Deafness in Francophone Canada

Last updated

There are about 357,000 deaf and 3,210,000 hard-of-hearing people in Canada. [1] The country can be split into Francophone and Anglophone regions, and has both French and English as official languages. The majority of Canada is considered Anglophone, while the province of Quebec along with small parts of New Brunswick, Ontario, and Manitoba are primarily French-speaking. [2] The presence of these two main languages and cultures also brings forth different deaf cultures between the two regions. In Francophone regions, the official language used by deaf and hard-of-hearing people is Quebec Sign Language (Langue des signes québécoise; LSQ).

Contents

Language

Quebec Sign Language (Langue des signes québécoise; LSQ) is the sign language used by deaf people in the Francophone regions of Canada and is unique to the region. Akin to the contrasts between European French and Canadian French, differences are also present between French Sign Language and LSQ. Much of LSQ originated from American Sign Language (ASL) and French Sign Language (LSF). [3]

Sign language was introduced to Quebec through religious groups promoting the education of deaf children. The Clerics of Saint Viator (Clercs de Saint-Viateur) brought LSF and teaching techniques from France while the Sisters of Providence (Soeurs de la Providence), having trained in the United States, brought ASL. [3] These two influences combined to create Quebec Sign Language. [3] LSQ is only used by deaf communities in Quebec, making it a deaf-community sign language. [4] LSQ is considered a small language with fewer than 10,000 users and is reported to be stable. [5]

Organizations

The Canadian Association of the Deaf (Association des sourds du Canada; CAD) advocates for deaf people in the country. The CAD represents both the French-speaking and English-speaking regions of Canada. The organization believes that sign language deserves the same recognition as any other language. [6] The CAD opposes communication forms created by non-deaf people, like seeing exact English, signed English, cued speech, and manually coded English, which they say "deform the true sign language in order to make it conform to the grammar and syntax of a verbal language". [6]

Audition Québec, which specifically targets the French region of Canada, offers referral services and information for hard-of-hearing and deaf adults, as well as resources for the people around them. [7] Audition Québec is funded by the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec   [ fr ] and the Fondation des Sourds du Québec (Deaf Foundation of Quebec). [8] [ non-primary source needed ]

L'Association des personnes avec une déficience de l'audition (Association of People with Hearing Deficiency; APDA) is a non-profit organization focused on helping people live with hearing loss. [9] They target people of all ages with hearing impairments but have a focus on senior citizens. [9] The APDA offers support, mutual aid, information, and references. The APDA aims to help people with hearing loss integrate better into society and promotes their social inclusion. [9] [10] The APDA also raises awareness for the problems facing deaf and hard of hearing people and advocates for the rights of deaf people. [10]

Human and civil rights

In Quebec, LSQ is not an officially recognized language. The Charter of the French Language prohibits and seeks to limit the use of any language other than French, including LSQ. [11] [ original research? ] Despite persistent efforts to include ASL and LSQ in the Charter of French Language, no action has been taken to recognize the status of sign languages in Quebec. There is further action being taken to ensure the importance of French in Quebec with plans to make modifications to the Charter of French Language through Bill 96. The goal of Bill 96 is to guarantee that French is the only official language in Quebec; this is a rising concern in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. [12] [ failed verification ] Due to lack of recognition by the Quebec government, it is difficult for LSQ-using deaf individuals to access provincially legislated resources such as higher education, employment, and healthcare.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a United Nations treaty intended to protect the rights of disabled people. [13] Canada ratified the CRPD in 2010 and is up to date with the reports, most recently publishing one in 2017. [14]

Education

The academic system for the deaf in Quebec has steered towards integrating students towards the hearing academic system. [15] The three most-prominent schools for the deaf in Quebec dismiss the presence of sign language and focus on acquisition of spoken language for deaf children.[ citation needed ] Many teachers of the deaf in Quebec know sign language as a second language, and lack the fluency that a deaf person may have. [15]

École Oraliste

École Oraliste is a Quebec City school that is centered towards preparing deaf children to enter a world of spoken language. [16] The language of instruction is French and this institution believes that in order for deaf children to be successful in the world, they must be proficient in oral and written language. [16] École Oraliste offers programs at the primary and secondary level. [16]

MacKay School for the Deaf

The MacKay School for the Deaf is provincial school in Montreal. It serves students aged 4–21 who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, have physical disabilities, or have communication disorders. [17] They have also implemented a reverse integration program in which hearing children aged 4–11 join the school and are taught alongside deaf and physically disabled children. Students in the reverse integration program must have English eligibility and live in the boundaries of the English Montreal School Board. [17]

Montreal Oral School for the Deaf

The Montreal Oral School for the Deaf (MOSD) is a private school focused on providing an auditory-verbal education for children with hearing loss. [18] Their purpose is to aid in developing a child's listening and spoken language skills, and they base their practices on principles set forth by the Alexander Graham Bell Academy. [18] Targeted towards children aged 6–12 years old, this school aims to combat the language delay that is often faced by deaf children and integrate them into mainstream schools. [19] In accordance with the objectives of the Quebec Education Program, MOSD offers special literary classes and audiology services to ensure that the child's spoken language skills parallel those of their hearing peers. [19] MOSD also offers support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children of all ages, including early intervention services for children aged 0–3. [20] MOSD reports that 80% of its graduates move onto post secondary education. [21]

Higher education

Deaf students in Quebec are able to access higher educations through support services like interpreters and notetakers, but there is not a post-secondary institution specialized towards deaf individuals. [15] [ needs update ] Vocational training is also offered in cities to those who have special needs, including those who are deaf. [22] In post-secondary and adult training programs for the deaf, ASL is the primary sign language used throughout Canada, especially with the bilingual–bicultural education approach. [23]

Employment

In Quebec, 90% of deaf people are unemployed or on social assistance. [23] There are many barriers regarding employment for deaf people in Quebec. [24] In 2016, the Canadian Hearing Society published that the Quebec's auto insurer, Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, would not allow deaf drivers to obtain a Class 4C licence, which is a prerequisite to employment for taxi, limousine, and rideshare drivers. [24] [25]

Healthcare

The 1997 case Eldridge v British Columbia (AG) established that healthcare facilities in Canada are required to have interpreting services for deaf individuals. [26] The remedies have not been widely implemented. [27] Deaf people in Canada are often denied interpreters or misdiagnosed with other disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, leading to a lack of informed consent in their own healthcare. [27] [28] There is a concern among deaf patients regarding medication safety and other medical risks, due to inadequate communication between medical professionals and deaf patients. [29] Because of a lack of accessible telephone devices, deaf patients may struggle to contact doctors' offices, which may lead to delayed care or a lack of routine care. [30]

For those in more rural areas of Quebec, it is very difficult to access an interpreter. [23] Health organizations in more remote areas may require the deaf to pay for the interpreter themself. [23] Deaf patients are then left to either pay for their own interpreter, have friends or family help with interpreting, or communicate in some other way. [23] Deaf patients in Quebec also have trouble expressing their symptoms and problems due to a lack of vocabulary that covers their symptoms. [28] Due to a lack of knowledge about issues like mental health and AIDS, deaf people may not recognize their problems as medical concerns. [28] [30]

For children under the age of 11, hearing aids are covered under the Quebec Health Insurance Plan if the hearing loss hinders full speech capacity and language development. [31] Eligibility is determined after extensive testing to measure the extent and level of hearing loss.[ citation needed ]

Early detection and intervention

In Canada, early hearing detection and intervention is a responsibility of each province or territory, as it falls under the healthcare sector. [32] There is no national mandate put out by the government of Canada to regulate newborn hearing screening and early intervention. [33] Early hearing intervention services in Quebec are only available at specialized centers and hospitals spread throughout the province. [34]

Quebec planned to implement universal screening by the end of 2013. [33] In 2014, Quebec's early hearing detection and intervention efforts were graded as insufficient by the Canadian Infant Hearing Task Force. [35] As of 2022, only 53% of infants born in Quebec were screened for hearing, compared to 97% in British Columbia and 94% in Ontario. [36] This was an increase from the 2020 estimate of about 30% of Quebec infants receiving hearing screening. [37]

The Health and Social Service Department of Quebec states that without newborn hearing screening, hearing loss is only detected after a child is two years old.[ full citation needed ] The time period from 1 to 3 years is crucial for language acquisition; it is especially important for children to receive plentiful language input in the first year of life so that certain dimensions of language, such as syntax acquisition, develop properly. [38] Children who are not screened for hearing loss at risk of language deprivation. [39]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Sign Language</span> Sign language used predominately in France and French-speaking Switzerland

French Sign Language is the sign language of the deaf in France and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. According to Ethnologue, it has 100,000 native signers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf culture</span> Culture of deaf persons

Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label especially within the culture, the word deaf is often written with a capital D and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. When used as a label for the audiological condition, it is written with a lower case d. Carl G. Croneberg coined the term "Deaf Culture" and he was the first to discuss analogies between Deaf and hearing cultures in his appendices C/D of the 1965 Dictionary of American Sign Language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec Sign Language</span> Deaf sign language of francophone Canada

Quebec Sign Language, known in French as Langue des signes québécoise or Langue des signes du Québec (LSQ), is the predominant sign language of deaf communities used in francophone Canada, primarily in Quebec. Although named Quebec sign, LSQ can be found within communities in Ontario and New Brunswick as well as certain other regions across Canada. Being a member of the French Sign Language family, it is most closely related to French Sign Language (LSF), being a result of mixing between American Sign Language (ASL) and LSF. As LSQ can be found near and within francophone communities, there is a high level of borrowing of words and phrases from French, but it is far from creating a creole language. However, alongside LSQ, signed French and Pidgin LSQ French exist, where both mix LSQ and French more heavily to varying degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Blais</span> Canadian politician

Marie Josephine Marguerite Blais is a Canadian politician, journalist, radio host and television host from Quebec. She is currently a Coalition Avenir Québec Member of the National Assembly of Québec and is the current Minister Responsible for Seniors and Informal Caregivers and Member of the Comité ministériel des services aux citoyens since October 2018. She was a Liberal Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the electoral division of Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne in Montreal from 2007 to 2015, and served as the Minister responsible for Seniors, vice-chair of the Comité ministériel du développement social, éducatif et culturel and member of the Conseil du trésor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf education</span> Education of the deaf and hard of hearing

Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve with a typical classroom education. There are different language modalities used in educational setting where students get varied communication methods. A number of countries focus on training teachers to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid deaf students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles-Michel de l'Épée</span> French priest and educator of the deaf (1712–1789)

Charles-Michel de l'Épée was a philanthropic educator of 18th-century France who has become known as the "Father of the Deaf".

The Section des Sourds et Malentendants Socialistes : Organization of Socialist Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (SSMS) is a French political organization. This is an organization of French policy of all activists, deaf supporters, all those who want to build a different future at the left. It is an organization of reflection and proposals on socialism, on the issues of deafness and disability.

Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written with a lower case d. It later came to be used in a cultural context to refer to those who primarily communicate through sign language regardless of hearing ability, often capitalized as Deaf and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. The two definitions overlap but are not identical, as hearing loss includes cases that are not severe enough to impact spoken language comprehension, while cultural Deafness includes hearing people who use sign language, such as children of deaf adults.

Sister Louise Bellavance is a Québécoise social worker particularly known for her service to disadvantaged people with hearing disabilities. She is a nun of the Sisters of Charity of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Association of the Deaf</span> Canadian non-governmental organization

The Canadian Association of the Deaf is a Canadian non-governmental organization that works to promote the interests and well-being of the Deaf community in Canada. It represents users of both American Sign Language and Quebec Sign Language. It was founded in 1940 through a joint effort by the Western Canada, the Ontario, and the Eastern Canada associations of the Deaf, with the support of the Montreal Association of the Deaf.

Arnaud Balard is a French deafblind artist. In 2009, Balard wrote a manifesto outlining his philosophy of Surdism, an artistic, philosophical, and cultural movement celebrating deaf culture and deaf arts. He is also known for designing the Sign Union flag, an image intended to represent global unity for deaf and deafblind people.

Estimates of the deaf population in Tunisia range from 40,000 to 60,000 people. These estimates indicate that deaf people make up between 0.3% to 0.5% of the population. The percent of deaf Tunisians can be much higher in isolated communities, ranging from 2% to 8%. The increase in prevalence is attributed to higher rates of intermarriage, geographic isolation, and social traditions. Tunisian Sign Language, abbreviated as TSL or LST, is the most commonly used sign language in Tunisia. As of 2008, TSL's user population is 21,000 signers.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a population of about 1.4 million deaf people out of a total population of about 86.7 million. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are one of the more greatly affected regions by hard-of-hearing complications, compared to the rest of the world. Deaf people in the DRC are subject to neglect and discrimination by their families and the government, but they are also met with small, various ways of support and charity through international, European, Australian, and American religious, non-religious, and governmental organizations.

The Canadian Association of the Deaf estimates that there are over 350,000 Deaf Canadians, but there is not an exact number since there has never been a formal census on Deaf Canadians. There are approximately 1.2 million Indigenous people and over 750 reserves in Canada. There are various intersections of deaf and Indigenous culture, including valuing community, rooting their identity in their culture and its associated group instead of their individuality, having their identities oversimplified, being underrepresented in research and data collection, and experiencing health inequities due to their identities. There is limited research on Deaf Indigenous people, but the Saskatchewan Human Rights Association argues that issues faced by Deaf people are exacerbated when that person is also Indigenous.

The Windward Islands consists of various islands located in the Caribbean Sea such as Dominica, Martinique, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada. It contains multiple cultures, beliefs, and languages.

South Korea's Deaf population began to come to prominence in recorded history in the late 19th century with the implementation of special education. Since then, they have gained government recognition and legal rights.

In Benin, deafness affects 12,500 people out of their total population of 10 million. Since the late 1900s, there has been a growing emergence of resources, recognition, and support for the deaf people in Benin. The deaf community uses American Sign Language (ASL), Langue des Signes de l'Afrique Francophone (LSAF), and Langue des signes du Bénin. The type of sign and how many people use each remain undocumented. However, in 1994, one of the first LSAF dictionaries was published in Benin.

Out of nearly 59 million people in Italy, about 3.5 million Italians have some form of hearing loss. Among them, around 70,000 people are severely deaf. The European Union for the Deaf reports that the majority of the deaf people in Italy use Italian Sign Language (LIS). LIS has been an official sign language in Italy since 2021. Italy, among other countries, ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and is slowly improving conditions for deaf humans in Italy. Many major organizations in Italy fight for deaf rights and spread awareness to the Italian National Agency for the protection and assistance of the Deaf and Associated Italian Families for the Defense of the Rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals (FIADDA). Newborns in Italy also receive universal hearing screenings. Education in Italy is directed towards oralism, although sign language is also used. LIS is a stable language and is used by approximately 40,000 users in Italy.

The Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is the official language of education for deaf Filipinos, which number around 121,000 as of 2000.

There is limited information on the extent of Deafness in Haiti, due mainly to the lack of census data. Haiti's poor infrastructure makes it almost impossible to obtain accurate information on many health related issues, not just the hearing impaired. In 2003, the number of deaf people in Haiti was estimated at 72,000, based on a survey provided by the World Health Organization.

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics on Deaf Canadians". Canadian Association of the Deaf - Association des Sourds du Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Language". The Canada Guide. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "La langue des signes québécoise: Langue populaire et enjeux ordinaires". HistoireEngagée.ca (in French). September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Canadian Sign Language – NeoHear" . Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Size and vitality of Quebec Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Language". Canadian Association of the Deaf - Association des Sourds du Canada. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Audition Québec - A propos". Audition Québec (in French). Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Nos partenaires". Audition Québec (in French). Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "Association des personnes avec une déficience de l'audition (APDA) – Société inclusive". societeinclusive.ca (in French). Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "APDA | Association des personnes avec une déficience de l'audition". apda (in French). Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Official Languages 2021". QCGN. February 14, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Legislation, Proposed: Assembly Bill 2072", The SAGE Deaf Studies Encyclopedia, Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, 2016, doi:10.4135/9781483346489.n184, ISBN   9781452259567 , retrieved October 11, 2022
  13. ↑ "United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities" (PDF). United Nations. December 6, 2006.
  14. ↑ "Rights of people with disabilities". www.canada.ca. October 23, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 International Conference on Deaf Culture (1994). The Deaf Way: Perspectives from the International Conference on Deaf Culture. Washington D.C: Gallaudet University Press. pp. 149–154.
  16. 1 2 3 "École Oraliste" . Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Mackay Centre & Philip E Layton School". mackaypel.emsb.qc.ca. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Find out what auditory-verbal education is". December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  19. 1 2 "Montreal Oral School for the Deaf". December 1, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Programs and services - Montreal Oral School for the Deaf". December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Montreal Oral School for the Deaf Inc". Benevity Causes. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  22. ↑ Bélanger, Claude. "Quebec History". faculty.marianopolis.edu. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Parisé, Nicole (1999). "Breaking cultural barriers to health care: the voice of the deaf". escholarship.mcgill.ca (Master's thesis). Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  24. 1 2 "Canadian Hearing Society position paper highlights disparity in employment rates for Deaf and hard of hearing Canadians". Canadian Hearing Services. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Position Paper on Rights to Employment". Canadian Hearing Services. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Supreme Court of Canada - SCC Case Information - Search". scc-csc.lexum.com. January 1, 2001. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  27. 1 2 "Health Care". Canadian Association of the Deaf - Association des Sourds du Canada. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  28. 1 2 3 Larivière, Nadine; Lachance, Nathalie; Vallières, Micheline; Loiselle, Josée (2019). "[Exploration of Service Needs of Persons who are Deaf, Communicate in LSQ and who Present Mental Health Issues]". Santé Mentale au Québec. 44 (1): 83–104. doi: 10.7202/1060277ar . ISSN   1708-3923. PMID   32338680. S2CID   199256177.
  29. ↑ Bartlett, Gillian; Blais, Régis; Tamblyn, Robyn; Clermont, Richard J.; MacGibbon, Brenda (June 3, 2008). "Impact of patient communication problems on the risk of preventable adverse events in acute care settings". CMAJ. 178 (12): 1555–1562. doi:10.1503/cmaj.070690. ISSN   0820-3946. PMC   2396356 . PMID   18519903.
  30. 1 2 "Language Barriers in Access to Health Care". www.canada.ca. May 7, 2003. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Hearing aids". Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ). Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  32. ↑ Khurana, Puneeta; Cushing, Sharon L.; Chakraborty, Pranesh K.; Dunn, Jessica K.; Papaioannou, Vicky A.; Moodie, Rosemary G.; Papsin, Blake C.; Wong, Peter D. (2021). "Early hearing detection and intervention in Canada". Paediatrics & Child Health. 26 (3): 141–144. doi:10.1093/pch/pxaa064. PMC   8077195 . PMID   33936331.
  33. 1 2 Eskander, Antoine; Papsin, Blake C. (October 7, 2014). "Screening infants for hearing impairment in Canada". CMAJ. 186 (14): 1048–1049. doi:10.1503/cmaj.131685. ISSN   0820-3946. PMC   4188643 . PMID   24847140.
  34. ↑ Bagatto, Marlene; Moodie, Sheila; Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth; Kealey, Chantal; Campbell, Bill; Aiken, Steve (September 22, 2020). "Status of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs in Canada: Results From a Country-Wide Survey/Etat d'avancement des programmes de detection et d'intervention precoces des troubles auditifs au Canada: resultats d'une enquete nationale". Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology. 44 (3): 107–125.
  35. ↑ "Report card on early hearing detection and intervention" (PDF). Speech-Language & Audiology Canada. 2014.
  36. ↑ "Quebec's hearing test program for newborns is stalled, groups say". montrealgazette. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  37. ↑ Khurana, Puneeta; Cushing, Sharon L.; Chakraborty, Pranesh K.; Dunn, Jessica K.; Papaioannou, Vicky A.; Moodie, Rosemary G.; Papsin, Blake C.; Wong, Peter D. (June 2021). "Early hearing detection and intervention in Canada". Paediatrics & Child Health. 26 (3): 141–144. doi:10.1093/pch/pxaa064. ISSN   1205-7088. PMC   8077195 . PMID   33936331.
  38. ↑ Friedmann, Naama; Rusou, Dana (December 1, 2015). "Critical period for first language: the crucial role of language input during the first year of life". Current Opinion in Neurobiology. Circuit plasticity and memory. 35: 27–34. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2015.06.003. ISSN   0959-4388. PMID   26111432. S2CID   44264290.
  39. ↑ Cheng, Qi; Roth, Austin; Halgren, Eric; Mayberry, Rachel I. (2019). "Effects of Early Language Deprivation on Brain Connectivity: Language Pathways in Deaf Native and Late First-Language Learners of American Sign Language". Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 13: 320. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00320 . ISSN   1662-5161. PMC   6761297 . PMID   31607879.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.