Nadia Nadarajah: (BSL) Concentration fatigue should be included in deaf awareness training

English Transcript:

Hi! You can see from the image I have shared that the topic I’m addressing is about concentration fatigue. What is this exactly? It is very common for deaf people to experience this. It’s the exhaustion that occurs after concentrating for long amounts of time using our eyes – we use our eyes constantly as we don’t rely on our ears. This prolonged focusing of the eyes has a large effect on deaf people.

I personally make sure I include this topic in deaf awareness training courses that I deliver. I often deliver this to theatres and I make sure I inform them of how important it is to be aware of this.

With concentration fatigue when I’m at work I often ask for eye breaks or five/ten minute breaks to rest my eyes, close them or move into a new area and get some fresh air and energy.

This is important as sometimes I might be working in an area with no natural lighting or we may have spent a long amount of time in the room, with me watching and concentrating.

Hearing people are able to take information in audibly and look away, rest their eyes, close them, move their head around. This is impossible for deaf people.

So this topic is of utmost importance and I can offer tips. Through lockdown the use of Zoom was very high and we noticed deaf people complaining of fatigue and needing a break. Concentration fatigue does affect deaf people greatly.

One recent example, on the show The Great British Bake Off, deaf contestant Tasha was seen in one episode to look incredibly tired, dizzy and faint. I could see the pressure she was under and the high levels of concentration she had to keep is really common in deaf people.

Does Tasha manage to have breaks in between tasks? People don’t always consider this at work.

Another example from The Great British Bake Off is in one episode we see Tasha become flustered when she cannot pronounce an ingredient so she starts to sign and the interpreter took over and voiced over for her.

This is also part of concentration fatigue, as you may have to lipread, listen to sounds and pronounce words. These are all factors.

So, I would like to urge you to please include this topic in your deaf awareness training. The awareness of this has really helped with my work and enables me to feel supported as though we are all part of a team.

It’s worked really well, our well-being and mental health is so important. I have to consider my health and how my eyes get tired – awareness of these factors is so important.

I feel very sad to see on Twitter (X) cases of ableism. Hearing people have complained about Tasha on the Bake Off, questioning her deafness, whether she genuinely felt faint and why she swaps from speech to BSL.

They have no right to question this – deaf people often struggle and hearing people don’t realise this. These are serious examples of ableism online where hearing people are completely naive to what deaf people experience. I feel very sympathetic towards Tasha.

I hope you consider including Concentration Fatigue in your deaf awareness training, it’s a valuable one to include.

Nadia Nadarajah is a Deaf BSL using actor and creative artist. You can follow her on social media.