The Loss of Eyesight Separates One from Things, the Loss of Hearing Separates One from Other People (Portal of Prague)

At the first sight, hearing impaired people look as if there was nothing wrong with them, as they are able to cope with everyday situations themselves. Most of us do not notice any difference until we try to communicate with them.

If we address a hearing impaired person, his or her reaction is inadequate and the answer is discontinuous. If the person does not tell us that he or she cannot hear very well or at all, we do not understand his or her behaviour. The person seems strange, different. This is why it is important that the conditions in the society are set in such a way that the life with this handicap is as little different from an ordinary life of a hearing person as possible.

There are certain requirements that must be met in order to achieve such a state. Certain aspects have to be set by the law. A very important role also plays the way in which the family and the people in the immediate surroundings behave. Learning how to communicate with a hearing impaired person takes time and patience and if we fail, the misunderstanding and nervousness on both sides may cause that the hearing impaired person shuts himself or herself away. Such a person becomes mistrustful and in the extreme case even evil and can have the impression that everyone speaks about him or her or that people wilfully hold back information from them. And we must not forget another important point which is the mutual support among the hearing impaired themselves. No matter how hard hearing people try they will never be able to imagine what this feeling of emptiness and silence is like.

Legislation is a must

The legislative system of the Czech Republic regulates both education of hearing impaired children and their later integration into normal life. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports´ regulation from February 2005 ( no. 73/ 2005 Coll. ) amended by Regulation No. 62 / 2007 Coll. regulates, amongst others, the education system of children with special needs, which is where hearing impaired children belong to. In general, there is a tendency in the Czech Republic to integrate such children into ordinary schools as much as possible. This tendency is backed up by law. Naturally, this all depends on the degree of the handicap and on the equipment, facilities and personnel of the school. (The unabridged version of the Regulation No.73/2005 Coll. can be found at http://www.msmt.cz/uploads/soubory/sb020_05.pdf . The Amendment No. 62/2007 Coll. can be found at http://www.msmt.cz/uploads/soubory/vyhlasky/sb027_07.pdf.)

When the hearing impaired complete their studies, whether at first, second or third level, there comes a new important stage of life – employment, as nowadays, it is not possible to exist without earning money. And since it is more difficult for the handicapped to find a job than it is for healthy people, Czech legislation is there to regulate this issue. For example, there is sheltered employment which employs more than sixty per cent of handicapped people. Their foundation and operation can be subsidized by local Labour Offices. At the same time, there is an obligation for an employer of more than twenty five employees that the handicapped take up at least four per cent of the total number of employees. This obligation can be compensated for by e.g. taking goods from organizations employing more than fifty per cent of handicapped people. Every year, the compliance with these conditions is checked by the relevant Labour Office and the sanctions for breaking them can amount up to one million CZK. The question of employment of handicapped people is regulated by the Labour Code (http://www.zakonik-prace.cz/ ), Act No. 435/2004 Coll. on employment (http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/obecne/prav_predpisy/akt_zneni/z_435_2004) and its amendment by Act No. 518/2004 Coll. (http://portal.mpsv.cz/sz/obecne/prav_predpisy/akt_zneni/v_518_2004).

Community planning of social services

In order to improve the quality and the accessibility of social services, which also relate to the hearing impaired, community planning of social services has been in place since the year 2000 in individual regions and communities. It is basically co-operation between the commissioners of social services (i.e. regions and communities), their clients (i.e. those who will use the services) and the suppliers (individual organizations). To put it simply – the representatives of all the three parties meet to discuss the future form of such services, how long these services will last and how the objective will be achieved. The biggest advantage of community planning is its territorial and time limits. Individual parts of the republic have different requirements and even these requirements can change with time. So far, the system of community planning seems to be the most operational way to distribute help where it is needed the most.

The help of the State, profit-making and non-profit organizations is of a great importance. It opens up new possibilities of life and self-realization to the handicapped. We, who are ‘healthy’, should make an effort to minimize the differences between us and handicapped people. There are many ways how to help and it is entirely up to us which one we will choose.

Note: All the links refer to websites in Czech