FORT BELVOIR, Virginia –
Learning how to communicate with others who may not communicate the same way as you is important, especially in the workplace. Defense Logistics Agency recently adopted a program that enabled employees to begin to break down those barriers during a sign language workshop at McNamara Headquarters Complex, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
During the three-month program, employees from the various organizations within the building come together to learn the basics of American Sign Language for one hour during their lunch break. The brown bag sessions began Oct. 13 and are expected to end Dec. 29.
“I wanted these sessions to bring awareness and understanding of ASL and the deaf employees in the complex,” said Vanessa Schaffer, DLA interpreter.
Before the lessons begin, students use sign language to ‘say’ their names for attendance. Some are able to do it without the worksheet and others still use it, but all are enthused to do the exercise.
“We were surprised at the level of interest in the program,” said Schaffer. “Within a few days, we already had 35 people signed up for the brown bag. Out of the 35 employees enrolled, eight of those employees belong to DLA Energy.”
The waiting list for the sessions is approximately 60 people but the workshop is hoping to add another session after receiving feedback from the first group, she added.
Clara Addo, an administrative assistant for DLA Energy Finance, said she enrolled in the workshop to be able to talk to fellow team mates.
“I wanted to be able to communicate with three of our deaf employees better,” Addo said. “They are very approachable, friendly and always willing to help.”
While students express excitement at being in the sessions when participating in the lessons, the instructors are glad to be able to break down barriers in communication for employees.
“I hope that once people come to these sessions, it will open up dialogue between those that hear and those that do not,” said Jarvis Beaver, a business analyst for Energy and one of the instructors. “I have been here for four years and sometimes it can be hard to break the ice and communicate with those who are not deaf, but I hope that these classes improve the culture here for everyone.”
Beverly Johnson, a complaints manager with DLA Energy Equal Employment Opportunity, agrees with Beaver that the sessions are helping to break down communication barriers.
“This brown bag helps the deaf employees to see first that the DLA organization cares, and
secondly, the employees who attend the brown bag also care enough to open conversation,” she said. “I see a lot more employees in the hallways who are using ASL and since I have been attending, I see Jarvis [Beaver] and like to say hello and show him what I have learned.”
One way that the instructors check the students’ understanding is by group activities such as the telephone game. In one of the sessions, Beaver called over an individual from each team and gave them a sentence. The student returned to their group and signed the sentence to the person in front of them; they were able to sign the sentence three times before the student went on and signed it to the next person in line. The majority of the students remembered what was signed and were able to repeat it.
“I really like the sessions because deaf employees who work in different departments throughout DLA actually lead and teach the sessions,” said Addo. “The interpreters are able to show various ways of signing something and provide input.”
During the sessions three to four interpreters are in the room, which adds to the dynamics of the sessions, Schaffer added.
“The brown bag is a testament of DLA being an inclusive organization,” said Johnson. “We have a small group of deaf employees who we can learn from and who can also learn from us.”