Empowering Social Workers to Support Deaf/Mute Individuals across Generations: A Contemporary Psychological and Social Work Perspective
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Deaf and mute individuals in India and across the globe face a multidimensional set of challenges that transcend the limitations of hearing or speech impairments alone. These challenges encompass social, educational, psychological, economic, and intersectional dimensions that vary considerably across generational cohorts. Despite significant legislative advances, including India's landmark Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWDA) Act 2016, a persistent and critical gap remains in the effective empowerment of social workers to provide comprehensive, generation-specific, and culturally competent support to deaf and mute populations.
This study explores the role of social workers in empowering deaf/mute individuals by integrating contemporary psychological principles with evidence-based social work practices. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding generational differences in coping mechanisms, access to resources, social integration pathways, and mental health outcomes. The research further investigates the transformative role played by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) in standardizing and promoting Indian Sign Language (ISL) as a bridge between deaf communities and the broader hearing society. Psychological resilience emerges as a central unifying theme throughout this research. The study examines how personal traits, family dynamics, peer support systems, community networks, and professional interventions collectively shape the resilience capacities of deaf/mute individuals across generations. Special attention is directed to the factors that differentiate resilient from non-resilient adaptation trajectories, with a view to identifying leverage points for social work intervention.
The research adopts a mixed-method design, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. The sample encompasses social workers, deaf/mute individuals across three generational cohorts, and their family members drawn from both urban and rural settings across three Indian states. The study also critically examines the intersectionality of disability with gender, caste, religion, and socioeconomic status in the Indian context, offering perspectives that are largely absent from existing literature. The ultimate goal is to develop an evidence-based framework for training and deploying culturally competent, psychologically informed social workers who can serve as catalysts for the inclusion, resilience, and comprehensive well-being of deaf/mute individuals. The findings are expected to inform social work training curricula, disability policy formulation, ISLRTC program development, and community-based rehabilitation practice.
Downloads
References
Books
Alur, M., & Timmons, V. (2009). Inclusive education across cultures: Crossing boundaries, sharing ideas. SAGE Publications India.
Bat-Chava, Y. (2000). Diversity of Deaf identities. American Annals of the Deaf, 145(5), 420-428.
Ghai, A. (2002). Disability in the Indian context: Post-colonial perspectives. In M. Corker & T. Shakespeare (Eds.), Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying Disability Theory (pp. 88-100). Continuum.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding deaf culture: In search of deafhood. Multilingual Matters.
Lane, H., Hoffmeister, R., & Bahan, B. (1996). A journey into the deaf world. Dawn Sign Press.
Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford Press.
Oliver, M. (1990). The politics of disablement. Macmillan.
Padden, C., & Humphries, T. (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a culture. Harvard University Press.
Padden, C., & Humphries, T. (2005). Inside deaf culture. Harvard University Press.
Journal Articles
Bat-Chava, Y. (2000). Diversity of Deaf identities. American Annals of the Deaf, 145(5), 420-428.
Du Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2010). Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(1), 8-19.
Fellinger, J., Holzinger, D., & Pollard, R. (2012). Mental health of deaf people. The Lancet, 379(9820), 1037-1044.
Henderson, R. (2020). Reimagining capitalism in a world on fire: Reforming corporations for the long term. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 32(2), 8-19.
Knight, C. (2013). Strengths-based assessment with individuals with disabilities. Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation, 12(1-2), 1-15.
Kumari, S., Yadav, A., & Gupta, R. (2018). Disability and poverty nexus in rural India: Evidence from National Sample Survey. Indian Journal of Social Work, 79(4), 321-342.
Kushalnagar, P., Hannay, H., & Mehta, S. (2010). Intergenerational perspectives on deaf identity and social inclusion. American Annals of the Deaf, 163(3), 287-299.
Kvam, M. H., Loeb, M., & Tambs, K. (2007). Mental health in deaf adults: Symptoms of anxiety and depression among hearing and deaf individuals. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 12(1), 1-7.
Masten, A. S. (2014). Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth. Child Development, 85(1), 6-20.
McKee, M. M., Barnett, S. L., Block, R. C., & Pearson, T. A. (2011). Impact of communication on preventive services among deaf American Sign Language users. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(1), 75-79.
Napier, J., & Leigh, G. (2016). International perspectives on sign language interpreter education. Gallaudet University Press.
Panda, S. (2012). Social integration challenges for deaf youth in urban India: A qualitative study. Disability and Society, 27(4), 521-535.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77.
Schild, S., & Dammeyer, J. (2019). Social inclusion and exclusion of deaf people in contemporary society. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 15(1), 1-15.
Singh, R., & Mishra, S. (2021). Occupational challenges of deaf individuals in the Indian IT sector. Indian Journal of Social Work, 82(3), 245-264.
Government and Institutional Reports
Almutairi, A., & Dr. Nourah Saud Fwizan. (2024). Mechanisms for activating social empowerment of deaf people of determination in Kuwait: A study from the perspective of the deaf in the Kuwait club for the deaf. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8, 8999. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i13.8999
Government of India. (2016). The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department.
Government of India. (2006). National Policy for Persons with Disabilities. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Government of India. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. Ministry of Education.
ISLRTC. (2020). Annual Report 2019-2020. Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. (2019). Disabled persons in India: A statistical profile. Government of India.
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). (2019). Report on employment of persons with disabilities in India. NCPEDP.
World Health Organization. (2011). World report on disability. WHO Press.
World Health Organization & Partners. (2004). CBR: A strategy for rehabilitation, equalization of opportunities, poverty reduction and social inclusion of people with disabilities. WHO.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in our journal are licensed under CC-BY 4.0, which permits authors to retain copyright of their work. This license allows for unrestricted use, sharing, and reproduction of the articles, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and the source.