Since joining the depot last August, Joe says the team has built a supportive, deaf-aware environment.
“Everyone knows they shouldn’t talk to me across the room, they need to face me, and they’ve gotten on board with that,” he says. “In the mornings at shift briefings, the team manager will face me and speak slowly so I can lip read.”
Joe mainly communicates through text and says someone is always available to help if he needs it. He’s also developed visual ways to communicate with others. “When I’m unloading a tanker, I will turn a light to signal green to let people know the valve is open…that’s a visual system that lets them know what’s going on.”