Suing for Equity in Services: Early last month in Florida, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., together with the National Association of the Deaf, filed a lawsuit seeking accessible medical services for Deaf citizens in the state. The lawsuit charges Humana Insurance and the Florida Department of Financial Services with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Humana providers allegedly refused to provide ASL interpreters for Deaf patients. Humana also refused to accept VRS calls from Deaf members.

A National Issue: Although this lawsuit was filed in Florida, the issue is a national one and the results will carry implications across the country. Very few insurance companies reimburse providers for the cost of interpreters during appointments and very few providers willingly pay for interpreters. Deaf consumers are left with few options for accessible medical and mental health services. It is also typical for insurance companies to give Deaf members a list of in-network providers who claim to be fluent in ASL, but who, in reality, have often taken only one or two ASL classes and have minimal or no knowledge of ASL and Deaf culture. When Deaf consumers voice complaints, both the insurance company and the providers point fingers at each other, refusing to take responsibility.

Best Solution: So, what is the ideal solution for meeting Deaf consumers’ needs? We offer the following guidelines to insurance companies:

1. When it’s an option, make it possible for the Deaf person to see a Deaf provider fluent in ASL. This should be a priority and the preferred standard of care over matching the Deaf consumer with a hearing therapist who signs or a hearing therapist and an interpreter. If this means authorizing out-of-network services, do it. Research shows that psychotherapy sessions and certain types of medical consultations can be conducted successfully using videophones and webcams. Studies also show that Deaf people prefer working with Deaf therapists and that utilizing interpreters in psychotherapy sessions not the best option.

2. Hire a consultant to evaluate in-network providers’ ASL skills. Require hearing providers to hold national sign language interpreting certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) or meet an advanced level of ASL proficiency. If providers fail to meet this standard, remove them from the list of providers who are qualified to work with Deaf consumers.

3. Require in-network providers to provide ASL interpreters, period. If they refuse, take them off the provider list.

Really, it is as simple as that.

Click here to read the full article about the lawsuit: Humana, State of Florida Sued for ADA Violations

As many of you already know, ASC is a strong advocate of Deaf researchers. Here’s an opportunity to participate a Deaf-run study for those who meet the criteria. Please feel free to pass on the information to anyone you know who may be interested.

Seeking Deaf FTM Individuals

My name is Mel Whalen. I’m a Deaf graduate student in clinical psychology, writing my dissertation on the life experiences of Deaf adults who self-identify as female-to-male (FTM) transgender individuals. Anyone who identifies as both Deaf and FTM is eligible for inclusion in the study. I will pay participants for their time, as well. I will be doing interviews through videophone for those that use ASL, or via VRS for anyone wishing to utilize spoken English. If you or anyone you know would be interested in getting involved, please email me at : emupsychclinic@gmail.com. The interviews will be completely confidential and can be done under a pen name. Results will be used to help society better understand this unique community.

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,

Mel Whalen, M.A., M.S., TLLP
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Fellow
Eastern Michigan University Psychology Clinic
611 W. Cross Street
Ypsilanti, MI 48198

Email:emupsychclinic@gmail.com

What Do These Numbers Mean?: Here’s an interesting data table from a research study on Deaf mental health consumers done back in 1998. One author is Deaf, the other two are hearing – it’s great they have one Deaf author/researcher on board! Even though the table is shown below out of context of the original article and without demographic data on the participants, the numbers are revealing.

ASL/English: The first part of the table lists psychology-related English words and the percentages of Deaf people who recognize them. Without going in-depth about this, the main points are that any clinicians working with Deaf people need to know that more Deaf people will recognize these words in ASL. If an assessment involves any written tests or even interpreters, it’s important that the right words are used, otherwise the tests results won’t be valid.

Deaf Friends: Further down the table, 61% of the Deaf respondents identified their Deaf friends as the people from whom they get the most information about psychology-related terms. This makes sense, if you consider that most Deaf people have hearing parents and siblings, and very few of these families provide equal communication access. Today, we might see more Deaf people getting their information from vlogs and blogs, the same way many people relied on their friends at Deaf clubs for information.

Causes of Mental Health Problems: A powerful message here: 39-54% of respondents indicated family problems, upbringing, and poor communication as primary causes of mental health problems. If 90% of Deaf people have hearing parents, we can assume that for the majority of families, communication is not in ASL, something that may be related to later mental health issues. Only 8% cited being Deaf as a cause of mental health problems. This is a clear message that the majority of Deaf people have a positive view of being Deaf when it comes to mental health.

Deaf or Hearing Therapists/Counselors: Not surprisingly, 72% of respondents preferred Deaf therapists over hearing therapists. Even though it isn’t indicated if the respondents were given a choice between Deaf therapists and ASL-fluent hearing therapists, the numbers speak loudly. Our own experience as psychotherapists has been that Deaf clients report feeling relieved to be able to work with psychotherapists who are Deaf and who “get” the Deaf experience. Given this, why aren’t Deaf-oriented gradaute programs in mental health and psychology recruiting and admitting more Deaf students? And why aren’t more community mental health agencies seeking Deaf professionals?

Take a look at the table and let us know what you think of the numbers. What do they mean, particularly in 2008? What, if any, changes would you predict today in Deaf people’s knowledge and views related to mental health?

REFERENCE:

Steinberg, A.G., Sullivan, V.J., & Loew, R.C. (1998). Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Mental Health Service Access: The Deaf Consumer’s Perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(7),982-984

Vlog Summary: Opening a dialogue in the Deaf community, Candace A. McCullough brings up several complex issues related to hearing researchers studying Deaf people (9:31 minutes). Whenever a member of a majority group studies a minority group, it is essential that social, cultural, and political issues are considered. Unfortunately, a number of hearing researchers’ motivation for studying Deaf people comes down to self-interest, in the form of university tenure, promotions, grants, and prestige, rather than a sincere interest and concern for the betterment of the Deaf community.

In order to ensure that research on Deaf people is conducted in the best possible manner, hearing researchers should make a conscientious practice of collaborating equally with Deaf researchers in all phases of their studies, with credit given equally to the Deaf and hearing researchers. Deaf people should be cautious about participating in research, taking care to ask questions and determine what, if any, benefits the study may provide to the Deaf community, before committing to be part of a study.

To cite:

McCullough, C. (2007, September 23). Hearing Researchers: Why Do They Study Deaf People? ASC on the Couch. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=323

Trial-and-Error: Finding the best medication to treat someone with depression has often required a trial-and-error approach. Ten people can respond in completely different ways to the same medication; just because Paxil worked miracles for your best friend doesn’t mean it will do the same for you. Some people test four or five different medications before they know which one really helps with their depressive symptoms. This can also be an expensive process, because any unused medication has to be thrown away – the cost cannot be refunded. When you are suffering from clinical depression and possibly experiencing suicidal thoughts, spending months testing different medications is not something you want to do, especially if the side effects just worsen your depression.

Stick Out Your Tongue: Now Science Daily has published research findings that just might change the picture for people in need of anti-depressant medication. A simple taste test might be able to tell if someone is depressed and which medication would be the most helpful. Studies show that the neurotransmitters, serotonin and noradrenaline (both of which are related to depression), and people’s moods can affect their ability to recognize different tastes. Changes in the levels of these chemicals impact how well people can identify the tastes of bitter, sweet, and sour. If a simple taste test can pinpoint which chemical levels may need adjusting, doctors would be able to pick the best anti-depressant medication right away, instead of having to guess and cross their fingers.