The Hands with Eyes and Nose in the Palm: As Effective Communication Alternatives for Profoundly Deaf People in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Drawing from the experiences and testimonies of people with profound deafness, the study qualitatively explored the use of the hands with eyes and nose in the palm as communication alternatives in the field of deafness. The study was prompted by the 27 year old lady, Leah Katz-Hernandez who is deaf who got engaged in March 2015 as the 2016 outgoing President Obama’s new receptionist at the White House in the United States of America (USA). Further prompts were influenced by the July 2015 paper which was presented at the USA Offices at Eastgate in Harare by Professor Thomas K. Holcomb of Ohlone College from California who is profoundly deaf. The paper emphasized on appropriate provisions as instrumental in enhancing academic performance and productiveness of people with profound hearing impairment (HI), a term used interchangeably with deaf. Point of saturation determined the sample size after no-more new data could be obtained from participants who were purposively selected on the criterion of having succeeded in their academic and professional life despite being profoundly deaf and experience in teaching people who are deaf. Semi-structured open-ended interviews were used to explore the communication experiences of people with HI while guided by the ubuntu and person first philosophy; the Symbolic Interaction Theory (SIT) and Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT). Patterns and themes emerging from the collected data were sought through the thematic analysis approach. The findings revealed that, the majority of people with profound deafness considered visual cues as central to successful communication despite the level of hearing loss because vision and touch enabled interaction. The study considered the hands with eyes nose in the palm as effective communication alternatives for people with HI since what was smelt, tasted and seen could be interpreted through hand signing. However, use of Sign Language interpreters was proposed for meaningful inclusive practices rather than skill every lecturer in deaf education. Further studies were proposed on policies mandating the use of talking hands and all other alternatives.

Keywords: hands with eyes, mouth, nose, palm, communication alternatives, deaf