A deaf-blind student’s perspective on accessibility - Sanna Paasonen
From Tarjaleena Tuukkanen
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Hello everybody, I am Sanna Paasonen.
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I’ve been asked to share my personal views on accessibility.
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I am currently studying towards my second master’s degree at the University of Jyväskylä.
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I completed my previous master’s degree at the same university, graduating in 2008.
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My studies for the current degree began a year ago, in autumn 2019.
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When I compare my earlier and current studies, I must say that many things have changed now.
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I’ve noticed that starting my current studies was much easier.
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Today, a lot of information is available in electronic format.
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Completing my first degree was really challenging for me
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because of my sudden blindness during the first year of studies.
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I am congenitally deaf, and Finnish Sign Language is my mother tongue.
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So, I mainly use Finnish Sign Language.
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At the beginning of my studies, I used the university’s general interpreters.
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The following spring I lost my sight. I was even nearly blind,
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so I could no longer use the university’s general interpreters.
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I had to start ordering educational interpreters for myself.
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My educational interpreter’s tasks also include guiding in different learning environments
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and describing the environment around me. Or the interpreter describes PowerPoint presentations in lectures.
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It means that the interpreter is not only my ears but also my eyes.
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Nowadays I have personal interpreters at my disposal right from the beginning.
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In addition, I can use so-called verbatim interpreting.
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My first degree programme was a class teacher training programme for sign language users.
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When I became blind, I moved to groups taught in foreign languages, because this problem was not evident yet, unlike now.
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My current major subject is Finnish Sign Language, which is a visual language.
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In my major subject, contact teaching is often implemented in Finnish Sign Language.
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Teaching would thus normally be based on sight, which would make my situation very difficult. That is why I need verbatim interpreting.
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Verbatim interpreting is different from the general idea of interpretation between spoken and signed language, for instance, Finnish Sign Language.
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Verbatim interpreting repeats other people’s signed speech for me.
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For example, I cannot follow group discussions if I cannot distinguish signing due to the light that comes through the window behind the signer.
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Or if the signer is sitting in the dark.
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Or if the lecturer is standing too close to the screen, I cannot follow.
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That is why I also need verbatim interpreting in sessions provided in sign language.
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– Even though Finnish Sign Language is our common language.
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In the same way, I need verbatim interpreting in today’s distance learning.
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For example, when people speak at the same time.
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It is difficult to follow the discussion because the screens are so small.
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I prefer to use verbatim interpreting so that I can focus on one screen.
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The interpreters repeat the comments of students and lecturers visible in the other screens.
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This makes following easier also for my eyes, compared to having to follow many small screens at the same time.
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I earlier mentioned that I have a combined vision and hearing impairment.
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It is important to remember that also in Finland we as people with vision and hearing impairments are very different individuals.
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There are currently about 800 of us in Finland.
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The Finnish Deafblind Association has about 400 members,
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most of them older people.
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The consequences of vision and hearing impairments vary between individuals, which must be taken into account in solutions related to accessibility.
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You can see that I use Finnish Sign Language.
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That is because I have grown up in an environment where FSL is used as a mother tongue.
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Because of my birth deafness and later acquired blindness, my communication has been based on sign language.
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Self-expression is also easier for me through a visual sign language.
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In teaching sessions and other situations, I express myself through Finnish Sign Language.
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It also means that I use sign language interpreting as the interpreting method.
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But it is different for people who have grown up in a Finnish-speaking environment
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and become visually impaired later in life.
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Then their communication method is based on spoken language.
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An example is auditory verbatim interpreting.
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Speech-to-text interpreting can also be used
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via, for example, computer, with speech-to-text interpreters by your side.
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Speech-to-text interpreting can also be used during distance learning.
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Let’s get back to this distance learning.
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I have noticed the same problem as during my first master’s studies.
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It has been especially important for me to get the learning materials before the lectures.
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That is because I cannot simultaneously look at the PowerPoint during the lecture.
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I have the same problem in distance learning because the background colour is white and the text is black.
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For my sight condition, white text on dark background is better.
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I use a screen reader on my computer.
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In the magnifier application, I can enlarge the font to the appropriate size
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or change background and text colours.
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Anyway, during distance learning, I can’t change them while I’m also following the interpreter.
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If I reverse the colours to read the slide presentation, I can’t see the interpreters.
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That is why this is rather challenging.
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It would thus be really important to get the materials in advance via email or Moodle.
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Going through the materials beforehand makes it easier to follow both face-to-face and distance lectures.
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For a sign-language user with a visual impairment, lip-reading has also been difficult.
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For example, when using sign language, some things or concepts may be lacking
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because I cannot lip-read the differences between concepts.
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Also in this case, it is important to get the materials in advance.
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This way I can more easily follow the interpreter by linking the new, written concepts to the signs.
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Otherwise I may have a hard time keeping up.
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Sometimes when my sight is worse or when I’m completely blind, I use sign language in a tactile way,
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in other words, as a communication method completely based on the sense of touch.
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Then the information received through the lip area is missing completely.
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Again, it is extremely important to receive all the materials in electronic form in advance.
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Comparing my first degree studies with my present studies, I am truly happy about the significant improvement regarding access to information.
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Nowadays it is so much easier to get study-related information electronically.
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The university library provides plenty of e-books.
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Compared to my previous studies, my workload is now more in line with that of other students.
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Earlier I had to use a “reading television” for reading.
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It was really slow: reading a big font size line by line takes a lot of time.
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Students with a visual impairment spend clearly more hours on each course unit than other students do.
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One can consequently ask if it is fair.
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It is a difficult question
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because the situation is inevitably challenging.
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Fortunately, there are e-books that are quicker to read.
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Reading is certainly more laborious for us, as well as bound to a physical location.
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We cannot relax and read on the sofa but need to sit at a large computer screen
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because our sight is not good enough for reading on a phone or tablet.
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However, it is a different story if someone can listen via a speech application.
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As regards accessibility, it is delightful to notice how easily you can find information on the university website.
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For example, the menus.
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I don’t always need to ask an interpreter to describe the lunch menu in the queue –
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I can check it online in advance.
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Easy access to pieces of information also promotes participation.
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Earlier, information used to be found in printed form on the walls of the university main building.
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I was not able to read it there, so I easily missed things.
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Information must be available in electronic format
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so that everyone can choose the most suitable means of receiving the information.
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These means include listening to speech,
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visual reading and Braille, among others.
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A little more about books. We should remember at least one thing:
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If the library of an educational institution does not have a specific e-book or other learning materials,
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print-disabled persons can order them from the Celia library.
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But the process between ordering and receiving an e-book is rather challenging. It can last as long as three months.
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It would be important to plan early enough what books are needed in each course unit
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and use readily available e-books, when possible.
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Alternatively, the student or teacher should order the materials in good time.
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From the perspective of time management, careful reflection is needed.
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Taking exams at home is easier because there you are surrounded by your own aids.
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You need to anticipate exactly how a person with a visual impairment can have equal opportunities to take an exam requiring physical presence.
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The aids must be in order and individual solutions must be considered.
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These were the most essential issues that came to my mind
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and that I wanted to share with you.
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If you want to know something more,
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please contact me by email, for example.
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I will be happy to answer in Finnish, Swedish or English.
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My email address is sanna.paasonen@gmail.com.
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I can tell you more about such topics as different communication methods, aids,
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or our sign language. I also know more about Finnish Sign Language from the perspective of accessibility
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and from the perspective of deaf people or those with a combined vision and hearing impairment.
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I wish you all good luck in your work.
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Accessibility is truly important, let’s fight for it!
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