It’s Christmas (for those of you who celebrate Christmas), and while many of you may be enjoying the festivities, being
hearing impaired presents all sorts of problems during the holidays. Whether you’re going to a Christmas song recital or having Christmas dinner with your family, there may always be limits to how much you or your hearing-impaired friends and family members can enjoy Christmas. However, there are ways we can make the holidays more
hearing-impaired friendly. Here’s a round-up of five things the world can make Christmas better for those who need hearing aids:
Christmas Carols in Sign Language by Children of the Hearing-Impaired
Just two weeks ago, a video of a KODA (Kid of Deaf Adults) signing a Christmas song at school for her deaf parents went viral. Watch it below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQeygYqOn8g
Now, wouldn’t it be great if all of the young children could learn the signs to the Christmas carols they sang instead of the (often unnecessary) signaling that the music teacher tells them to do? While nothing can replace the beauty of music, sign language during Christmas caroling is one of the simplest measures toward including more people in the joy.
Round Tables, a Blog for Hearing-Impaired
You may be wondering why “round tables” are even on here. But Limping Chicken, a blog oriented for the U.K.’s hearing impaired, says it can make all the difference. Round tables mean that everyone can see each other’s lips during discussions. You don’t need to know sign language in order to accommodate relatives or friends who are hearing impaired!
Santas Who Know How to Sign, for the Benefit of the Hearing-Impaired
A Santa Claus who knows sign language? But what about kids who can read lips? Well, Santa Claus has a huge beard. Try reading lips under that mountain of hair. And it’s not too much to ask for a Santa that knows Just three weeks ago, at a Fairfax, Virginia mall, children were delightedly surprised when a Santa who knew sign language showed up and asked them what they wanted for Christmas in hand gestures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6KFGvm_kn4
Detroit also has its own sign language-proficient Santa. We’re hoping both of these cases are good enough signs that finding people who can speak sign language (and perhaps even
hearing impaired) should be a goal every Christmas.
Communicating with the Hearing-Impaired: Remember to Shave!
Now that we’re talking about inconvenient Santa beards, a note to people who grow intense facial hair: If you’re having family members or friends over that are hearing impaired, you may want to shave so they can see your lips.
Christmas Movies With Captioning to Assist the Hearing-Impaired
Last of all, one thing that would make many people’s lives easier: Turn on the closed captioning to Christmas movies before your guests come over. If you don’t know how to turn on the closed captioning on your TV (trust us, this is an actual obstacle many of us encounter day to day), you can always just find Christmas movies with no dialogue at all. Our personal suggestion: Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman.
by Andrea Garcia Vargas
