Talisa Lalthapersad was born with congenital hearing loss and was diagnosed as being profoundly deaf at 12 months old. But Ms Lalthapersad refused to let her disability stop her from reaching for the stars.

Ms Lalthapersad is the first junior South African Sign Language (SASL) lecturer to teach hearing students the basics of SASL as an elective module in their respective courses at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

Ms Lalthapersad, 34, from Kharwastan in Chatsworth, joined the DUT Deaf Centre in March 2023, where she worked with the general education streams of SASL. Now that SASL is recognised as the 12th official language in South Africa, she felt it’s important for all South Africans to learn the basics of SASL.

“I was born with a congenital hearing loss and was diagnosed as being profoundly deaf when I was a baby. That is how my journey began.

“My supportive parents enrolled me in a programme for hearing impaired children at the Carel Du Toit Centre in Cape Town. I attended this facility three times a year for intensive speech therapy which followed through with the same therapy in Durban. I attended a hard of hearing school from Grade R to matric.

“I have a genetic deafness in my family, my brother is also hearing impaired. I have supportive and caring parents (who have normal hearing), who always provide me with security and a sense of belonging,” said Ms Lalthapersad.

And, she said, she is enjoying every moment of teaching hearing students SASL. She said she finds it exciting to see hearing students being so enthusiastic about learning a new language. She added that her lessons develop the students' creative thinking and strengthen their communication skills.

“Learning SASL or any other language as an adult can be challenging. Initially, the students’ perception is that SASL is hard, this largely depends on what type of SASL one is trying to teach.

“Learning SASL is so important for normal hearing people if they plan to work or are working in public places such as government departments, banks, schools and many other places to communicate in sign language to the hearing impaired. It’s such a valuable life skill when helping a deaf person,” said Ms Lalthapersad.

She said her colleagues at the DUT Deaf Centre, who are sign language interpreters, ensure effective communication between her and the students during her lessons.

Ms Lalthapersad said that SASL being added as an official language has been a big win for the hearing impaired and the hard of hearing people - as it will “give them human dignity, promote their rights and inclusivity”.

To learn SASL, Ms Lalthapersad said, one should take lessons where they will receive formal instruction as she is currently doing at DUT. It can take three months to learn basic SASL and up to three years to become fluent in the language.

Ms Lalthapersad said one of her students shared with her how she had helped a deaf woman at a busy Durban taxi rank. She said the student saw the woman agitated and distressed while in a queue and intervened using her basic SASL skills to communicate with the woman and the taxi driver.

“This situation was solved immediately; the deaf woman thanked the student for helping her understand what the taxi driver was trying to communicate to her. That is why I think it’s important for all South Africans to learn the basics of SASL in order to help the deaf and hard of hearing people in situations such as this,” said Ms Lalthapersad.

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Talisa’s teaching creates bridge between the hearing and the deaf