Jennifer Harris

Venture Press

£9.95

ISBN 1 86178 016 8

This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand better the communication barriers faced by deaf people. It is a compelling and readable analysis of communication between deaf and hearing people. Harris uses quotes to illustrate what happens and goes on to analyse the process and how it discriminates against, stigmatises and discredits deaf people.

Harris, a hearing person, carried out her research using an ethnographic approach, during which she lived for ten months with a group of deaf people in a rehabilitation unit. She starts from the premise that deaf people have a discrete culture based on language. She then uses the social model of difficulty. Communication between deaf and hearing people is unequal, with hearing people having the power. 'Social relations between deaf and hearing people depend upon the goodwill and adaptation of hearing people.' Her research indicates clearly that the necessary goodwill is largely missing.

Harris finds that the exclusion of deaf people by the hearing is often unintentional, though not always. She describes how teasing can be a form of overt exclusion when teasing specifically exploits the fact that the deaf person cannot hear. In other situations, the deaf person may simply be ignored.

Harris makes a strong case for all hearing people to adopt an 'open communication attitude', which may mean experimenting with a variety of ways of communicating. She also makes a good case for more resources to be provided to enable hearing people to learn British Sign Language at public expense.

She calls for all professionals dealing with the public to be expected to learn at least basic BSL and says social services professionals have a moral obligation to learn to sign as part of anti-discriminatory practice. I think she has taken the argument to a logical, but not realistic, conclusion.

Mary Ann Hooper is care group manager (elderly and physical difficulties), Hertfordshire social services department.