Communicating with Australian deaf people about communication technology

Abstract

The paper examines deaf people's knowledge of modern Internet communication technologies and the possible benefits they could obtain from them. We found that organisations for deaf people were active in informing their members but a very large number of people deafened by ageing were not so aware of possible benefits. Signing deaf people benefit from video communication by telephone and the Internet. Signing avatars are also of considerable benefit in making available text and voice sites on the Internet. Methods of promoting awareness for better access and suggestions for their implementation are examined.