Still Waiting to be Heard: Deaf Children in Australia

Challenges of Mental Health Interpreting when Working with Deaf Patients

“…15,16 This paradigm shift has informed clinicians in relation to how therapy is framed with deaf patients. 21 Aside from the few exceptions where hearing therapists are fluent signers, clinicians must rely on Auslan interpreters to assess and treat this population. Deaf individuals with mental health problems are a geographically widespread small community that cannot access specialized mental health workers at a local level.…”

“…In contrast to other developed countries, in Australia there are no specialized psychiatric facilities for children, adolescents and adults who are deaf. Deaf individuals with mental health problems are a geographically widespread small community that cannot access specialized mental health workers at a local level [21]. Aside from the few exceptions where hearing therapists are fluent signers, clinicians must rely on Auslan interpreters to assess and treat this population.…”

Reading the signs: impact of signed versus written questionnaires on the prevalence of psychopathology among deaf adolescents

“…In conclusion, the results of this study show that an Auslan version of the YSR is reliable, easier to complete by deaf adolescents, and likely to give more reliable estimates of disturbance than standard written questionnaires. The fact that emotional and behavioural difficulties experienced by deaf youth are often overlooked or not treated effectively has already been discussed at length in the literature [5,13,37,38]. Misunderstandings among clinicians about the unique and complex factors that underpin the difficulties experienced by deaf children, and the lack of appropriate assessment instruments, make their evaluation and treatment very difficult.…”

Dialectical behavioral therapy informed treatment with Deaf mental health consumers: an Australian pilot program

“…16 Currently, while there are some referral and support networks established in large urban areas for Deaf children, there are no comprehensive specialist mental health teams for this population. 17 To date, Queensland’s State-wide Consultation Service-Deafness and Mental Health is the only specialized service for the adult Deaf population within Australia.…”