Stigmatization and normality for the deaf

How is it possible to use design in order to minimize stigmatization:
First of all, when we talk about disabilities we need to keep in mind that it’s very complex and that it varies from person to person. A disability might limit ones possibilities in life and how often one could participate in certain activities. The issue of acceptance is also important when we talk about disabilities and stigmatization. The type of disability is key in what ways it might limit the person and his/her possibilities. Whether or not the disability is physical, perceptual or cognitive one must focus on the individual and his/her needs. User centered design is an approach where the validity of the assumptions are tested with regard to the users behaviour in real world tests with actual users. Using this approach, one must think about the ethical aspects and to make sure that the tests are done in the right way. One must also find users that have disabilities and that are willing to participate in such a study. With visible impairments one must understand that there is stigmatizing and that people’s attitudes towards these people might be affected. I want to talk about stigmatization and normality for the deaf. This could be classified as a invisible impairment just as people with allergies or cognitive deficits. The fact that it’s an invisible impairment does not make it less of an impairment.

There are many situations in our society where sound is a key element for important information. Take the train station as an example. When a train is late or their is a change of tracks, the information office sends out an automated message in the speakers informing about the change. If people that are deaf wants to take part of this information, they constantly need to keep themselves updated using the information displayed on the boards. This is just one example of a situation where important information is given by sound. Another similar example could be when you are in a car and listening to the radio. Then when there’s an emergency message, the radio is stopped and the message is played telling the driver about a car accident nearby. Of course if you are deaf you’re not listening to the radio, but you will not have the possibility to get this important message either. This is just a few examples of situations where the deaf miss out when it comes to important information. But there could be a design solution to solve both of these examples. One might develop an application in the phone that is connected to the information board for the trains. This application could give notifications when there is changes to the trains regarding time as well as tracks. And for the second example, the radio in the car often has a display where the name of the radio station is shown. This display could be used to show these interrupted messages. A blinking lamp could indicate when a important message is being displayed so that the driver just gives his/her attention to the display when it’s necessary. But these are just my ideas. I believe that user centered design involving deaf users would be a great idea when it comes to solving problems like these ones. They are the ones that are the experts when it comes to their situation. They also know a lot about stigmatization and the involvement of these users might help to avoid future stigmatization when it comes to the design solutions. If we can create great supportive tools with a good design approach, we might avoid stigmatization.

How is it possible to use design in order to broaden the “normality” area:
Firstly we need to define the word normal. How do we know that is normal and what is not? And is there a clear border between the two? It’s important to know that the word normal is a defined attribute. Therefore the word normal is in a way a mindset of people. In order for the design to broaden the “normality” area one must change the way people think. Just because you have a disability does not make you abnormal. We must work to increase the acceptance and understanding of people. The design could of course be one tool to help shape this new way of thinking. We need to start to think inclusive when we design new products. We must come up with designs that minimize the stigmatization factors. People with disabilities are not unlike everybody else and they also want cool and interesting products. The products and tools designed to aid these people needs to be just as cool and inspired as “regular” products. Applications for your smartphone are well used and are less likely to have a high stigmatization factor. There should be more applications targeted to aid the deaf and disabled people in general.

I don’t think that a deaf person would consider using an application to help them in their everyday life as stigmatizing. But again, it’s hard for me to make that judgement. One must involve the users when designing and this should not be an assumption rather a question for these users. But since applications are so well used, it’s at least an idea on how to design to broaden the normality area. But once more I must emphasize the importance of the ethical aspect since research in disabilities are sensitive topics. You as a researcher have a very important role. The aim must be to treat people well and do better than just being on the right side of what is legal. Three key elements when designing for people with disabilities is that the study can provide privacy, integrity and trust for the participants.

We should use universal design to support the development of tools for the people with disabilities and to provide them with more possibilities in life. With that said, we still need to keep in mind “the saviour syndrome”: We constantly need to work with our attitude and how we treat people. We shouldn’t try to design for non-problems or to replace working solutions. The aim should be to delimit the delimitations. To work with the users in an ethical way in order to find solutions to real world problems.