctor: Another great question. So, the way that HPV can cause cancer is, it can go into different cells that are at the surface of the mouth, or the vagina, or the anus, and can cause those cells to grow and multiply and divide very quickly, and sort of take over, and that’s what cancer is.

And there are actually 30,000 new cases of cancer caused by HPV every year. But the vaccine can prevent 90% of those cancers.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. The narrator appears again.

Narrator: You’ve just seen this patient and her parent discussing the HPV vaccine with their doctor. Now watch as this next Deaf man shares his communication experience with his doctor regarding the HPV vaccine.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up and white letters: Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku, Lab Intern. A black young man using glasses in a dark gray shirt appears in a white room.

Emmanuel: To date, I’ve taken various health-related classes and worked in a lab setting for two public health internships, the second of which I’m completing now.

We see the term HPV coming up frequently, and HPV vaccination is something I’ve recently been becoming more aware of. For a long time, I had thought the HPV vaccine was only for young women. But it turns out that young men also need to be vaccinated. So being a young man myself, this applied to me. Wondering if I had ever received the HPV vaccine in the past, I decided to check my medical records online,
and sure enough, I had been vaccinated back in 2013 when I was 16 years old. This was surprising, though, since I couldn’t remember any of the details surrounding the vaccine. Looking back, I wish that my doctor had checked in with me and made sure I had understood what
the HPV vaccine meant for me and my health. And for myself, I wish I had been more assertive and asked more questions until I fully understood. HPV awareness is vital. Be sure to talk with your doctor about any questions you may have.

Black background with white letters: HPV KNOWLEDGE IS IMPORTANT. TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. The narrator appears again.

Narrator: HPV awareness is vital. Be sure to talk with your doctor about any questions you may have.

Black background with white letters: Healthcare providers can explain how: – HPV can cause cancer; – HPV is passed between partners; – HPV vaccines can help.

Next scene:
On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up.

An Indian woman with black hair is wearing a light blue shirt with a lab coat seated in her office.

Dr. Kushalnagar: I would like to thank the National Institutes of Health for their support in funding this project.

On the upper right corner, National Institutes of Health’s logo and white text appear: Research reported in this film was supported by the National Institutes of Health under grant number 7R15DC01481602 awarded to Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.

Acknowledgments:
Producer: Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.
Screenwriter: Gideon Firl
Editor: Dimitri Foreman
Production assistant: TraciAnn Hoglind, B.A.
Film Consultant: Stacy Lawrence, M.A.

Cinematographers:
Gideon Firl
Dimitri Foreman

Community Member Narrators:
Arielle Spellun, M.D., as doctor
Jackie Emmart as interpreter
Joe Toledo as father
Belinda Toledo as daughter

Narrators:
Andrew Biskupiak, Lab staff
Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku, Lab intern

Student interpreters:
Shane Carrizales, research assistant/captioner
Jeremy Miller, graduate student interpreter/voiceover/captioner

On the center, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up. White letters after the logo says: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION and QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER.]
“

“Black background with white letters: Sign Language for Deaf Infants: A Key Intervention for a Developmental Emergency

White letters: Spellun, A., & Kushalnagar, P. (2018). Sign Language for Deaf Infants: A Key Intervention for a Developmental Emergency. Clinical Pediatrics journal.

On the bottom center, there is a yellow logo. After this logo, blue letters show: GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY.

On the bottom left, there is a black, blue and orange circled logo with three people lined up vertically. White letters after this logo show: DEAF HEALTH COMMUNICATION and QUALITY OF LIFE CENTER. This logo will remain on the very bottom left for the entire duration of the video.

Next scene:

A South Asian woman with black hair is wearing a black shirt under a white lab coat. A name tag appears for a short time. This name tag shows “”Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D., author and public health researcher.””

On the bottom right, there is a white text: Arielle Spellun, MD, and Poorna Kushalnagar, PhD. Sign Language for Deaf Infants: A Key Intervention for a Developmental Emergency. Clinical Pediatrics, 2018. This will remain there on the very bottom right for the entire duration of the video.

“My name is Poorna Kushalnagar. I collaborate with Arielle Spellun. She is a pediatrician. I am a developmental psychologist and a public health researcher. We recently published a paper in the Clinical Pediatrics journal. As discussed in this article, many parents of deaf children go to pediatricians asking for advice related to interventions and communication choices. Because they go to pediatricians, it means that it is important that we become knowledgeable with ways that work best for deaf children. So, we can work with families to identify ways to improve language acquisition among deaf children.”

Next scene:

A young South Asian girl with black hair is wearing a black shirt. A name tag appears for a short time. This name tag shows “”Hiruni Hewapathirana, middle school student.””

“To date, research stated that most of deaf and hard of hearing people have lower reading and writing skills, lower education and employment accomplishments, increased emotional and social struggles, and poor health outcomes, including depression, not seeing doctors, low health knowledge. These are not results of being deaf or hard of hearing. These poor outcomes are influenced by limited or lack of language access during their childhood.”

Next scene:

A White woman with a ponytail in a white lab coat.

On the bottom right, white text is shown: Arielle Spellun, M.D., Author and Pediatrician

“When I worked with deaf and hard of hearing children, I evaluated a deaf girl who was 7 years old. She was profoundly deaf and had two cochlear implants that she got when she was 2 years old. My evaluation showed that she had a serious language delay. She had a limited vocabulary and knew a few words. She couldn’t communicate in full sentences. Her parents were advised by another pediatrician to not use sign language, because she would never learn how to speak if she learned sign language. Her parents and pediatrician focused on her hearing condition and spoken language development. So, this girl had no language throughout her childhood, which is a possible reason she showed language delay. This girl is not the only patient with language delay; many other deaf and hard of hearing children have the same problem.

Next scene:

A White man in a blue shirt.

On the bottom right, white text is shown: Andrew Biskupiak, Graduate student

“Those deaf and hard of hearing children who have no access to visual language and are dependent on hearing have more risks for fatigue and poor language development, compared with those children who have access to visual language.”

Next scene:

A White woman in a blue shirt.

On the bottom right, white text is shown: Tara Holcomb, Graduate student

“As it is 21st century now, there are many improvements and advances in technology for deaf and hard of hearing children. It is important that we recognize that those technologies come with limitations. We need to include, support, and encourage the use of natural language for deaf and hard of hearing children, which is sign language, as our best practice. As a standard for deaf and hard of hearing children’s development, we encourage the use of sign language. This will help prevent serious and permanent consequences for deaf and hard of hearing children who experience lack of access to language and language deprivation.”

Next scene:

The logo appears and fades.

Acknowledgments:
Producer: Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D.
Collaborator: Arielle Spellun, M.D.
Editor: Brittany Willis

Narrators: Andrew Biskupiak, B.A.
Tara Holcomb, B.A.
Hiruni Hewapathirana
“