Question for Deaf Skydivers

[scottbre 0]

I know that there are a few skydivers on here who are deaf. What I'm wondering is what had to be done in order to get through student status? The only thing I really see an issue with, as far as the typical student training program is the part where you're under canopy and which would normally be done by being guided in by radio. Was there just someone on the ground with light batons (like what they use to direct taxiing plane at large airports) giving you signals on which way to pull toggles and when to flare?

Were there other issues that you had to adapt to throughout your student progression or general skydiving career that I haven't thought of? How are (were) those dealt with?

"Your mother's full of stupidjuice!"
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[flyangel2 2]

Well when ever I jump with John Woo, I just yell really loud at him

As an interpreter for the deaf, I've been asked to interpret for some first time jumpers. Most times there was someone on the ground with bright hand held paddles to help the student land.

For Tandems, I discovered that when it’s time for the student to help the Instructor flare, the Instructor will bump their head on the back of the student.

I love jumping with John and the other deaf skydivers, when we are in the plane, it doesn’t matter how far away I’m sitting from them, I can still talk with them.

The number of deaf jumpers in the skydiving community has grown. Just check out http://www.deafskydivers.org/

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[DALAILAMA 0]

The one true thing that sets our species apart form the rest of the planet is the ability to communicate.
Having the ability to communicate without words is one of the most advanced forms of communication you can posess.
Being able to sign to someone in the tunnel or in freefall is a very amazing thing. I have signed the Tandem waiver video, the narration for a demonstration jump and the entire 1st jump course. Talk about being wore out, It will truely break you down physically as well as mentally, but the reward emotionally is well worth it.

"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form"

[sunshine 2]

So mar, do you ever try to sell ducks to deaf people?

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[BillyVance 34]

Hi Scott,

I'm deaf. Yeah, I was trained on the bright orange painted paddles to guide me down on target. Only needed that for 3 jumps and then I had the hang of it. However, my instructor started to install the two-way radio on me before my first jump, and I just stood there giving him a dirty look. He caught my expression and whoops! put it away...

The best way to get deaf students through the training program is obviously with the fastest way possible, via a licensed interpreter. Unfortunately, very few DZs will pony up the cost to pay one. They're not cheap.

Like Flyangel2 said, sometimes skydivers with some sign language skills are recruited to help out. That's not a bad thing, but... you just want to be sure the student gets the information correctly, NO misunderstandings! Not especially in a sport where a little mistake will kill you. A lot of times, deaf students need more time to learn the material and are better off taught one-on-one at a pace they're comfortable with. I prefer seeing licensed interpreters doing the job with the instructor, unless the instructor is also an interpreter (major bonus!).

If it's just a tandem jump, there have been large groups of deaf people, up to 15, who have gone and made jumps at one DZ in a day with the help of an interpreter. I have helped out on a lot of deaf tandems and gone out the plane with the tandems and doing RW with them. A lot of fun! Remember that all deaf 4 way with your deaf tandem customer, Greg?
Some of us have learned through sign language interpreters, some have made it through by lip-reading or with extensive visual aids, and still others have done it with paper and pen or blackboard... The only deaf skydiver to ever earn the AFF jumpmaster rating, Fred Goebel, did it with just paper and pencil with his JM course evaulator.

One important thing about deaf people... No two are alike in their disability, just like there are no two fingerprints that are the same. You HAVE to accomodate and adjust to their individual communication needs.

Greg, since you said you've SIGNED a instructional video, would you be interested in mass-producing that and selling to other DZ's? It would be a great tool for them to use if they encounter a deaf customer wanting to jump. I still hear of some getting turned down because the staff didn't think they could train them properly.

Thanks and blue skies!
Billy Vance

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[colintri 0]

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One important thing about deaf people... No two are alike in their disability, just like there are no two fingerprints that are the same. You HAVE to accomodate and adjust to their individual communication needs.

Very true. Everyone is different according to their needs. For instance, I used an interpeter for ground school. I managed to convince my DZO to pay for half of the cost of interpeter and I paid for the another half of it. For the rest of AFF jumps, I relied on lip-reading, writing on papers, and talking to Cat, another deaf skydiver at my dropzone, for inputs. Luckily, my AFF jumpmaster made sure I understood thoroughly each AFF jump before I did it.

As for guidance under canopy, at my dropzone, Cat and I used an orange tarp cut out in the shape of arrow. I'm not sure the measurement of it, but it must have been at least 40 feet long. The instructors would move the end of it to whatever direction they wanted it in. It was very helpful for AFF jumps.

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Were there other issues that you had to adapt to throughout your student progression or general skydiving career that I haven't thought of? How are (were) those dealt with?

Yeah, that would be....watch out for the maverick swooper when you're already on the ground after the jump because you can't hear 'em!!! Seriously, people forget that deaf people can't hear the canopy coming down to the ground, and we have to be more aggressively aware on the ground when we land.

[flyangel2 2]

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The best way to get deaf students through the training program is obviously with the fastest way possible, via a licensed interpreter. Unfortunately, very few DZs will pony up the cost to pay one. They're not cheap.

Heck, just getting the college I work at to hire certified interpreters is like pulling teeth. The problem is that some people think that just because they have picked up a book and taught themselves to sign, they are now an interpreter I'm so lucky that my deaf clients refuse to have anyone else interpret for them.

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Greg, since you said you've SIGNED a instructional video, would you be interested in mass-producing that and selling to other DZ's? It would be a great tool for them to use if they encounter a deaf customer wanting to jump. I still hear of some getting turned down because the staff didn't think they could train them properly.

Great idea, but I see some drawbacks to that. Not every DZ teaches the same way. I know some DZs modify the first jump class and the AFF levels after that. But having some thing that the deaf student can watch would be nice, and then let the instructors at the DZ modify what ever they need to. Do you find it harder to watch an interpreter on T.V. because of the lack of 3-D? Would having the tape with CC be better?

Side note: It took me about 30 minutes to get this reply out because of having one of my deaf clients come into my office with three hearing students. They all just sat here and B.S. back and forth about one of their classes they have. My fingers were flying because at one point I had all of them trying to talk at the same time

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[mx757 4]

I made my first jump the staff didn't know what to do with me deaf student.. so they said wait for DZO who would be in a few minutes and ask him. Well DZO remember me from few weeks ealier when I stopped for fuel on one of my cross country legs for my pilots license. He said he fly's airplanes, let him jump. but we did split up the class I went one on one with another instructor while rest of class had group class. for canopy contol we had big orange arrow 30 feet long that they moved to have me follow and red road flags like highway workers use to warn traffic to tell me when to flare. also John King of Finger Lakes skydivers has had many first jump deaf students the National Techincal inst of deaf , one of 9 colleges of RIT we've had about 20 deaf students at time and we lucky enough to get serveral interpiters from the school too.

[Clite 0]

I am a HOH jumper and had an unusual first jump experience. When it came time to do the jump we knew we had a problem because I couldn't hear the radio as well as they liked. We went over the landing pattern for that day (factoring in wind and landmarks, etc.). I thought I had it understood well enough and we put the radio on and began the jump that way in case I could hear it afterall under canopy. The AFF freefall went well, I opened canopy and began looking around and found out I had very little confidence about the canopy flight(it was my first canopy ride ever)and I definately could not hear the radio at all. The jumpmaster had expected this, and had a large canopy just for this jump. He managed to slow his decent and and get along side of me and had me literaly follow him back to the DZ. I don't recomend this method since it provides alot of difficulties on the jumpmater and student. I wish we had done the signals on the ground also. The best training I got was the extensive coverage of DZ landmarks on the ground and on the way up to altitude with referance to what to do at the different heights of the canopy ride down.

-Wes