Everyday challenges and solutions for individuals aging with deafness

Approximately 11 million people in the United States self-identify as Deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary form of communication. Yet, little is known about the challenges and solutions in everyday activities of individuals who are aging with long-term deafness.

We used a community-engaged research approach to understand everyday challenges and solutions of 60 older ASL users who self-identified as Deaf. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in ASL to probe challenges and responses to those challenges across six everyday activity categories: Activities Within the Home; Activities Outside the home; Transportation; Managing Health; Shopping and Finances; and Basic Daily Activities.

Older Deaf adults shared their lived experiences and reported challenges with unreliable technology, communication, and accessibility in the context of engaging in a myriad of everyday activities. For instance, they reported that technology alerts (e.g., airport announcements) are typically auditory, and healthcare accessibility is poor due to a lack of ASL interpreters. When probed about their solutions to these everyday challenges, participants reported relying on hearing family members, using their own methods, such as self-advocating, and using devices/technologies.

Everyday challenges experienced by older Deaf adults may be mitigated by improving the reliability and accessibility of technologies used by this population, as well as improving communication accessibility across various public and private settings. Including older Deaf community members in the needs assessment and design process is critical for development of technology solutions to improve engagement in everyday activities.