[OSList] OS with Sign Language as a first language

[Diane Gibeault]

Hi Lee,

I facilitated an Open Space meeting for deafened people, people who
once heard and spoke but have now lost their hearing completely or in good part
and have not necessarily learned sign language or lip reading. The invitation
from a volunteer organization went to the community at large.

 
Over twenty people met for half a day. The
theme was focussed on service and access needs of deafened people. Communication
was assisted by interpreters, sound enhancing ear plugs and simultaneous
captioning services enabling participants to read spoken words on a large
screen. 
 
We were able to preserve the formation of
the full circle of chairs by having some of the hearing participants (partner
accompanying a deafened participant, sponsor of the organization, sign language
interpreter and facilitator) sit at one end of the circle, their backs to the
screen which other participants needed to see. 
 
As the facilitator I could not walk in the
circle while speaking because it would have interfered with the view of the
screen but I did walk around the circle once without speaking. I had told the
group I would do so and that at the same time, they were invited to let their
eyes go around the circle, acknowledging the richness of the people present. I
made eye contact with everyone, we all smiled and nodded to welcome each other and
they did the same with other participants. The circle was bound.
 
Harisson Owen’s “less is more” never was so
true. To explain the process, I had to speak slowly, using few words, choosing
key important ones so that the captioning note takers and interpreters would
represent the ideas as clearly and as completely as possible. Otherwise, they will
cut on what was said or put it in words that may not reflect as well what you
wanted to say. Beth Martin a OS trainee who assisted in the Open Space was asked
by the sponsor to take the role of reading the screen and signalling to me when
I had to slow down. If a message had been really distorted, she would have
caught it and let me know.
 
Participants wrote their topics and only
when all had finished did they take turns to announce them from their seat.
This way, everyone could look at the screen or interpreter. Otherwise, they
would have missed the topic announcements because they would be looking at
their sheet while writing their own topic. Participants with topics then picked
up a Post-it with time and place and put up their topics on the wall. After
this first round, some came up with more ideas for topics and we proceeded in the
same way again. 
 
Once all the topics were on the wall, further
instructions were given and off they went to sign up. If they needed to
negotiate combinations or time changes, they could communicate with each other
by writing on the paper pad they were given or calling upon an interpreter. Each
meeting site had a large screen computer and a note taker and participants sat
around to read on the screen what was being said. Interpreters went where they
were needed. There was a talking piece at every meeting site to help see who was
speaking. A real break was scheduled between the two discussion rounds to give
everyone a rest from reading. 
 
Discussion reports were completed after the
event, given it was only a half day meeting. For reporting to the entire group
at the end of the event, two flip charts were placed near the circle in the plenary
room and initiators had been invited to write two or three lines that captured
the key idea or action coming out of their discussion. This encouraged them to
organize their thoughts and it condensed the reporting period. Initiators read
their two line reports that were captured by the interpreters and the larger
screen. Participants exchanged comments, reactions and more stories. 
 
For the closing, the talking piece worked
like it always does and words came from the heart to bring meaningful closure
to this event. 
 
They were energised by this kind of
exchange that brought them out of their isolation 
They would have wanted to keep on. They
talked about having another meeting. This kind of experience was a first of its
kind for these participants and for this community of people with hearing
challenges.
 
The speed at which  participants took charge of the process, the level of participation, the energy and the
enthusiasm about the results and about this way of meeting were the same as for
all the other open space groups I have facilitated. Open Space does work with
any group as long as there is passion for the reason that brings people together.
 
Enjoy,

Diane



>________________________________
> From: Lee Simpson <lee.simpson at mac.com>
>To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org 
>Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 10:32:35 AM
>Subject: [OSList] OS with Sign Language as a first language
> 
>
>Hi all,
>
>We are planning an OS with BSL (British Sign Language) as a first language. Anybody done something like this and have any tips about things like sight lines during opening, announcing of sessions and closing circle?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Lee
>_______________________________________________
>OSList mailing list
>To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20130923/005aabd4/attachment-0008.htm>