How can Churches become Deaf-Friendly ?

By Prayer

• Ask God to give Church members a love for Deaf people.
• Ask God to prepare Church members to be aware of the needs of Deaf people.
• Ask God to make people aware that Deaf people have a lot to give.
• Ask God to help people to be accommodating of Deaf people.
• Ask God to remind the Church about Deaf people in their evangelism.
• Ask God to remind the Church that we are all one in Christ

Be aware of barriers

• Self consciousness
• Limited ability to communicate
• Fear of not understanding or being misunderstood
• Fear of being left our of a hearing Church

How to overcome the difficulties

• It is helpful to smile when meeting Deaf people.
• There is no need to shout.
• A gentle touch on the Deaf person's arm or shoulder is the best way to show that you want to say something.
• Eye contact is important to Deaf people.
• When speaking use your mouth clearly without over-emphasising.
• Deaf people would appreciate if you speak slowly, but not so slowly as to disrupt the natural rhythm of the sentence.
• It is helpful to use hand gestures.   For example a wave to mean "Goodbye".  Thumbs up for "Are you well?".
• If you do not understand the first time, ask the Deaf person to repeat it.
• It can be helpful to use pen and paper to communicate.
• As everything may be new to you, try to be patient.
• When speaking to the Deaf person, try to keep your hands away from your mouth.

Help in Church

• Deaf people need to be in a position where they can see both the speaker and the interpreter.  Try to experiment before the service starts so that everyone is happy with the seating arrangement.  Light is very important to  Deaf people;  make sure it is on the interpreters face (not behind, so dazzling the Deaf person).
• A loop system can be beneficial to those wearing hearing aids.  If there isn't one in your Church, find out details from Social Services about installing one.
• Visual aids can be beneficial to Deaf people.  Ask the Church leaders to use an overhead projector for songs so that the Deaf people can be free to use their hands to sign.  The overhead projector is ideal for showing a sermon outline.
• It can be helpful for the interpreters to obtain and familiarise themselves with the sermon outline beforehand.

Getting Involved

• As Deaf people are very observant, try to show that you want to be friends.  Deaf people appreciate friendship as much as the next person.
• Even is you have not yet mastered sign language, try and communicate where you can.  Try any method to overcome difficulties.
• After a time you may feel that communication has improved dramatically and you can start thinking about taking up evening classes to learn basic sign language.  Signing classes are held in towns all over the country.  It may be a good idea to get some people from your Church to attend.   To find out where your nearest class is, contact your Local Education Authority.   Alternatively try The Council for Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP).