Technology has advanced quickly in recent years. It has created new possibilities for disabled people to participate actively in society.
It has also continued to open up more opportunities for communication, education, and employment. And the deaf community in the Philippines is not an exception to this trend. However, they need access to technology in order to do this.
In this article, we examine the accessibility of technology for the deaf community in the Philippines. We also consider some instances of technological efforts to increase accessibility and potential answers to the remaining issues.
So let’s dive in and discover how technology is bridging the gap between hearing and non-hearing communities in the Philippines.
State of Technology Accessibility
The most popular forms of technology are text messaging and social media sites, which allows members of the deaf community to communicate with others.
Additionally, some deaf people communicate with hearing people via video calling apps and sign language interpreter software.
Despite these advancements, the deaf community in the Philippines still faces technological accessibility gaps and obstacles. Screen readers and other assistive technologies, for instance, are not fully supported by many apps and websites.
The use of sign language interpreters and video calling apps may be limited by a lack of sign language interpreters and the high cost of the technology, whereas texting and social media platforms are typically accessible.
Furthermore, the deaf community finds it difficult to access information and fully participate in society because many public spaces in the Philippines still don’t have closed captioning or sign language translation.
Even though the deaf community in the Philippines has access to some technology, much more needs to be done to truly make it inclusive and accessible for everyone, including the deaf community.
Technology Initiatives for the Deaf Community in the Philippines
Several programs are attempting to bridge the divide and improve the deaf community’s access to technology:
For the deaf community in the Philippines, one technology initiative is the development of mobile apps based on sign language. Deaf people can communicate with others using sign language instead of just writing or speaking thanks to these apps.
A particularly good example of this is the “Sign Language Translator” app, which uses the smartphone’s camera to instantly translate signed words into written or spoken text.
Deaf people are now much more able to communicate with hearing people thanks to the development of sign language.
The use of captions and subtitles on online videos is another example of a technology initiative for the deaf community in the Philippines. Thus, the same online content is accessible to both hearing and deaf internet users.
The “Closed Caption” app, which creates captions for videos automatically, is a fantastic illustration of this technology.
Additionally, there are some programs designed to increase the accessibility of the workplace for deaf people. A group called the “Deaf Professional Network” links deaf professionals with companies looking to hire deaf people.
This eradicates the employment gap for deaf people and assures that they have the same opportunities as hearing people.
The accessibility of the deaf community in the Philippines has significantly improved thanks to these initiatives. They have demonstrated that hearing and deaf people can both access communication, education, and employment on an equal basis with the right technology.
Technology is constantly changing, so it’s important to keep an eye out for developments that might increase accessibility for the deaf community in the Philippines.
Potential Solutions for Improving Technology Accessibility
When it comes to ensuring that the deaf community in the Philippines has access to technology, there are a few potential solutions that are worth investigating.
One potential solution is to increase government funding for technological initiatives that improve accessibility for the deaf community.
In addition to funding for existing programs that provide instruction and training on how to use these technologies, this could also include funding for the creation of new technologies created specifically with the deaf community in mind.
This has the potential to greatly increase the deaf community’s access to technology, but it does require a sizable amount of funding from the federal government.
The availability of more sign language interpreters for online conversations and virtual meetings is another option.
In the current pandemic situation, where remote communication is the norm, this would enable hearing and deaf communities to communicate more effectively. Despite being straightforward and relatively easy to do, hiring and training sign language interpreters is expensive.
The availability of more captioned audio and video files online is a third option. This could be accomplished by mandating or rewarding companies for providing captions for any videos and audio files they publish online.
This could greatly increase the deaf community’s access to technology, but it will cost a lot to hire captioning staff and buy the necessary tools.
The deaf community in the Philippines stands to gain in a number of ways from more accessible technology. Even though each of these options could be expensive, they could all significantly increase the access to technology.
To make technology accessible to everyone in the Philippines, a strategy must be devised after considering these options.
Conclusion
The lives of those in the deaf community have been greatly improved by technology, despite the fact that there is still a clear accessibility gap in technology for the population in the Philippines.
According to research, the deaf community frequently uses partially accessible technology, and current initiatives to make technology more accessible have had varying degrees of success.
We can start to create focused solutions to close this gap by pinpointing the specific difficulties and accessibility gaps in technology.
Increasing funding for research and development of new accessible technologies, supplying the deaf community with better training and resources to use current technology, and strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors and deaf community organizations are a few examples of these solutions.
For the deaf community in the Philippines, technology has the potential to lower barriers and create new opportunities, but this will require a concerted effort from all parties involved.
For those who are looking for additional support, Unspoken Language Services offers interpreting services to help bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing communities.
