Re: Impaired hearing and cohousing
From: Raines Cohen (rc2-coho-Lraines.com)
Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 17:56:23 -0700 (PDT)
On 5/13/04 10:17 AM, Bob Morrison <bomorris [at] cisco.com> wrote:

>  Based on my experience as a potential member of three cohousing
>groups, I think it would be very hard for someone with poor hearing to be
>in a cohousing group.

Unless the group set out with an explicit goal to accomodate differences 
and support all members, in which case it would invest group energy in 
figuring out appropriate, economical solutions.

> For example, for whole-group discussions the
>group usually sits in a large circle. Someone who has poor hearing would
>continually have to ask whoever is talking to talk louder, and still would
>miss a good part of the discussion.

But in a well-facilitated meeting, only one person speaks at a time, and 
that's half the cahllenge in hearing any one person clearly.

> If you were to use a P.A. system,
>you would have to have at least one mike for every two people, because
>the nature of these discussions is such that passing a mike around among
>a lot of people wouldn't work.

Wouldn't it? I've seen microphone-passing done well even in non-circle 
arrangements... it oughtta be easier in a circle with less cord-tangling. 
And the time require to pass the mike could be developed into a fun 
ritual, and could provide time for the facilitator to summarize, take 
more names for the queue, or other administrivia that might actually help 
the meeting be more effective, a little breathing room, as it were.

> So you would have a large capital expense
>for the system,

I bet you could find reasonable-quality mikes pretty cheap these days. 
Even wireless for under $100 at Radio Shack.  Or how about instead just a 
parabolic directional mike in the hands of the person who needs the 
hearing assistance? That way they can aim at whoever's talking and cut 
out background chatter, and tune it to their own needs!

> plus the labor of setting it up before every meeting and
>taking it down after.

One wireless mike. One amplifier/tape deck. Headphones for the person(s) 
who need 'em, and encourage 'em to sit together by the deck, and even 
operate the controls.

>a a hearing-impaired person would have
>a hard time at meetings if there is second-hand noise from the room
>where the kids are, even if everyone else can hear just fine over this
>noise.

This is why at Berkeley we budget for childcare AWAY from the meeting, 
not just in the adjacent kids' room. It seems fairly successful so far.

Is there any group that has hired a sign-language interpreter or worked 
to develop sign communication skills within the group? I recently got a 
query from somebody interested in the former.

R

Raines Cohen <my initials,2,dash,coho,dash,L at my first name .com>

  Member, Swan's Market Coho [Oakland, CA] <http://www.swansway.com/>
Where a games store is moving in, finishing out the retail.

  Secretary, Berkeley [CA] Cohousing
Enjoying catching up at a common meal after three weeks on the road.

  Supporter, East Bay Cohousing <http://www.ebcoho.org/>
Preparing a workshop with Katie McCamant on site selection.

  Boardmember, Coho/US <http://www.cohousing.org/>
Working hard on getting the website ready for some potential national 
news coverage... if you have a unit for rent or sale or a community in 
development, list it in the classifieds now for the widest exposure.


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