Increasing Scientific Literacy about Addiction for Deaf High School Students

Introduction:The National Institute on Drug Abuse has taken the initiative in increasing scientific literacy among the general public about substance abuse as a brain disease. Deaf persons who use American Sign Language as their main mode of communication often have great difficulty accessing information which is broadcast through print and television media. Low reading levels among many of this population prevent them from accessing print and often captioned television, depending on the reading level of the individual. Yet this group needs information about the causes and treatment of drug abuse as much as others.

With funding from NIDA, we have developed a computer-based 3 module curriculum for deaf adolescents on the neurobiology of addiction, in ASL with English captions.

Objectives: To describe the development and main features of this curriculum which make it both accessible and ‘deaf-friendly'; to display parts of the interactive curriculum; to describe results of field tests and focus groups which viewed or used the curriculum.

Methods: The Addiction and Your Brain curriculum incorporates several features needed for optimal communication to deaf students: a highly visual presentation, American Sign Language on screen, ‘considerate' English text, self-test questions, and actual addiction and recovery stories of deaf individuals.

Conclusion: It is possible to appeal to and communicate complex concepts involved in understanding the human brain and addiction to deaf students, including those with low reading levels, through use of techniques known to help deaf students understand scientific concepts.