Workshop | Effective Communication: Working with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Our deaf and hard of hearing populations are often left out of conversations, not given information, and lose opportunities because of a lack of language access. This communication breakdown is because most hearing people lack experience working with anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing. Lack of experience or planning leaves interactions filled with uncertainty, fear, and stress, and often leads to incorrect, little or no communication. When interactions with deaf or hard of hearing people are avoided, ignored, or haphazard, the only communication is that that they are not valued, and equity and inclusion will not be provided. This workshop will give resources to create a game plan for welcoming, working with, including, and providing effective communication for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Using these tools to create a proactive approach to effective communication removes barriers and nurtures an equitable and inclusive environment.

Handout(s)

Deaf Accessibility Resources

Timothy Vander Ploeg, MN, RN, CIC has been working with deaf and hard of hearing communities for almost a decade. Most recently, he was a school nurse at Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, WA. Timothy has seen how language accessibility and a culture of inclusion can make serious situations resolve smoothly and how everyday situations can be made stressful and triggering when accessibility to language is not supplied. Timothy received his master’s in nursing with certificates in Nursing Education and Public Health from Washington State University in 2022 focusing on accessibility in the medical system with the use of patient portals like MyChart. He has been published and has presented on accessibility issues during Grand Rounds at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM), for the National Association of School Nurses for the Deaf (NANSD), at the Northwest Regional Equity Conference (NWREC), and at the Northwest Public Employees Diversity Conference (NWPEDC). He is currently working in Infection Prevention at Clark County Public Health in Vancouver, WA.