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A Summary of the Report of The Commission of Enquiry into Human Aids to Communication
March 1992
The Commission of Enquiry
The Commission of Enquiry into Human Aids to Communication was set up in 1990 by charities working together as the Panel of Four consortium. Its terms of reference were: "The Commission will consider the full range of human aids to communication between all deaf and hearing people and make recommendations for the improvement in the quality and quantity for both the short and longer term. Human aids to Communication include sign language interpreters, communicators, lipspeakers, notetakers and computerised notetakers as well as interpreting and communication services for deafblind people."
The Commission asked individual users of human aids to communication for information on their needs and the services they receive. Organisations and service providers also submitted evidence. The Commission received letters, Braille letters, text telephone calls, academic research and sign language videos. Much of the evidence was from the personal experience of users. A total of 337 submissions were received.
The Commission was chaired by Lady Marre.
Communication Needs
There are difficulties in communication between hearing people and deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deafblind people. These difficulties are made worse by the shortage and unreliable quality of appropriately trained people to facilitate communication between hearing people and these users.
Communication needs include understanding a sign language interpreter or speaking through an interpreter; reading the lips of a lipspeaker; reading written or computerised notes provided by a special notetaker; or feeling the manual contact of a deafblind interpreter. Black or Ethnic Minority users may have additional communication needs.
Hearing aids and other technology are not sufficient by themselves to allow full communication. Communication in not just everyone's responsibility, it is your responsibility.
How many users are there?
Users' experience demonstrates the shortage of Human Aids to Communication (HACs) to meet their communication needs.
Research has shown that there are more than 7.5 million people in England, Wales and Scotland with some degree of hearing loss. Other research shows that there are at least half a million people with moderate to severe hearing difficulties who are likely to need HACs. At least 89,000 have both sight and hearing difficulties.
Who are HACs?
HACs are people who provide a communication link between hearing people and users. Users might be deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or deafblind people.
HACs have been trained in specific sills. They include sign language interpreters, lipspeakers, notetakers, operators of computerised transcriptions ("CAT" or "Palantype" operators), cued speech facilitators, and deafblind interpreters.
They enable users to have:
From users' difficulties in obtaining HACs there is clearly a shortage of appropriately trained people. There are currently only 23 full-time sign language interpreters, 10 part-time lipspeakers, and a handful of other HACs. However, detailed research on users' communication needs has never been carried out so it is difficult to say precisely how many more are needed or what skills are needed most. In the short term, both users and service providers must rely on information available locally.
Situations where HACs are needed
Hearing people often take communication for granted. For users of HACs, however, a visit to the doctor or hospital, for example, may be frightening. Users cannot be sure that they know what is being diagnosed, or what treatment they are having simply because no HAC is available - regardless of the user' medical needs.
A user may not have access to the legal system if there is no HAC to assist with communication in court or with their solicitor.
Attending public meetings is hardly worthwhile if you need a HAC and one is not present. Explaining your financial problems to a social security officer would also be difficult and might result in serious inaccuracies.
Of course there are many other situations where HACs are needed - at work, in sports centres, at the theatre, at college or university, on training schemes, or at a church, temple or mosque... and the list goes on.
Some of the evidence
"Much more effort needs to be made to cater for deaf people who do not sign and whose lipreading skills are poor."
"... the quality of interpreters particularly with 'voice over' is very, very poor indeed ... It is essential that sufficient training is given a much higher priority ... this is imperative for accuracy in legal, medical and employment situations."
"When attempting to communicate with a profoundly deaf person you are immediately aware of the difficulties involved, but you may not be aware that the person with a lesser hearing loss in unable to understand."
"I went along to the transport meeting. What bliss it was to have an interpreter standing there. All that access to information was wonderful."
"My severely deaf son-in-law attended a Day Training Centre. He reported that he could not communicate as there were no interpreters or trained lipspeakers. He left frustrated and never obtained any work afterwards."
"Any advice given in a medical situation must be clearly understood. When hearing aids and spectacles are removed, speech directed away from a patient or being faced with different accents then communication is not possible."
"It is my hope and dream that a team of interpreters will be set up, separate and independent from the social service office."
"Sometimes when deaf people want an interpreter it is difficult to get one. They are always booked. The appointment is put off time and time again. You are forced to give up and ask a friend to go with you. It is very difficult when a helper cannot tell you everything."
What are the main recommendations?
Any organisation unable to communicate directly with the user is responsible for:
A network of Communication Support Units (CSUs) should be established across the UK, funded by statutory bodies, voluntary agencies and employers. Around 30 CSUs are needed, each at a minimum cost of £80,000 a year at 1990 prices.
Detailed research is needed to establish
Training of HACs should not be divorced from other vocational and professional training offered in mainstream institutions. It should be linked into the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) structure and so attract training grants and other government funding.
Government and European funding is needed for an emergency five year programme to:
British Sign Language should be recognised as a minority language in Britain, and other sign systems should be seen as valid to their users.
Deafblindness should be recognised as a separate disability rather than concealed behind deafness or blindness.
Action for Parliament
Government should fund the emergency five-year training programme to increase the number of HACs.
Research should be commissioned to establish the communication needs of users, including those from black and ethnic minority communities.
Government should provide increased funding for the regulatory and examining bodies of HACs to raise standards.
The Department of Education and Science should extend the Disabled Students Allowance to include users on all full time and part-time courses.
The Employment Department should include the funding of HACs in the Special Aids to Employment scheme.
Government should recognise Deaf Studies as an academic subject, enabling institutions to include sign language studies, training of trainers and training of HACs in their prospectus.
Government should ensure that the training of HACs is linked with other vocational and professional training in the NVQ structure and offer training grants and other funding.
British Sign Language should be officially recognised as a minority language in the UK. Other sign systems should be seen as valid to their users.
Action for users of HACs
Tell service providers about your communication needs.
Work together with other users and organisations to improve the provision and training of HACs in your own local area.
Action for Sign Language Interpreters
The term 'Stage III Communicator' should be replaced with 'Trainee Sign Language Interpreter' for people on a recognised interpreter training course and registered as a trainee with the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) and the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI).
The term 'Sign Language Interpreter' should only be used by Registered Sign Language Interpreters.
Stage I holders of Sign Communication Skills should not act as unqualified HACs after January 1993. Stage II holders of Sign Communication Skills should not act as unqualified HACs after January 1994. Stage III holders of Sign Communication Skills should not act as unqualified HACs after January 1995.
The roles of professionals with communication skills should be separated from the role of HACs.
Action for other HACs
The term 'Communicator' should no longer be used. Communicators are not HACs. In further education, where a HAC is not appropriate in meeting a users' needs, a 'Communication Support Worker' may be used.
Registered Level 2 and Level 3 Lipspeakers, and appropriately trained Notetakers and CAT operators should be regarded as HACs in professional settings and so eligible for payment as HACs from public funds.
Registered Level 1 Lipspeakers should only be used as HACs in situations such as telephone work or informal meetings.
The Cued Speech Facilitator's role should be evaluated, and proposals made to align them with other HACs so that they become eligible for payment from public funds.
Action for Professionals
Budget for appropriately trained HACs. This may involve buying in the services of freelance HACs, using HACs from the local CSU or employing HACs directly.
Review the policy, practice and funding arrangements for meeting users' communication needs.
If involved in rehabilitating users, include training on how to use HACs and other communication strategies.
Be trained in communication skills as part of professional training. Develop a strategy for knowing when it is appropriate to call for specialist help from the appropriate HAC.
If working directly with sign language users, professionals should hold a minimum qualification of Stage III in Sign Communication Skills in addition to relevant professional qualifications.
Recognise deafblindness as a separate disability and that the needs of each deafblind person are unique.
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