Welcome

Welcome to Deaf Awareness for Optical Support Staff.

This course is for optical assistants, reception and admin staff, retail and dispensing support staff, managers, locums and temporary staff. It applies wherever teams speak with patients, book appointments, support pre-screening, help with frame choice, arrange collections, handle repairs or pass concerns to a registrant.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people use different communication methods. Some use British Sign Language. Others rely on speech, lip-reading, hearing aids, cochlear implants, captions, written notes, text messages, interpreters or a combination. Some people do not identify as Deaf but find noisy optical environments difficult.

Your role is not to become a hearing specialist or a BSL interpreter. Ask respectfully, reduce avoidable barriers, keep the person central, protect privacy, and escalate when communication is not safe enough for the task.

Use this simple spine throughout the course: Ask, Face, Adjust, Check, Record, Escalate.