Written by Gabriel Dionio and Marianne Pagaduan
The Deaf community in the Philippines continues to face significant challenges in communication, education, and healthcare access. Despite the passage of laws aimed at inclusivity, many Deaf individuals still struggle with everyday interactions due to a lack of awareness and support for Filipino Sign Language (FSL).
The FSL Law, or Republic Act No. 11106 was made as a way to aid deaf people by declaring FSL as
“An Act Declaring Filipino Sign Language as the National Sign Language of the Filipino Deaf and the Official Sign Language of Government in All Transactions involving Deaf, and Mandating its Use in Schools, Broadcast Media, and Workplaces”
but a pressing need still exists to strengthen these initiatives for the Deaf community, as it is still far from beneficial in its current state. And while the law itself sets an essential legal framework for the Deaf, practical implementation remains a challenge.
We still have a long way to go in terms of proper institutional and governmental support. However, to address the barriers faced by the Deaf, various technological advancements have been made to bridge the communication gap. These helpful materials are fascinating and innovative in their own right, with one material serving as a handy guidebook for FSL for medical students, another working as a real-time translator for FSL to text, and one material that uses AI to recognize FSL symbols. Here are three such helpful materials:
MediSIGN
MediSign was created by researchers from UP’s Medical Students for Social Responsibility (UPMSSR) and is a handy-dandy guidebook designed to teach FSL to medical professionals. This book serves as a way to have quick phrases and words to use for communicating with deaf patients, and can surely increase rapport with the Deaf community especially in hospitals; places that the Deaf usually need to bring a family member for. Currently this material only exists as an e-book online, but accessibility is relatively easy to obtain, only needing to fill up a form that tests your knowledge of the Deaf.
Speak the Sign
Speak the Sign is a web-based application that works in real-time and converts any instance of Filipino Sign Language into text format for ease of communication. Speak the Sign was made with the intent of conversion of basic Filipino words and phrases for both the Deaf and the hearing, positing that with the rising usage and commonplace nature of mobile phones, such an application would prove beneficial not just to the Deaf and hearing, but also to those with speech impairments and even other interpreters for FSL. By breaking down communication barriers, Speak the Sign fosters greater inclusivity in workplaces, schools, and public services.
Filipino SLR Using Deep Learning – Automated FSL Recognition Model
Artificial intelligence is evolving, which is obvious to say, but is helpful in so many different applications, one ingenious example of such is the use of artificial intelligence in FSL accessibility. The Filipino Sign Language Recognition (SLR) system employs deep learning algorithms to detect static FSL numbers. Their data collection is also an interesting marvel, using a webcam to capture various images of different hand gestures using the researchers’ FSL signer to collect 10,000 different images of FSL number signs with high accuracy. This model is yet another example of FSL-related aids made to bridge the communication gap, one innovation at a time.
