They ask to guarantee interpreters for older deaf people

The State Confederation of Deaf People (CNSE) has presented the guide ‘For Good Treatment of Deaf Seniors’which asks guarantee the presence of sign language interpreters or communicative mediators in health centers and residencesprovide information in accessible format such as videos in sign language, visual alarms or subtitling, avoiding public address systems; and avoid paternalistic attitudes.

The guide, financed by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 through 0.7% of personal income tax and by the ONCE Foundation, collects testimonies from people who have suffered discriminatory treatment like that of Marifi, a deafblind person who lives in a residence and who regrets that no one interacts with her.

“I have no family, I am very alone. I spend the day sitting waiting for what will happen next, they direct my hands to identify the corresponding activity (eating, washing, etc.), but no one ever gives me any explanation or questions me. Sometimes I feel very angry because of the lack of attention and communication, but they don’t understand me. I feel great sadness. I wish I received visitors, I could talk to someone, the communicative mediator would come more or they would just listen to me,” she says.

Thus, the guide emphasizes that Deaf seniors not only face the challenges of aging, but also specific obstacles for being deaf people.such as difficulties in accessing information and limitations on social participation.

“The combination of both realities multiplies situations of inequality and demands responses to ensure that older deaf people see their rights fully recognized, both on a personal and institutional level,” said CNSE advisor Amparo Minguet.

Based on this diagnosis, the publication identifies forms of inappropriate treatment that often go “unnoticed” such as “microdiscrimination, ageism, paternalism, overprotection, infantilization or audism (superiority towards deaf or hard of hearing people).

These attitudes, as he warns, can also manifest themselves in areas such as health, social services, administration or community life.

Among other examples of inappropriate treatment, the document highlights: ignoring the deaf person in group conversations; make decisions for them; not providing them with a sign language interpreter in the medical consultation; address only family members instead of the deaf person or offer information only by telephone.

It also refers to ‘hearsplaining’an English neologism used to refer to “the attitude of some hearing people who speak on behalf of deaf people without knowing their reality, assuming that they have more knowledge.”

The guide dedicates a specific section to the need to have professionals prepared to work with older deaf people. “The ideal is that they can be attended to by professionals who share the same language. because this reduces errors, avoids dependence on third parties and favors more humane and effective care,” said the president of the CNSE, Roberto Suárez.

The CNSE advises older deaf people who suffer any discriminatory or inappropriate treatment, “no matter how small”, to report it, and remembers that they are protected by Law 27/2007 and Royal Decree 674/2023 that recognize Spanish sign languages, as well as by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Law on the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for people in a situation of dependency.