Charlie Swinbourne: ‘Social distancing’ and the deaf experience have a lot in common

Like the rest of the country, and an increasing number of countries across the world, I’ve been getting used to the idea of ‘social distancing’ over the last week.

I’ve had meetings and chats with Deaf friends via FaceTime instead of in person, I’ve texted neighbours instead of seeing them face-to-face, and I’ve avoided crowded public places.

I talk to my wife and children when they’re home but they’re the only people I’m currently having close ‘social’ contact with.

I’ve nodded at people when walking my dog, but that’s all.

It’s been strange.

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like the world has suddenly altered, even if, stepping out of the front door, it looks, on the surface of it, much the same.

Over the last couple of days I was thinking about how this feels, when it occurred to me that while this is a novel experience for most people, it’s something that I and other D/deaf people actually have a fair bit of experience with.

In fact, it could be argued that a fundamental part of the experience of being D/deaf – in terms of relating to the hearing world – could be described as a kind of ‘social distancing’ – being unable to easily communicate with those around you, even in some cases, those you are closest to.

Going beyond just socialising, the other things that everyone’s unable to do right now – such as going to the cinema, theatre, or being in a group in the pub, are things that D/deaf people are often prevented from doing, due to lack of access or poor D/deaf awareness, all the time.

I don’t think this means D/deaf people will find what’s happening at the moment any easier, because it’s hard for everybody, and D/deaf people’s lifeline of going to a Deaf centre for example or meeting D/deaf friends in person is no longer possible.

There’s also the barrier of not being able to use the phone (with users of Relay UK currently facing big delays in being able to use the service).

But it might just mean that it’s not quite as unusual for us as it is for the rest of the population.

And as a side-effect of these chaotic and unsettling times, I wonder whether the current situation might lead more hearing people to understand part of what deafness is like. Or even help D/deaf people to explain it.

For example, describing deafness as being “a bit like social distancing” could become a useful shorthand in future.

I’m not alone in expressing these kinds of thoughts. Disabled writers I know have said that they’re often prevented from going to events, such as theatre performances, because of access barriers, so the current situation is nothing new to them. And this article from disabled musician Ruth Patterson argues that the disabled community has been training for this their whole lives.

Of course, no-one would wish the current situation upon anybody, and the tragic reality of coronavirus is hitting people across the world harder than anyone thought possible. That has to be our first, overriding concern.

But as difficult as the current crisis is, if it leads to more understanding and empathy for what D/deaf and disabled people experience in their regular lives, there might just be a sliver of a silver lining to the virus’s black cloud.

Charlie Swinbourne is the editor of Limping Chicken, and as well as being a  journalist, is also an RTS award-winning screenwriter and the creator and director of sketch show Deaf Funny and the Found documentaries.