more challenging in an emotional or crisis situations. The way we mouth certain words also depends on our accent (154). Lipreading also depends on the level of spoken English that the Deaf young person has. You might consider learning how to lipread ( www. lipreading.org/ ) to get a better sense of its difficulty. It’s important to find out what mode of communication the young person you are supporting uses and prefers. Deafness and mental health There is sufficient evidence that Deaf people of all ages experience higher rates of poor mental health than the hearing population. Young people with inadequate access to any form of language experience life-long emotional, cognitive, and wellbeing consequences. This is called language deprivation. There are significant barriers for deaf people accessing existing mainstream services, and whilst there are specialist services, they aren’t available in all areas. Such barriers include professionals without knowledge of Deaf experiences or culture, assessments without interpreters, improper use of an interpreter’s services by assessors, and inaccessible mental health materials (155). Deaf young people may become more self-conscious about their deafness as they reach adolescence. For example, they may be reluctant to use sign language or to wear their hearing technology. Most deaf children are born to hearing families, which can mean they grow up outside of Deaf culture and the Deaf community. It’s important that deaf young people are given the option to explore their culture and form their own identity (156). When you are supporting a deaf young person, ensure that you think about your own Frame of Reference. If you are a hearing person you may not understand some of their ideas. You may think that they hold an incorrect belief about mental health, and this might be due to limited access to information or sufficient education rather than poor mental health.
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