Deaf to the needs of the disabled

Deaf to needs of the disabled -Anthony Thanasayan

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Created on Thursday, 13 November 2014 07:00

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Written by Anthony Thanasayan

Category: Columnist

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6 Comments

I AM THE KIND OF PERSON that most advertisers probably hate.
And I don't blame them.
I rarely pay attention to any of their promotions whenever or wherever they appear in the printed media or on air.

Commercial breaks, especially on TV, are to me simply the best excuse to go and grab a snack from the refrigerator, or to attend to that unyielding call of nature, before I make a quick dash back in my wheelchair to stay glued to my favourite shows.
Last week, however, wasn't quite the norm.
I was just about to head for a sandwich break during my favourite 'Marvel Agents of Shield' series on Astro when an unusual advertisement caught my eye.
It was about a young couple lying in bed and looking totally miserable on a bright and shiny morning!
And it wasn't until they began to communicate with each other that I realised they were both Deaf - or so I thought.
The guy was asking the girl  - all in sign language - what she had dreamt about and what she wanted to do together as a couple later on in the day.
Although I am no expert, though I took sign language classes years ago, I could tell that their hand signs were, for the most part, accurate.
Up to this point, I must say that I was pleased that the advertisers were using Deaf people - or at least helping to promote sign language in a positive way.
However, little did I realise what was to happen next.
All of a sudden, the guy sits up and starts speaking through his mouth to the girl!
She vocalises her reply to him too.
It turns out that neither of them is hearing-impaired in the first place.
They were only scared to open their mouths because of bad breath.
That is why the couple resorted to using sign language with each other.
The lovers were trying to protect each other from something unpleasant.
To make matters worse, the background tune played during the sign language conversation was a dull and rather melancholic one.
However, after using the new 'Dentiste' toothpaste - the company that  created the advert - the couple automatically enjoyed fresh breath, and thus had no need to communicate in sign language any more.
Yogeswari Veerakathy became Deaf when she was 10 years old. She is in her forties now. A lecturer for Deaf students in a private university, she was quick to comment about the advert in her Facebook page:
"What exactly are they (the advertisers) trying to say? Sign language is for those with bad breath? How very insensitive of them (to portray the Deaf community in this way in their commercial).
"(Resorting) to using sign language (just because people) have bad breath is plain silly. I didn't like the way the ad made fun of sign language and took it so lightly (so much so) that those who watch it will (only end up) laughing (at Deaf people).
"Sign language is considered the mother tongue of Deaf people (in Malaysia and around the world) so obviously the community will be offended when (anyone tries to poke) fun at it. It's like saying those who use sign language suffer from bad breath.
"Advertisers should practise the highest level of sensitivity towards people with disabilities. They should be educated about the fact that sign language is a beautiful language used by the Deaf worldwide and it is a powerful tool of communication for them.
"There is also an increasing number of hearing people who learn sign language professionally in order to communicate with the Deaf in their families - as well as to make friends with Deaf persons," concluded Yoges.
Instead of portraying the Deaf in Malaysia in such a negative light, here are some quick positive steps that the promoters can take if they want to involve Deaf people and their issues:

• Being Deaf does not restrict the individual to a medical definition such as one's inability to hear. Deafness is now being regarded as a whole culture and brand new living for the Deaf, hence the term is now spelt with a capital 'D' instead of a lower case 'd'. There is a distinct difference. In view of this, advertisers should use real Deaf people in their commercials instead of those pretending to be one.

• Deaf people are not looking for cures nor do they dream all day about being able to hear. In fact, they are not interested in it at all. They would much rather that the hearing world learn sign language and enter into their "silent world" in order to know more about them.

• Deaf people have rights - so do away with depressing tunes and music. These only elicit sympathy, which doesn't help. They don't need anyone's sympathy but support. Give them equal opportunities in employment. Provide sign language interpreters in office conferences, trainings and in every meeting involving the Deaf. Pay them the same wages as hearing staff. Provide close captioning subtitles on television which gives all the details of what hearing audiences are able to hear in audio and visuals such as background noises in addition to what is being said.         

Actually, the advert wouldn't have been so bad had it included some of the  facts about the Deaf community in a footnote in the promotional, as part of the company's corporate social service thingy.
And as for bad breath, guys, we all know, don't we, that that nasty can be caused by a whole lot of health issues.
It is best that you seek proper professional medical evaluation instead of naively resorting to any magical toothpaste solution.
I think I'll pass that argument over to the dentists who know better.

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