Comments on core ref

Forwarded with permission from Gail Joniec, a teacher of the deaf in
Massachusetts

Charles

--Charles McCathieNevile            mailto:charles@w3.org
phone: +1 617 258 0992   http://www.w3.org/People/Charles
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative    http://www.w3.org/WAI
MIT/LCS  -  545 Technology sq., Cambridge MA, 02139,  USA

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Re: definitions, OK but some Deafness may be surgically improved, new
cochlea implants for example.
But, re: the web. yes no captions for audio, but also, the written language
levels, reading , usually do not exceed 3rd grade reading level.  That's the
level of the Boston Herald, approx.
Usually, the more complex the sentence structure, for a example, a long
sentence, including phrases the more difficult the understanding for a lot
of deaf people.  Their native language is (American Sign Language) ASL, and
although their written language is English, the two are not the same syntax,
grammar, etc. Therefore captions need to be clear, simple and precise,
basically.
Yes, H of H, Hard of hearing, have the advantage of hearing and
understanding the English Language and are therefore more successful with
written english.  Usually, captioning helps a lot, because perhaps a person
doesn't hear high pitch sounds well, such as f, s, sh, those csound s can
change words and word endings, and therefore meaning.


>Deafness
>
>  Deafness involves a substantial uncorrectable impairment of hearing in
>  both ears.
>
>  Some deaf individuals' first language is a sign language, and they may or
>  may not be
>
>  fluent readers of a written language.
>
>  To use the Web, people who are deaf may rely on captions for audio
content.
>
>  Barriers that people who are deaf may encounter on the Web include:
>
>    + lack of captions or transcripts for audio content on the Web
>
>    + lack of visual signposts in pages full of text, which can slow
>      comprehension for non-native readers of a written language
>
>Hard of hearing
>
>  A person with a mild to moderate hearing impairment may be considered
hard of
>  hearing.
>
>  To use the Web, people who are hard of hearing may rely on captions for
>  audio content together with amplification of audio.
>
>  Barriers encountered on the Web include:
>
>    + lack of captions or transcripts for audio content
>

Received on Friday, 1 October 1999 08:42:58 UTC