Perspectives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Viewers of Captions

Educational rights and other rights enumerated in federal law support deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) viewers’ access to captions in visual electronic media, yet uncaptioned and inadequately captioned media still exist. To determine what is satisfactory in captioned media and what could be improved to ensure access, data were gathered from focus group discussions with 20 DHH students who shared their perspectives on captions. The focus group analysis indicates that major topics of concern for DHH viewers include advocacy for captions and caption formatting preferences; the need for direct access to real-time videos, online videos, and other media; how captions influence and benefit DHH and hearing viewers; and captions’ importance in public, educational, and other social/cultural spaces. The author concludes that DHH viewers’ perspectives can help educators and advocates strengthen access to captions in education and society.