Interacting with Drivers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing #7887 (TCOLE)

By Ferdinand Almodovar, The Fleischer Chronicles | Wed, 13 Jul 2016

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)mandated Interacting with Drivers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing #7887 course will not be available (in an online format)and must be completed in an instructor-led setting.

This is not only an important course for Texas Law Enforcement and the Deaf or Hard of Hearing Communities, but also for the OSS Academy® Training Coordinator. “I suffer from high-frequency hearing loss myself”, said David Lee Salmon II. “I tell my kiddos all the time … never take your hearing for granted. I have a constant ringing in my ears from years in the military around heavy-armor and from shooting high-caliber rifles as a young boy”, said Salmon. David continued, “Back in the day, wearing hearing protection was just not as important as it is today.”

This OSS Academy® course is intended for Peace Officers who may come in contact with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The content of this course intentionally goes beyond mere traffic stops interactions. It is especially important for Peace Officers working toward their intermediate proficiency certificate on or after March 1, 2016, and within 2 years of licensing date for those licensed on or after March 1, 2016.

Enforcement officers are in daily contact with all types of people. Considering that nearly 10% of the U.S. population has some sort hearing loss, it is reasonable to assume that some of those contacts would be with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, especially with the baby boomers reaching their senior years. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people who are deaf or hard of hearing should receive the same services provided to the other 90% of the population. This means that officers interacting with these individuals should reasonably accommodate their communications needs.

For an instructor-led course location resource contact our Training Coordinator at 281-288-9190 (Ext. 205). Also, please consider signing up for the OSS Academy Newsletter for up-to-date course offerings and information.

A sample of our TCOLE Courses Listing:enroll_button

About OSS Academy

To learn more about OSS Academy® contact our Training Coordinator at 281-288-9190 (Ext. 205).