“Is hearing loss affecting your freedom to live life to the fullest?”

The Road to Independence is a proud project of the   NCPD

Meet the Road to Independence founders, Fanie du Toit, from NCPD, and the late Francis Slabber

Fanie du Toit

Fanie du Toit

Fanie is an Adult Education Practitioner and for more than two decades, presenter of the programme, “Leefwêreld van die Gestremde” on RSG, as well as on many Community Radio Stations in SA. He is the senior specialist in hearing impairment & deaf affairs at the National Council of & for Persons with Disabilities.

Francis Slabber

Francis Slabber

Francis qualified her as a Speech & Language Therapist and Audiologist in 1992 at the University of Pretroia. Although dually qualified, she soon realized that audiology was where her heart and passion was. She relocated to Cape Town in 1999 when she started working at The Hearing Clinic. She later became a partner there and eventually owned the practice until her untimely death in November 2021.

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News Articles

Prevalence of hearing loss in SA

What all stake holders in SA should know:

12 million people in South Africa may be affected by hearing loss, as hearing loss affects 20% of the Global Population.

Read more…

The Stigmatism of Hearing Loss

The over-emphasis on the size and discreet positioning of hearing aids may contribute to the stigmatisation of hearing loss.

It is worrying that many people with hearing loss are suffering unnecessarily due to the stigma attached to hearing loss.

Read more…

Access to Primary Health Care Facilities for Persons with Hearing Loss

Here are some guidelines and background information that can be kept in mind by hearing impaired or deaf persons, as well as health professionals at primary healthcare facilities, in times of screening, testing and possible hospitalization…

Read more…

Road To Independence
Road To Independence

2 days ago

www.facebook.com/share/p/18Ai68fRHb/Why the TAG Promotes Person-First LanguageSeeing the person before the disabilityWords matter.Not because changing terminology automatically removes discrimination or creates accessibility, but because the language we use reflects how we understand disability and the people who experience it.South Africa's Technical Assistance Guidelines on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (Disability TAG) takes an explicit “PERSON FIRST” approach. The TAG was developed to assist employers, employees, trade unions and organisations working in disability to understand and implement the Employment Equity Act and its Code of Good Practice. The TAG makes an important statement:“First and foremost they are persons”It explains that persons with disabilities should not be viewed as objects of charity, medical treatment or social protection, but as full and equal members of society with human rights. That is much more than a question of vocabulary.It is a question of how we see people.The person comes before the disabilityThe TAG gives examples of language that places the condition before the person and contrasts this with describing someone as a person who has a particular condition.The principle is simple:The disability may be part of someone's life, but it does not represent the whole person.A person with hearing loss is still a person first.They may also be a parent, employee, professional, artist, employer, friend, partner, leader or advocate.Hearing loss may influence how they experience the world — but it does not tell us everything about who they are.This is about human rights, not political correctnessThis distinction is particularly important.Person-first language is sometimes dismissed as merely being “politically correct.”The TAG places it in a much more meaningful context.It connects the language directly with the recognition of persons with disabilities as equal members of society with human rights. That changes the conversation.Instead of asking:“What is wrong with this person?”we can ask: “What barriers are preventing this person from participating equally?”Those are very different questions.From the medical condition to the functional impactThis is particularly relevant to hearing loss.An audiogram can tell us about hearing thresholds.A diagnosis can describe an impairment.But neither necessarily tells us what happens when that person:attends a meeting;works in background noise;tries to follow a group conversation;receives verbal instructions;attends training;uses a telephone;enters an unfamiliar environment;needs to hear an alarm; orparticipates in social activities.The functional impact may be very different from what the clinical description alone suggests.This is why disability should not simply be viewed through a medical lens.The TAG itself moves into the distinction between the medical and social approaches to disability, recognising that barriers and negative attitudes in society can contribute to disability discrimination. Person first does not mean disability invisibleThere is an important balance here.We should never be afraid to talk about disability.We need to talk openly about:hearing loss, accessibility, discrimination, reasonable accommodation, assistive technology and communication barriers.If we cannot name the barrier, we cannot begin to remove it.Person-first language therefore does not mean pretending that disability does not exist.It means refusing to allow the disability to become the entire definition of the individual.From a Fanie Dreams perspective:At Fanie Dreams, I see this as part of a much bigger principle:See the person. Understand the barrier. Remove what can be removed.When we see only the impairment, we can easily start making assumptions about what someone can or cannot do.When we see the person, we are more likely to ask the better questions:What does this person need?What barriers are they experiencing?What support would enable participation?What reasonable accommodation could make a difference?That takes us from labelling to understanding.From diagnosis to function.From assumption to consultation.And ultimately, from exclusion to participation.But there is another important principle: listen to the personPerson-first language should never become another rule imposed on people with disabilities.Some people prefer identity-first language — for example, “Deaf person,” “autistic person” or “disabled person.” For them, that language may represent identity, culture, community or pride.Respect means listening to the individual.So while the South African TAG explicitly adopts and explains a person-first approach, respectful communication should also recognise that people with disabilities are not all the same.The most respectful question can sometimes simply be:“How do you prefer to be described?”Why this matters in the workplaceThe workplace is where language can become particularly powerful.An employee should not first be seen as:“the person with hearing loss.”They should be seen as an employee who happens to have hearing loss and may require reasonable accommodation to participate equally.That distinction can change an employer's approach.Instead of:“Can this person do the job despite the disability?”the conversation becomes:“What does this person need to perform the job effectively and participate equally?”That is a very different starting point.And it is much closer to the principles of equality, inclusion and reasonable accommodation.The Road to Independence connection:This philosophy is also fundamental to the Road to Independence Protocol.The Protocol does not look at hearing loss only as a clinical diagnosis.It considers:Degree of hearing loss → Functional impact → Barriers → Support requirements → Reasonable accommodation → Participation and independenceThe starting point is therefore not simply: “What is the person's hearing loss?”but also: “What does the hearing loss mean for this person's life, work and participation — and what can reasonably be done to remove or reduce the barriers?”That is the difference between describing an impairment and understanding a person.Perhaps that is the real power of person-first language.It reminds us that behind every diagnosisthere is a person.Behind every impairmentthere is a life.Behind every accommodation requestthere is a person trying to participate.And behind every barrierthere is an opportunity to ask:What can we change?The TAG's message is therefore still highly relevant:Put the person first.Not because the disability doesn't matter —but because the person matters more.Fanie du ToitRoad To Independence www.roadtoindependence.co.za Fanie Dreams www.faniedreams.co.za Reflect • Grow • FlourishSource: South African Department of Labour, Technical Assistance Guidelines on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities, Chapter 1, section 1.3, “Person First.” ... 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Road To Independence
Road To Independence

2 days ago

www.facebook.com/share/p/18Ai68fRHb/Why the TAG Promotes Person-First LanguageSeeing the person before the disabilityWords matter.Not because changing terminology automatically removes discrimination or creates accessibility, but because the language we use reflects how we understand disability and the people who experience it.South Africa's Technical Assistance Guidelines on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities (Disability TAG) takes an explicit “PERSON FIRST” approach. The TAG was developed to assist employers, employees, trade unions and organisations working in disability to understand and implement the Employment Equity Act and its Code of Good Practice. The TAG makes an important statement:“First and foremost they are persons”It explains that persons with disabilities should not be viewed as objects of charity, medical treatment or social protection, but as full and equal members of society with human rights. That is much more than a question of vocabulary.It is a question of how we see people.The person comes before the disabilityThe TAG gives examples of language that places the condition before the person and contrasts this with describing someone as a person who has a particular condition.The principle is simple:The disability may be part of someone's life, but it does not represent the whole person.A person with hearing loss is still a person first.They may also be a parent, employee, professional, artist, employer, friend, partner, leader or advocate.Hearing loss may influence how they experience the world — but it does not tell us everything about who they are.This is about human rights, not political correctnessThis distinction is particularly important.Person-first language is sometimes dismissed as merely being “politically correct.”The TAG places it in a much more meaningful context.It connects the language directly with the recognition of persons with disabilities as equal members of society with human rights. That changes the conversation.Instead of asking:“What is wrong with this person?”we can ask: “What barriers are preventing this person from participating equally?”Those are very different questions.From the medical condition to the functional impactThis is particularly relevant to hearing loss.An audiogram can tell us about hearing thresholds.A diagnosis can describe an impairment.But neither necessarily tells us what happens when that person:attends a meeting;works in background noise;tries to follow a group conversation;receives verbal instructions;attends training;uses a telephone;enters an unfamiliar environment;needs to hear an alarm; orparticipates in social activities.The functional impact may be very different from what the clinical description alone suggests.This is why disability should not simply be viewed through a medical lens.The TAG itself moves into the distinction between the medical and social approaches to disability, recognising that barriers and negative attitudes in society can contribute to disability discrimination. Person first does not mean disability invisibleThere is an important balance here.We should never be afraid to talk about disability.We need to talk openly about:hearing loss, accessibility, discrimination, reasonable accommodation, assistive technology and communication barriers.If we cannot name the barrier, we cannot begin to remove it.Person-first language therefore does not mean pretending that disability does not exist.It means refusing to allow the disability to become the entire definition of the individual.From a Fanie Dreams perspective:At Fanie Dreams, I see this as part of a much bigger principle:See the person. Understand the barrier. Remove what can be removed.When we see only the impairment, we can easily start making assumptions about what someone can or cannot do.When we see the person, we are more likely to ask the better questions:What does this person need?What barriers are they experiencing?What support would enable participation?What reasonable accommodation could make a difference?That takes us from labelling to understanding.From diagnosis to function.From assumption to consultation.And ultimately, from exclusion to participation.But there is another important principle: listen to the personPerson-first language should never become another rule imposed on people with disabilities.Some people prefer identity-first language — for example, “Deaf person,” “autistic person” or “disabled person.” For them, that language may represent identity, culture, community or pride.Respect means listening to the individual.So while the South African TAG explicitly adopts and explains a person-first approach, respectful communication should also recognise that people with disabilities are not all the same.The most respectful question can sometimes simply be:“How do you prefer to be described?”Why this matters in the workplaceThe workplace is where language can become particularly powerful.An employee should not first be seen as:“the person with hearing loss.”They should be seen as an employee who happens to have hearing loss and may require reasonable accommodation to participate equally.That distinction can change an employer's approach.Instead of:“Can this person do the job despite the disability?”the conversation becomes:“What does this person need to perform the job effectively and participate equally?”That is a very different starting point.And it is much closer to the principles of equality, inclusion and reasonable accommodation.The Road to Independence connection:This philosophy is also fundamental to the Road to Independence Protocol.The Protocol does not look at hearing loss only as a clinical diagnosis.It considers:Degree of hearing loss → Functional impact → Barriers → Support requirements → Reasonable accommodation → Participation and independenceThe starting point is therefore not simply: “What is the person's hearing loss?”but also: “What does the hearing loss mean for this person's life, work and participation — and what can reasonably be done to remove or reduce the barriers?”That is the difference between describing an impairment and understanding a person.Perhaps that is the real power of person-first language.It reminds us that behind every diagnosisthere is a person.Behind every impairmentthere is a life.Behind every accommodation requestthere is a person trying to participate.And behind every barrierthere is an opportunity to ask:What can we change?The TAG's message is therefore still highly relevant:Put the person first.Not because the disability doesn't matter —but because the person matters more.Fanie du ToitRoad To Independence www.roadtoindependence.co.za Fanie Dreams www.faniedreams.co.za Reflect • Grow • FlourishSource: South African Department of Labour, Technical Assistance Guidelines on the Employment of Persons with Disabilities, Chapter 1, section 1.3, “Person First.” ... See MoreSee Less

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Proud Partnerships

Ida Institute and the NCPD

I am so privileged to be part of the “partnership” between Ida Institute South Africa Chapter and National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities This a career highlight after 37 years in the sector of and for Persons with Disabilities. I so wish it could have happened 20 years ago.

Fanie du Toit
Adult Basic Education Practitioner – Unisa 1994

“Free new resources helps people with hearing loss and professionals build trusting, productive partnerships.”

Read the article here. Courtesy of The Ida Institute

 

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