• Research
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Research

The great majority of computer software, specifically educational software, does not include accommodations for those users who are deaf or hard of hearing. The difficulty with making accommodations for this group lies in the fact that there is a wide variety of needs among the deaf and hard of hearing. From mildly hard of hearing to profoundly deaf, each individual has varying requirements that will make the software accessible.

In the field of deaf education, there are three main communication philosophies of how to educate deaf children: oral/aural, manual, and bilingual/bicultural. Within each philosophy lie methods of communication that would either preclude or include various accommodations. For example, children raised under an oral communication philosophy do not use sign language, therefore sign language interpretation is not an appropriate accommodation. However, a child using manual communication would utilize such an accommodation.

In researching how to increase access to computer software for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, modifications could be categorized into the following:

• Visual cues
• Sound controls
• Captioning
• Sign Language Interpretation

Visual Cues

• Blinking/Highlighting
  Blinking or highlighting objects can be used as a way to draw the user’s attention to important icons or other information. The use of blinking/highlighting may be used as a way of indicating what object the person is to “click” on. Blinking/highlighting may also be used to draw attention to objects when instructions are being given.


• Animations
  Animations can be used to demonstrate how to complete a task. A character in the program may move about the screen as they are explaining the directions. The animations can be used with other visual clues, such as blinking/highlighting.

Sound Controls

• The user could have the option of increasing or decreasing the volume of the characters’ voices, sound effects, and any other auditory information presented in the program.

Captioning

• Basic Captions
  A basic captioning modification would consist of text appearing at some designated place on the screen (preferably the bottom of the screen). The text would follow every spoken word by the characters in the program. This feature would allow the user to use any residual hearing in conjunction with the printed word. This would reinforce listening skills as well as offer read-along practice.


• Highlighting of Words Tied to Audio
  An additional modification to captioning could include a “highlighted” captioning feature. As the words are spoken, the individual words would be highlighted so that the user could “read-along” word by word with the character. Such a modification would offer an additional level of support in addition to the benefits mentioned above.

Sign Language Interpretation

• When choosing to add a sign language interpretation module, consideration for what mode of signing used in the program must be based on the target audience. There are four modes of signing that should be considered: American Sign Language, Pidgin Signed English, Signed English, and Signing Exact English. Some forms of sign language are more accessible to a greater number of signers. Modes of signing are not completely isolated from one another. The different types of signing follow more of a continuum rather than isolated modalities. The less “English” structure the signing contains, the closer it falls to ASL on the continuum. The more “English” structure the signing contains, the closer it falls to SEE.