Educating The Hearing Impaired On AIDS

Deaf Reach, a city-based a non-governmental organisation in Hyderabad has devised an activity-oriented health and relationship module to spread awareness among the deaf about AIDS, its cause and consequences. The deaf, though do not constitute the high-risk group, are more prone to let themselves into a high-risk situation because of lack of comprehensive health information. According to Deaf Reach director Christine Lazarus, the module covers gender related issues, adolescence and changes associated with growth, personal hygiene with emphasis on AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

The module is designed on lines of a reference manual published by MacArthur Population Programme fellows, Ch Gopinath and Shilpa, who have done an extensive research on the sexual vulnerability of the deaf.

According to Lazarus there are scores of cases where deaf women shave been victimised because of lack of proper understanding about sexuality as there is no authentic source to tell the deaf about these sensitive issues. Sometimes, the instinctive desire to win affection too can force a deaf man or a woman to say yes to high-risk behaviour.

The course is a two to three month course and free for deaf. A retired army doctor Dr JJ Lukkumar explains the modules and an interpreter will put it in a capsule form for the deaf to comprehend. The students will learn about body parts through activities like body modelling and body mapping. The students use balloons and other items to construct the body systems. Both oral and sign language for imparting knowledge.

The signs used in communication and advertising material pose a bigger challenge. For instance the deaf regard a plus (+) as ‘good’. Thus, in the same thinking, they consider an HIV +ve as good. HIV and a (+) are a difficult combination to explain to the deaf.

Deaf Reach has completed training of four batches. These trainers will in turn impart training in the districtsof the State of Andhra Pradesh.NGO creates hands-on approach to spread AIDS awareness in city.

13 March 2003, The Newindpress, Hyderabad.