Conversation with Sask. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services’ Patti Spicer
We are thrilled to introduce Patti Spicer, a dedicated advocate and professional from Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (SDHHS). Patti, who is deaf herself, has worked tirelessly to support and empower the deaf community throughout Saskatchewan. As we celebrate the International Day of Sign Languages on September 23, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly to recognize the importance of sign languages globally, Patti’s work exemplifies the critical role of communication accessibility in fostering inclusivity. In today’s interview, she shares her insights on the challenges and successes of advocating for the rights and services of deaf individuals.
What’s your story?
My name is Patricia Spicer, and I am actually deaf-blind. I have worked for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services for about six years now, and I have a couple of different roles here. I do vocational counseling and early childhood and family services. Before working at SDHHS, I was involved in the deaf community. I was involved in hosting events and socializing, and I witnessed a lot of barriers in the community over the years. My knowledge and experience was enhanced so when I started working here, I was able to provide the necessary supports and services the community needed at the time. I had a good recognition of those barriers.
What are the main services your organization provides to support the deaf community?
SDHHS provides vocational counseling, helping the deaf and hard of hearing community look for jobs and assisting with cover letters, resume building, and a whole bunch of different training, such as first aid, food safety courses, and forklift training to match the needs of their future employment. Once they obtain a job, I often assist employers who may not know how to communicate effectively with the deaf or hard-of-hearing employee, and that’s where I would go in and explain the role and make them feel more comfortable.
Early childhood and family Services has a different role. I typically go into peoples homes, working with parents who have children who are deaf and hard of hearing. This can also include children who are non-verbal, have Down Syndrome, or other disabilities. This allows the parents to learn different languages and effectively communicate with their child to build that connection. We also have youth programming, where all the youth socialize and realize they are all the same, helping them build connections.
We offer interpreting and computerized note-taking services to ensure that people have full access to communication on what is going on around them. We also run Camp Dragonfly, a camp for children, teachers, and educational assistants, where they learn about sign language and how to teach deaf and hard-of-hearing children effectively. There are so many more services, but that’s SDHHS in a nutshell!
What do you find most important that SDHHS is doing for the community?
SDHHS provides intreptors and computerized notetakers, and people have full access to the information that is going on around them, but also the support. This can be for job searching, or for example, a deaf or hard of hearing person gets a paper in the mail from CPP; we can translate those and also anything in the health sector. We can provide that information so that they get equal accessibility to maybe something that isn’t quite accessible online.
What has been the most inspiring moment you’ve seen in the community during your work with SDHHS?
In September 2018, I had planned to host a rally. This rally was going to take place at the Legislative Building in Regina because we wanted American sign language to be recognized as a language and be recognized as our primary language. We rented a bus from Saskatoon so their deaf community could hop on the bus and come down to Regina to join us at the rally. It had happened that it was snowing that day, heavily snowing, almost like a blizzard- it was really strange because it was the middle of September. We thought we would have to cancel the bus, as the bus driver was going through this heavy snow and poor visibility, the deaf community from Saskatoon was discussing, thinking “maybe we will need to turn the bus around and go back to Saskatoon,” so they had acknowledged the bus driver and said maybe we need to turn it around, and the bus driver refused. The bus driver had bared through the weather and made it to the Ledge. It was so inspiring to see everyone get off the bus and come together, barring the cold, all bundled up. They did a little interview, the reporter was out there interviewing us, and once it was all done we had hot dogs and hot chocolate to keep us warm. It was honestly such an inspirational moment seeing everyone wanting to be there for American Sign Language to be recognized.
Is ASL recognized as a language now?
Yes! ASL was recognized by the Government of Canada through Bill C-81 under the Accessibility Act in June 2019. We advocated to the Saskatchewan Government, and finally this past December 3rd, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Saskatchewan Government passed Bill 103, recognizing sign language as our primary language for accessibility.
What part of your impact makes you most proud?
The moment that made me most proud was when I went to the Legislative Building with my boss, Nairn. I didn’t know why we were going, but when we arrived, I met a blind woman with a guide dog who congratulated me. I didn’t understand why at first, but once we were in the chambers, someone stood up to explain the importance of recognizing sign language for the deaf community, and how it provided full accessibility in education and interpreting services. It was such a moment for me because finally someone was taking down those barriers and I was so incredibly proud. Before that sign language was forbidden to be used in schools, you could not use it, whatsoever- they relied on oralism and that was it. We had worked so hard to get to this point, to remove those barriers and bring ASL back into the classroom. It was a lot of work and finally, someone recognized the work we’ve done, and now we’ve been working even more to teach sign language and grow our community and enhance the knowledge of sign language.
ASL was forbidden in schools?
Yes, it started in the 1880s when there was a teacher conference in Milan, Italy and there was a vote to ban sign language in the classroom. Ever since then, there has been a long process, from the 1880s up until 2018, the Canadian Government had no recognition whatsoever of sign language.
What role does technology play in supporting communication and accessibility for the deaf community, and how is your organization utilizing it?
(Photo right: Example of T.T.Y. machine)
Technology plays a huge role in supporting communication. Hard-of-hearing individuals can use interpreters, computerized note-takers, or even their iPhones, which can translate closed captions. There is also something called an FM loop, which is kind of like a headphone that provides access to the hard-of-hearing community. If you are going to the movies, they typically have a closed captioning system that sits in your cupholder and has a little screen that would show the closed caption as the movie is playing so you can watch the movies and have the closed captions at the same time to reference. There are also closed captions on T.V. nowadays and honestly today there is a lot more technology than there was back in the day. Focusing more on a deaf perspective, there’s a lot of old technology- like something called a T.T.Y. It was this machine that you would set the phone on top of and it was a keyboard- this was a really old technology, and now we have something called Canada V.R.S. You would phone on your smart phone and there would be an interpreter on the other side of the line who would call who you're trying to contact and they would interpret for you through your phone.
Today there is a lot more technology regarding safety, for example, fire alarms include a strobe light, or alarm clocks that have bed shakers.. The alert systems are more visual rather than sound-based, and now those technologies are increasing every single day compared to what we were used to in the past.
What is the biggest barrier deaf or hard-of-hearing people encounter in Regina?
The biggest barrier is accessibility, and there are a lot of different reasons regarding accessibility. There is a communication barriers, so for example a lack of interpreters or computerized note taking, and lack of staff and that essentially creates a problem. People want to hire an interpreter but then they see the cost and automatically deters them. They don’t want an interpretor at that point, so then they get rid of that accessibility piece.
Another part is finding jobs in the deaf community. A lot of people think “How am I supposed to work with somebody who can’t hear” or “How are we going to communicate effectively?”, and that deters employers away. What if there was a fire? They can’t hear. A lot of it becomes a safety aspect that people aren’t knowledgeable in the situation of the deaf and hard of hearing community. People typically judge, they think deaf people can’t do a lot of things, so it comes with that stigma that “deaf people can’t” and that creates such a huge barrier.
What can the broader community do to better support and engage with the deaf community?
The community itself can become more deaf and hard-of-hearing friendly. For example, be willing to hire an interpreter or computerized note taker for an event, for example an art gallery workshop or artist talk, so they have the accessibility and can enjoy the art as well. If you’ve ever been to a Rough Rider Game this season, they have O Canada interpreted in sign language on the big screen, so that’s one point. It’s amazing, we feel that we are included, that we can watch the game, and that we are also being acknowledged in our language. People can be involved in learning sign language, just basic or if they want to become fluent, we will take it! The deaf and hard of hearing feel so recognized that someone knows about deaf and hard of hearing, knowledge about us. Providing job opportunities is also essential.
What is the future of SDHHS?
Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services has a dream of setting up a deaf center. This is where the deaf and hard-of-hearing community can all gather, socialize, make connections, and access programming. To have a deaf hub! The hearing community would be able to come and learn sign language and how to communicate with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and learn about deaf culture. We would hire more staff, including interpreters, to match the needs of the community.
What is the size of the community in Regina?
In Regina, it is quite small. We can’t forget that sign language was forbidden for so long that it has left a lot of people isolated and a lot of people that we have’t quite found that are maybe living without language. We hope in the future that the community will continue to grow and expand as soon as people learn about the knowledge of Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and the services we provide. I have a belief that the community will continue to grow.
We do travel to communities outside of Regina quite a bit. This past Wednesday, we actually drove to Estevan and once that was done we drove into Weyburn and back to Regina. There is one worker from Saskatoon that drives all the way up North to serve about 16 communities up North.
What are the long-term consequences if we ignore the voices of the deaf community?
It will impact quite a few things. The first one is discrimination will continue to increase, and the mental health of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community will decrease. People will continue to become isolated and have a sense of loneliness, they will feel extreme frustration and stress, and that will lead to a bunch of mental health problems.
If there are no jobs for the deaf and hard of hearing community, that will mean the economy will become more expensive for the deaf and hard of hearing because it will cause the deaf and hard of hearing to go into group homes and need mental health services and require the deaf and hard of hearing to rely on wealthfare systems and supported incomes because they don’t have jobs.
What do you want Regina to know about your organization?
One in ten Canadians have or will experience hearing loss, and one in one hundred Canadians will be profoundly deaf. This means that people need to know where to find our services and if they are experiencing hearing loss, they need to link hearing loss with Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, because we can be that hub that provides resources and gives them all the support that we need. And for people interested in learning sign language, we want them to know that SDHHS provides those classes, both in person and online, and all the teachers are deaf. They are extremely qualified and skilled in what they are teaching.
To learn more about Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, visit their website linked here!