SLHS Students Raise Awareness for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

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SLHS graduate students Sofia Macias (at left) and Farheen Khan presenting their work

In November, graduate students Sofia Macias and Farheen Khan in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences gave a seminar for the Boltwood Project, a student-run civic engagement and leadership program on the UMass Amherst campus. The project is designed to provide enrichment, recreation, and socialization for adults and children of intellectual or physical diverse ability.

Macias and Khan, both second-year audiology students pursuing a clinical doctorate, developed and delivered the presentation, which aimed to increase awareness of the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing community (DHH), the resources available to them, and understanding of the challenges they face. They compared and contrasted schools for the DHH community, read more about their history, and researched various assistive technologies available to the community. 

“Struggling to communicate with others is not only frustrating to deal with but is exhausting and leads to self-isolation and depression,” said Macias. “At large, people who experience hearing loss struggle in background noise or places with unfavorable acoustics. Some of these situations can be as simple as asking for help in a store, chatting with friends at a restaurant, or even conversing with a loved one at home. On campus, the biggest concern would be accessing the same information in class as people with normal hearing. People with hearing loss in an educational setting benefit from things like microphones the professor can wear, small classrooms with good acoustics, and ideal seating in the classroom. But, these aren't always easy to come by, even if they're required by disability services.”

To make their Boltwood presentation interactive and representative of the DHH community, Macias and Khan had everyone wear earplugs for part of the presentation to simulate mild to moderate hearing loss.

“We heard comments such as how some people had to spend more effort to listen to what others were saying or that they noticed themselves saying ‘What’ more often,” said Khan. “This led into conversations about what hearing loss is specifically and the kinds of patients we see at our campus clinic.”

At the end of the presentation, students in attendance were encouraged to end the stigma that surrounds the DHH community. Macias and Khan emphasized that this can be done through education and acceptance.

“Along with understanding through this activity, a major takeaway was how they could create a positive impact,” said Khan. “They were taught better communication strategies that both speakers and listeners could use such as facing each other and rephrasing topics when the individual with hearing loss did not hear the conversation. Hopefully, those who came to this session can use the strategies to communicate more effectively with those who are part of the DHH community and gain a better appreciation for what audiologists do.”

Both Macias and Khan work under the supervision of Senior Lecturer Tomma Henckel, who runs the audiology clinic located in the Center for Language, Speech, and Hearing on campus. The center offers a comprehensive range of clinical services for individuals with communication disorders, differences, or delays. Services provided by the center include both diagnostic evaluations and treatment sessions that are available to all ages.

“One of our department’s missions in educating our students in becoming professional audiologists is to ensure that they embrace the aspects of public education and activism, both of which are also included in our professional organization’s (ASHA) goals,” said Henckel. “What better way to do this than to have them practice this early in their program by making such important and impactful presentations to undergraduate students in our and other departments?” 

Henckel added, “There is a lack of general knowledge about hearing loss and its implications on quality of life, education, occupation, general physical and mental health and treatment options. At the same time, there is a Deaf culture that very few people know about and it is our duty to normalize and destigmatize these facets and to improve access to our services.”

The Boltwood Project has been part of UMass for over 50 years and is one of the largest community engagement programs at UMass Amherst. Every semester, it hosts three seminars focused on disability awareness, allyship, and advocacy.