The aim of this page is to assist you in broadening your understanding of deafness, communication methods and interpreting; and to offer a few tips to consider when conducting a JCA on a Deaf or hard of hearing person.

To see more detailed information and case scenarios, click here to view the curriculum for an online tutorial on deafness.

You will be conducting a JCA on Deaf and hard of hearing clients with varying degrees of deafness. Some will have been deaf from birth, whereas others will have an acquired hearing loss.

Your clients will also communicate in a variety of different ways with a wide range of proficiency. Communication methods include (but are not limited to):

• Auslan (Australian Sign Language)
• Signed English, or a mixture of Signed English and Auslan
• Minimal Language or an overseas sign language
• Spoken English
• Lipreading

Check with your client to find out what their preferred communication method/s is and if they require an interpreter for the JCA. Interpreters are neutral communication facilitators - they cannot assess the Deaf client for you.

When assessing a Deaf client, the most commonly asked question is 'What barriers do you face in the workplace?' And the most common response from a Deaf client is 'I don't have any barriers'.

There are different reasons for this. The Deaf client may:

1. view themselves alike to any 'normal hearing' job seeker (ie. As someone without barriers);
2. be unaware of the barriers they face and the implications of them; and/or
3. not understand the term 'barrier'.

Thus when a Deaf person denies having barriers, it is your responsibility to determine what barrier/s they actually face - the principal one usually being communication.

Below is a short list of suggestions intended to assist you when determining a Deaf or hard of hearing client's barrier/s. The list below is by no means exhaustive, but presents a starting point:

1. Do you need support in the workplace to communicate with others (for example, an interpreter) - at staff meetings, training etc? This will impact on the PAGES referral and their capacity to provide for this.
2. Can you lipread? A simple yes is insufficient - can they lipread a staff meeting or training session, or only a basic one-to-one conversation? The ability to lipread does not eliminate communication as a barrier.
3. Can you speak, and if yes, are you comfortable communicating in the workplace via spoken English? If yes, bear in mind that being able to speak, but unable to hear, is one-way communication for some Deaf and hard of hearing clients.
4. Can you read and write English well?

In addition, it is vital that you note all the information you have discovered about the Deaf or hard of hearing client and their circumstances in the assessment summary.

Deaf specialist PAGES are ideally placed to assist Deaf and hard of hearing job seekers, as they have an in-depth understanding of deafness-related issues, and the barriers faced by Deaf people in the workplace. If there is a specialist PAGES in the ESA the final choice remains with the job seeker about which provider they wish to be referred to.

This information is provided and approved by the Australian Federation of Deaf Societies.

More information

• What is Auslan?
• How do I book an interpreter?
• What is the difference between Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing?
• Equal Employment Opportunity and Cultural Diversity
• Employers' obligations
• More detailed information and case scenarios