France has a long-running history of involvement with DHH (Deaf or Hard of Hearing) individuals, especially during World War II.
One of the most common practices are cochlear implants, which are devices that are affixed to the structures of the ear in charge of hearing, storing and subsequently transmitting sounds to the auditory nerve.
[4] A similar topic of alienation, speech therapy is commonplace, in which DHH individuals are trained to speak and use their voice.
Small communities of DHH individuals are informally but frequently formed, close-knit circles drawn together in which things like cochlear implants and speech therapy is not needed.
Another law was passed in 2005, however, that was geared as an equal rights policy, but under its purview was the integration of DHH students into mainstream school, losing a good deal of the support that was available to them.
France was one of the places that these cruel practices made their way to and, while no specific numbers are historically available, the effect felt was not insignificant.
[10] There were also conflicts in France itself, where many deaf people who applied to work in factories to aid the war effort, but were turned away for unlawful reasons.
Primarily deaf workers were sent, however, and many ended up becoming prisoners of war themselves, mainly those who could not learn quickly to interpret spoken German, which were the majority.
This federation tries to make the rights and views of DHH individuals in France more considered and even helps oversee some legal processes.
The operation is run by Emmanuelle Laborit and Jennifer Lesage-David, who use the theater as an educational and community-building center for individuals in the DHH community.
Classes regarding language, culture, various arts and more are held within the building, but also online, as the theater contributes as broadly as it can to the educational facilitation of DHH people in France.