On Thursday, March 6, 2025, at the Ivan Boberskyi Lviv State University of Physical Culture, as part of the project of the Habilitation Hub «ProLife» and the University’s Center for Veteran Development (head – Professor Svitlana Kryshtanovych), an open lecture «Sign Language – as a Means of Communication, Rehabilitation, Adaptation and Assistance» was held.
Speaker Olena Chernyshova – Head of the Lviv separate unit of the All-Ukrainian Association of Sign Language Interpreters and People with Disabilities for students of the Faculty of Therapy and Rehabilitation (Dean Professor Andrii Vovkanych).
The lecture was also attended by students and teachers (Associate Professor, Doctor of Science in Physical Education and Sports Khrystyna Khimenes and Associate Professor, Candidate of Science in Physical Education and Sports Neonila Neroda) of the Olympic, Professional and Adaptive Sports Department of our higher education institution.
Olena Chernyshova conducted an excursion into the history of sign language. There are over 200 different sign languages in the world, including Ukrainian sign language. Only in 30 countries has it been legally established that sign language must be learned by persons working in all service sectors.
We defined terminology, which words to use and which to avoid so as not to offend deaf and hard of hearing people. We learned about famous people who had hearing impairments: congenital and acquired. We studied the alphabet and sign language equivalents. We learned about assistive IT solutions for translation and communication with people with hearing impairments.
Also, Ms. Olena noted that learning and using sign language is a means of rehabilitation after injuries. And most importantly, by learning sign language, we create barrier-free society.
