The government needs to boost accessibility for the local hearing-impaired community, the president of the Macau Deaf Association, Narissa Lau, said during an event held yesterday to mark the International Day of Sign Languages.
Speaking to TDM, Lau outlined some of the problems that the hard of hearing face on a daily basis. For instance, at hospitals patient ticket numbers are often announced over a PA system but could just as easily be displayed on a screen. Lau also mentioned basic safety issues, such as alerting a hearing-impaired person to a fire alarm.
The comments come in the wake of a scathing report from the Commission of Audit, which found that there were serious deficiencies in the way the authorities planned and implemented 34 accessibility projects that were part of a 10-year rehabilitation services plan for the visually impaired.
[See more: Macao’s shoddy accessibility projects for the visually impaired have come under fire]
During yesterday’s event, Lau also spoke about the need for schools, government and parents to expose their children to the use of sign language, irrespective of their hearing capacity. “There are many studies that show that whether a child is deaf or hearing, it is very helpful for them to learn sign languages early on for their overall cognitive development,” the association president said.
Currently, Lau’s association deals with 800 individuals who are users of sign language. On average, the organisation handles an annual number of 10 cases involving newborns who are hard of hearing.
Historically, the deaf community in Macao was largely stigmatised and shunned as recently as the 1990s. The situation has improved over the years, with the establishment of the Macau Deaf Association in 1994 and through more inclusive measures such as sign language news and educational programmes. Nonetheless, there are many challenges that the community continues to face, including limited education and job opportunities.
