
Being a deaf developer - Nekobai
http://cruft.io/posts/deep-accessibility/
======
caffeineninja
Chiming in here - I've got congenital profound loss in both ears, but I have a
cochlear implant. I've grown in my career over the last 15 years from junior
dev up to my current engineering management role, and what I've observed was:

1) The biggest hurdle in most cases is communication, especially in meetings.
That being said, I still do fine in them, because I rely on lip reading as
well as vocal cues/context, but I also rely on my coworkers to be
understanding from time to time, and they are.

2) Slack has been hugely beneficial to me, but it requires the organization to
be engaged with it.

3) I have accented speech because I drop some consonants (f and s sounds
mostly), and it can be a challenge for some to clearly understand me shortly
after meeting me. This usually resolves itself after 2-3 weeks.

4) Job interviews: I'm always up front about what I can and can't do - this
usually comes up around the topic of phone interviews, I can't do them. People
appreciate this, and I make it clear that I'm not ashamed or hindered by my
disability. The confidence goes a long way. If you come off unsure, then of
course others will be unsure. I've definitely had interviews where there was a
communication disconnect, but typically that comes along with other
circumstances that make the job a poor fit. I've never had the situation where
the job/culture/people fit was there but it didn't happen because of a
communication issue.

For other deaf developers out there, just own it and show that there is no
hurdle out there that you can't overcome, and you will be successful. Always
be trying to help others and others will help you in return.

~~~
sdrothrock
Interesting! I'm in a very similar situation (congenital profound hearing
loss, implanted in left ear at 16), but in a country (Japan[1]) where the
primary language is not my native language (English).

> The biggest hurdle in most cases is communication, especially in meetings.
> That being said, I still do fine in them, because I rely on lip reading as
> well as vocal cues/context, but I also rely on my coworkers to be
> understanding from time to time, and they are.

I definitely concur with this. Meetings can be a pain depending on the
environment (for example, some people prefer to meet in cafes etc. since
meeting space is at a premium here). Body language (looking away, looking
down, mumbling into hands, hiding face in papers, etc.) can also make meetings
incredibly hard. The hardest part for me, personally, is the sheer stamina
required to be "always on" and track everyone's eyes to make sure I know who's
talking (in a meeting of ~15-20 people) so I can look that way and try to read
their lips.

Telephone communication is also a big problem. No matter how often I tell
people about my disability or how quickly I respond to e-mails/chats, they
will still insist on calling me for "urgent" things. [Edit: Sometimes I think
I should deal with this by simply ignoring all phone calls, but practically
speaking I'd rather not exacerbate a potential emergency by not responding.
The counterargument is that I could exacerbate an emergency by responding and
not understanding ~50% of the content of the call...] My theory is that
because I'm largely functional in person, they still subconsciously expect me
to be able to use a phone normally.

> this usually comes up around the topic of phone interviews, I can't do them.
> People appreciate this

Interesting. I almost always have the opposite reaction; people try to be
accommodating, but it's almost always still focused around doing voice via
electronic connections rather than the text format I request. "What if we use
a normal telephone? What if we use VoLTE? What if we use Skype instead? What
if we get you a headset? What if we use Skype video or Facetime?"

> I've never had the situation where the job/culture/people fit was there but
> it didn't happen because of a communication issue.

Same here. For me, typically if it's a communication issue, it's because the
people/culture weren't interested in being accommodating.

[1] As a side note, Japanese is extremely hard to lip read because it doesn't
use the upper lip much, or at all in some dialects. There's also a lot of
cultural stuff that makes life difficult: masks (either prevention or because
the speaker is sick), the tendency to cover the mouth, and the tendency to not
look at other people during meetings or when having a confrontation -- when
communication is really important.

~~~
analog31
My mom is deaf, and my dad nearly so. Something that staggers me is that
businesses -- even those that are 100% in the digital age -- can't communicate
with a deaf person. I'm talking about health insurance, utilities, etc., where
the person on the other end of the phone line is sitting in front of a
computer, but has no facility for text chat or e-mail.

It's the smaller businesses, typically low-tech, that seem to accommodate her
just fine: "Oh, you're deaf. Here's my e-mail address."

~~~
sdrothrock
That's exactly my experience, too.

There are a lot of large businesses who refuse to do online chat or e-mail
communications and instead do everything through telephone -- I e-mailed Tim
Cook to complain once and he forwarded me to a support person who actually
handled my case for me via e-mail, which I appreciated.

------
Jemaclus
As another deaf developer (severe-to-profound loss), this is absolutely on
point. A lot of the traditional techniques that work for most companies don't
work for me, especially when it comes to pair programming. I strongly dislike
group stand-ups, because I never know who's going to talk next.

One of the other things I've found myself struggling with is when to tell
someone that I have a hearing loss. I feel like if I do it in the first
interview, I'll set off unconscious biases, and during the hiring meeting
someone will think, "Well, he can't hear shit, which might make it harder to
get things done over time", and I won't get the job. On the other hand, once I
get that offer and accept, then they're already invested in me, and a little
bit of extra effort would be worth it. I tend to go back and forth on it. Some
interviews I say it straight up, others I wait until I get an offer, and
sometimes I only mention it if I think it's interfering somehow with the
progress of the interview or project (e.g., I find myself saying "what" a lot
or mishearing what they said).

It's a tough problem, and I wish I felt more confident about how other people
would respond to that knowledge. I usually feel... safer?... when I've already
secured the position, but honestly, I've never had a bad reaction to it from
anyone, so maybe I'm just overthinking things.

I'm rambling now. Anyway. Totally agree with the post.

~~~
sdrothrock
> One of the other things I've found myself struggling with is when to tell
> someone that I have a hearing loss. I feel like if I do it in the first
> interview, I'll set off unconscious biases

I completely understand this and have felt the same way, but the trade-off I
ended up making in my mind to make me feel more comfortable with being up-
front is that if they're not willing to be accommodating for the interview,
working there is probably going to be living hell. I try to think of it as me
interviewing them as well, to see how they're willing to work with me.

~~~
hollsk
Totally agree with this. It's usually the second or third thing that I say in
an interview after "hello", so I can get them to arrange where everyone sits
in a favourable way. If they're dicks about it then you're not going to want
to work with them. It is scary, though - nobody wants to feel like somebody
hates them because of a disability that can't be helped, so I get why it's a
preoccupation, and most of us will have had the same worry.

Regarding standups, I agree that they're a PITA. Talk to your scrum master
about it if you have one - it's their job to facilitate communication. My past
scrum masters have used the Wooden Spoon method (you only get to talk if
you're holding the spoon) or they've stood beside me and taken brief notes for
me throughout. We also experimented with doing our standups over Slack, which
was FANTASTIC.

~~~
Jemaclus
We use a ball, but the same method applies. It works great during small
standups, but at all-hands meetings it gets unwieldy, especially if someone
cracks a joke and everyone but me is laughing. That kind of sucks. But you're
right, it definitely helps. At my next job, I plan on pushing for Slack
standups, for sure.

------
pcote
>> The stereotype of a programmer as a solitary eccentric who’s allergic to
human company is unfair and inaccurate. As a group, we’re a very social bunch.

I'm a disabled programmer too. In my case, it's autism so statements like this
make me cringe. It puts up an exaggerated effigy of some weirdo with asperger
syndrome so neurotypicals can say "We're not like that guy!"

Programmers need a quiet place to work. But that's a hard thing to even reach
for if you're also trying to distance yourself from the "solitary eccentric".
Socializing is generally noisy. A deaf person just spread sentiment that
fundamentally encourages the raising of noise levels. I'm not sure how to
respond to that.

~~~
hollsk
Hey, article writer here. I feel shitty that I made you feel shitty. I'm sorry
to have been insensitive.

I'd also like to say that I am absolutely against raising of noise levels
because that sucks for coding and also life in general. I'm deaf, but not
completely deaf, and I also have a condition called "recruitment" which is a
form of noise sensitivity that you can read about here:
[http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/hyperacusis+or+recrui...](http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/hyperacusis+or+recruitment/)
Recruitment makes noisy office environments an absolute nightmare for me and
I've been known to take my damn laptop and go the hell home and work there if
the noise levels ramp up.

Sociability in programmers takes many forms, and I don't think it's a
coincidence that sites like HN and stackoverflow are so popular with devs -
that's a way of very sociable without actually having to speak to people in
meatspace. Programming has probably more of its fair share of introverts and
non-neurotypical peeps, partly because of the requirement for peace and quiet
while you're working out hard problems. I think it's also partly because as a
group we're more accepting of others' needs and differences. Mack Collier did
a great post on this, and it's this sort of concept I was thinking about when
I wrote that part of the article: [http://mackcollier.com/why-introverts-love-
social-media/](http://mackcollier.com/why-introverts-love-social-media/)

So once again, sorry for making you feel shitty. In future I'll be on guard
against coming out with things like that. Keep being awesome!

~~~
pcote
Nobody is shitty here. Just human. Stupid things sometimes can slip into
anybody's blog post, mine included. It doesn't take away the value of what you
were communicating here about accessibility. I loved your post. The blind
uncle who introduced me to programming would have loved it too.

------
13of40
I've been a developer for about fifteen years, and for the past four I've been
dealing with progressive bilateral hearing loss related to an autoimmune
condition. It's been a struggle to adapt, and one of my big fears is if I have
to move between companies whether I'll be able to get past the easy
discrimination that can happen in the hiring process. My current company has
guidelines for assisting impaired employees, but it's easy to get weeded out
in an interview just because the interviewer doesn't like you.

------
Sir_Cmpwn
I'm a hearing developer with conversational ASL skills, and there was a brief
time when I had the opportunity to work with a Deaf developer. We didn't get
to write much code together, but he was able to help me learn the signs to
talk tech jargon and we had a grand old time. He was thrilled to be able to
communicate effectively with someone at the workplace. One of the best parts
was seeing my coworkers react when I started signing with him - I hadn't
mentioned that I could use ASL.

ASL is a pretty easy language to learn and it's pretty rewarding. I suggest
more devs try it, especially if you have the chance to work with someone who
you could communicate more effectively with via ASL.

------
ewilliam
DeafPros.com - Slack channel for Deaf professionals!

open to all professions, but most of us are in tech. join us and/or share with
whoever will benefit from the channel!

------
Sven7
For the deaf developers around, how many of you use ASL?

How often have you been able to use it in at work?

~~~
sdrothrock
I don't use (or even know) ASL. My (hearing) mother tried to get me to learn
it when I was younger and enrolled me in classes, but the age disparity and
cliqueish community turned me off even when I was 6 or 7. I especially
remember getting a list of restaurants that had accommodations for us, so we
were encouraged to use them, and how that really rubbed me the wrong way
(because my favorite wasn't on the list).

Rarely, ASL interpreters have been offered to me (high school, as an option to
explore in college), but since I don't know ASL, it was never really an option
for me. It definitely wouldn't be a realistic option here in Japan. (I imagine
any Japanese-ASL interpreter could command a pretty penny for the very rare
times that they're needed!)

~~~
Sven7
How did you end up in Japan, if I may ask?

I would assume daily life could be a little more complicated because of the
foreign language. But thinking about it a bit maybe that helps when deaf. The
local population I guess automatically make allowances assuming you don't know
the language. I have deaf family members, and I constantly see them getting
frustrated by people who assume the deaf person understands every thing they
are saying, if that makes any sense.

~~~
sdrothrock
> How did you end up in Japan, if I may ask?

Majored in Japanese in college, but I couldn't speak it worth a damn. I
figured that if I really wanted to be able to use Japanese in a reasonable
way, I should just move here, so I got a job assisting with English education
in public schools as an ALT.

> The local population I guess automatically make allowances assuming you
> don't know the language.

I look more or less Japanese, so they actually assume I do know the language
-- it's a bit of a shock when they find that not only do I not know the
language, I'm also handicapped. (Deaf people in Japan don't have very much
exposure; the few that I've met have tended to keep very strongly to their own
Deaf communities.)

It's actually worse in some ways; in America, if I don't hear something, I can
say that and the other person understands that. Here, if I don't hear
something, it's a 50/50 chance whether the other person believes me or simply
thinks my Japanese isn't up to snuff (which I can tell because they resort to
much, much simpler language to describe the word they thought I didn't
"hear").

~~~
Sven7
I see. Sorry to hear that. I can imagine the day to day complications, but I
hope other stuff in Japan more than makes up for it. Like the food :)

------
corn13read
Deafeloper

