Hello and welcome to this August blog instalment. We’ve not done too badly for decent weather over the past few weeks and have seen a fair amount of sun, despite the odd burst of rain.

 

Let me explain what I want to discuss this month – there seem to be more and more Deaf-owned businesses springing up and I want to consider which businesses fare best – those aimed at the Deaf market or those aimed at the hearing market. I’ll be expressing my own personal opinions here, and I’m sure that not everyone will agree. I think what I have to say make sense, but feel free to think differently.

 

I’ve noticed over the past few years that more and more Deaf people seem to be setting up in business for themselves. This is a great trend to see come about, as more opportunities open up to Deaf people. It also means that there is more competition out there now, which is a healthy thing and helps to drive up standards. It’s too easy for a Deaf business to get swallowed up and lost within the wider hearing business world, so more competition from fellow Deaf businesses is nice to see, and certainly seems to be leading to the development of many new ideas. Any Deaf person who sets up a business deserves congratulating.

 

I have noticed though that these Deaf-run businesses seem to fall into two categories – those that aim their products or services at a predominantly Deaf market, and those aiming for a hearing market.

 

Those targeting a Deaf market, such as those selling Deaf books, or sign language DVDs or hearing aid products, are relying on their relationship with the Deaf community, but also limiting themselves to the Deaf community. With such a limited number of customers, I can’t see how they will ever become very successful or be able to grow. Restricting your market to the UK Deaf community means that your business will never have the chance to expand and really maximise profits. There are only an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 BSL users to sell your products/services to. Even widening that to include the hard of hearing population, you’d still only be looking at 8.5 million people, and bear in mind that not all of your products will cross over between these two groups of potential customers. If you also include hearing people who are learning to sign, your potential number of clients might rise by another 1 or 2 million, but it’s still not a huge number and your business will be restricted by that.

 

On the other hand, I believe Deaf-owned businesses aimed at a hearing audience, for example those teaching Deaf Awareness, providing media-based services or working in partnership with councils, government bodies or public services, have a greater chance of success because the scope for opportunity is far greater. There are millions and millions of potential hearing clients across the UK who may be interested in what you have to offer. That’s why I believe that businesses aimed at hearing people stand a far better chance of maximising their profits and being successful, providing of course that they work hard.

 

Clearly there is a difference in potential between the two markets and that’s why I believe that only focussing on the niche market of the Deaf community is not a strong enough foundation to grow a healthy business on. I’ve seen a number of businesses who have marketed themselves in this way fail in recent times, and even those that do continue to trade seem only to maintain a steady level of business but are not able to expand. I have yet to see a company that has limited its market in this way prove to be hugely successful; though perhaps expanding your horizons and marketing the business world-wide might improve matters. In comparison, many Deaf-owned businesses targeting hearing clients have had great success.

 

If in the future you are ever considering setting up your own business, I would certainly recommend that you think long and hard about who your potential clients are, and how many of them might be interested in buying what you have to offer. If you market your business to hearing people, I believe you are more likely to succeed.

 

But, as I said before, this is simply my view. Your thoughts on the matter may be different.

 

I think I’ll end it there for this month. August really is my summer break time and I’ll be taking things easy for the rest of the month but will be back to full strength come September. I’m sure many of you have also got holidays booked for August, or are just planning to take some time to relax in the sun at home too, so enjoy yourselves. Next month I’ll be talking about the strange but interesting topic of Deaf-owned zoo!

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the delay in blogging – I didn’t have time to do a blog post last month because we were moving to a new address.  Unfortunately, there was also a problem with our internet service provider, which meant that we were offline for almost a month with no internet or email!  I’m pleased to say that it’s all been sorted out now and we’re back into the swing of things and settling down.

Anyway, this month, I’m blogging about Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) courses.  These university courses are aimed at people who teach all kinds of subjects, from maths to English to IT, resulting in a professional teaching qualification.

PGDE qualifications are particularly important at the moment because of the Government’s decision to become stricter about teaching qualifications after 2010.  Currently, there are many different teaching qualifications, but the Government wants to set a standard.  This means that if you already have the 7407 teaching qualification, you can ‘top up’ your qualification and get to the right level by doing a PGDE course before 2010.  However, if you have the 7407 qualification but don’t bother doing a PGDE course before 2010, you’ll have to start all over again with 7407 etc.  So, if you’re a teacher thinking of doing a PGDE course, it might be a good idea to do it now, so that everything goes smoothly for you after 2010.

The reason for this change is because the Government wants to get rid of bad teachers – and indeed, there are a lot of them out there – so everyone must do PGDE courses.  Do you think this is right?  I certainly do.  We don’t want shoddy teaching out there, do we?  If there are plenty of good, professional, role models to train teachers, in turn, students will get good education.

I know that although some Deaf people do the PGDE easily, others are very unsure about it and wonder if they have the ability to get through it.  A major reason for their concerns is the English language barrier that many Deaf people face, which I totally understand.  However, it is possible to get universities to agree to British Sign Language / English translation of course materials.  Of course, they have to provide language support, interpreters and communicators etc, so English should really not need to be a problem at all.  While interpreters will sign what is being said, your written English can also be ‘polished up’ to university standard.  Services like Team HaDo, for example, can do this.  I know someone who was doing the PGDE sent their English assignments to Team HaDo for editing into a level of English that their university accepted.   That was Bolton University, by the way; I’m not sure about other universities, but I certainly think it should be possible.

The PDGE can be done in either one or two year courses.  One year courses tend to be very high pressure and intensive, involving lots of exams, studying and theory to learn, as well as doing 150 hours of teaching.  This can be difficult for some people, but a good challenge for others.  Anyway, those who think a one-year course might be too much for them can always opt for the two-year part time route, to give them more time to spread the work out.

All things considered, I don’t see why Deaf people shouldn’t be able to achieve PGDEs.  The Disabled Students Allowance should cover all of the support you need, whether it is interpreters, notetakers, English support or whatever.  I’ve been told that the PGDE is totally achievable for people from various backgrounds as long as you work hard at it – if you don’t have the motivation to work hard, you won’t pass, as simple as that.  There are mixed feelings towards it in the Deaf community – some people think it will increase the number of Deaf teachers, but others think the opposite.  I’ve also heard about people dropping out of PGDE courses, but really they probably need more advice about how to go about it.  As long as all the correct access provision is in place, I’m sure Deaf people can do it!  I’d certainly love to see all Deaf PGDE students succeed, increasing the numbers of qualified Deaf teachers.  That would be great!

Well, that’s it for today.  Next month, I’ll be discussing whether businesses should be aimed at Deaf or hearing markets.  Bye for now!

Sorry…No blog for this month (June) due moving to new address and the internet/email was inactive at the moment.Will be back in August blog!

Hello!  I hope you found last month’s blog entry interesting!  This month, I want to discuss whether Deaf BSL users can achieve high-level positions, and become directors, MPs or doctors, etc.

I would certainly say they can, as long as they’ve had good education and training.  Recently, I saw a television programme about a hard of hearing person who worked in a finance company, dealing with millions of pounds – she is certainly to be admired.  However, she does not sign, and I think it would be a lot more difficult for a BSL user to do a job like that; for a start, companies might not employ them because they think it would be hard to communicate with them, or too expensive to have to pay for interpreters.  Or, deaf people might not even apply for that kind of job in the first place.

The way for Deaf BSL users to get to the top would be to start at the bottom.  Then, if they manage things the right way and get interpreters in where necessary, they can gain experience and then move up to managerial level.  As time goes on, they can get more and more experience and keep moving up to higher levels; each level being more challenging, communication-wise.  Of course, if they have plenty of Access to Work funding for interpreters, things would be much easier and they would be more likely to get promoted.

Running a huge multinational company is a different story for Deaf people, though.  It would be a hugely difficult task, perhaps bringing more hostile attitudes to interpreters with it, as standards are so high at the top and such provision may well be frowned upon.  It’s also more important to have good English skills in this job and you would be expected to be more organised.  I do think Deaf people can do it, though, as long as they can show their level of commitment and ability.

I was astounded to see on See Hear (I think) that in Belgium, a Deaf woman is working as a MP.  She’s a Belgian sign language user, and uses an interpreter for her daily Governmental duties, which is great to see!  There are people with similar jobs in America, and here in Britain too, though really not very many, and I would definitely like to see more of this kind of thing happening.  We have come a long way, though, as years ago you’d never see Deaf people in that kind of job, but now it’s on the increase thanks to better educational prospects etc.  It’s definitely going to get better and better, too, judging by the many businesses I’ve seen Deaf people (like me and some of my friends) setting up lately.  I do think Deaf people feel comfortable running their own businesses because it means they’re their own bosses and no one can tell them what to do!

Deaf people may also enjoy working in big companies, running things and earning good wages, but communication is often a disadvantage.  It’s all very well booking an interpreter to interpret during work time, but at lunch time, for example, Deaf people can feel rather isolated amidst all the banter.  The same is also true of after-work drinks and other social situations – it does tend to knock your confidence, too.  A bit of Deaf Awareness training can go a long way, though, and really improve communication, so companies should really make sure that their staff are trained in Deaf Awareness and BSL… that way, their Deaf employees would have a much better time and find it easier to take advantage of promotion opportunities.  Of course, at the same time as training bringing about big changes, it is also down to individuals’ communication skills – good communicators tend to achieve more.

Things like the Disability Discrimination Act and Disability Equality Scheme do mean the future is looking brighter and there will be more opportunities for improvement.  Technology like computers, Typetalk, minicoms, email and video relay interpreting services via webcam also bring about much wider access for Deaf people.

I could go on for longer but it’s time to finish now – hope you enjoyed reading this!  Next month I’ll be looking at how the Government’s new requirements will make it difficult for Deaf teachers to do PGDE courses.

Hello and welcome to my April blog post! I hope you read last month’s entry too!

This month, I’ll be looking at British Sign Language (BSL) and Sign Supported English (SSE). BSL is a comprehensive visual language with its own grammar and expressions. It tends to be used more than SSE, which involves signing in English order with more lip patterns.

Many people are concerned that BSL and SSE might die out in the future. I don’t know if I’m right or wrong here, but in my opinion, a lot of this concern could be due to the fact that signing Deaf schools are closing down, one after the other. The Government doesn’t have the money to keep them open, so deaf children are mainstreamed instead, which can be very hard and isolating for them, especially if they don’t sign. Support does exist, but there does need to be a drive for BSL to be used in schools.

Deaf clubs are also on the decline due to a lack in the funding needed to keep them going, and, largely, due to the explosion of mobile phones. People now don’t bother going to Deaf clubs because they can just text their friends and arrange to meet in local pubs instead – it’s a lot easier to communicate these days.

Another big concern of Deaf people and our allies is the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that I blogged about back in December. It’s been subject to much controversy recently because of the possible IVF-related implications, surrounding the discarding of deaf embryos. It’s another worrying factor that could lead to a decline in the use of BSL in the future.

If BSL does die out, what are parents going to do regarding their deaf children’s education in the future? Are they going to have to put them in mainstream schools, which will be harder for them? How are they going to be able to communicate fluently in BSL if the Deaf BSL-using schools have all been closed down?

I don’t actually understand why Deaf schools and clubs are being closed down all the time, though, because the Government recognised BSL as an official language back in 2003, something which seems to be at odds with these closures. It just doesn’t make sense! Surely it’s our right to see BSL continue to flourish and be passed down to future generations of deaf children? Of course, I want to see that happen, but the future is hard to predict.

Funnily enough, though, there’s been a growing demand for BSL classes for hearing people in recent years – they’re readily available as modern languages courses in colleges etc. There are certainly a lot of enthusiastic hearing BSL learners out there, while it’s declining amongst Deaf people. That’s strange, and I can’t say why, but it does seem to be this way.

Maybe the British Deaf Association (BDA) and other organisations can give BSL the “push” it needs in order to carry on? We also need to make sure schools that are using it carry on doing so, like the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby, which is a great example.

All things considered, I do think that BSL will continue to thrive for a long time despite the many threats it faces – it’s been around for years and years, so why shouldn’t it stay? For example, how are deafened children meant to communicate, and things like that? Also, many Deaf parents have strong Deaf genes and tend to have Deaf families, so I’m sure BSL will stay around. There are plenty of Deaf people all over the world, after all!

However, just imagine for a moment that technology has advanced so much in 300 or 400 years’ time that a very simple procedure can make deaf babies hearing! It may seem unlikely, but anything is possible. I do think that BSL will exist for years and years, but you never know, do you? It could disappear one day if technology advances like that and all of our future babies are hearing.

But for now, let’s all remember to stay proud of BSL and keep using it throughout our lifetimes!

Next month’s blog will look at the issue of Deaf people doing management-level jobs – can they really make it to the top? I’ll explain next month!

Hello and welcome to my March blog entry. This month I’ll be considering some of the frustrations that Deaf people face in a world that is simply not geared up for them, and I’ll be turning the tables to speculate on how things might be for hearing people in an imaginary world where the majority of people are Deaf and they are in the minority.

Firstly though, I want to take you through an imaginary day in the life of an average Deaf person here in Britain, to see what kind of frustrations and difficulties they face.

Just like the rest of the workforce, Joe Deaf gets himself up and dressed and heads out to work after a bite of breakfast. He regularly travels to work by train, so heads to his usual platform. It’s here that he comes up against his first problem of the day. Platform changes at this station are still announced by tannoy or loudspeaker, and this morning that means Joe finds himself aboard the wrong train by accident, not realising that there has been a platform alteration. He soon realises his mistake as the train heads in the wrong direction, but by the time he has found his way back and caught the right train, checking carefully this time, he is frustrated and late for work.

Arriving late, Joe makes his apologies and finds his way to his desk. His hearing colleagues seem to be sharing a laugh and a joke, but Joe can’t hear what they are saying and they don’t fill him in on what he’s missing, so he just keeps his head down and gets on with his work, feeling a little sad and lonely and wishing that there was another Deaf person working nearby that he could pass the time of day with.

At lunchtime, he makes his way to the canteen and though the food is not bad, he still feels isolated, as his hearing colleagues laugh and chatter away to one another across the table.  Even when he plucks up the courage to ask what they’re all laughing about, they don’t bother to take the time to explain properly, just telling him it was a just a joke and nothing important. He goes back to his meal.  The limited communication he has with his colleagues makes it difficult for Joe to join in and this makes him feel resentful and even less confident.

Back at his desk, Joe realises he needs to make a few phone calls, but having to go through the Type Talk operators is never a smooth process and soon enough things start to go wrong as the person he has called starts to misunderstand what he means. Try as he might, he can’t express himself clearly by typing and the conversation goes quickly downhill. After a lot of explaining and clarifying, the conversation is finally sorted, but it was a frustrating and time-consuming business.

Soon afterwards, Joe receives an email from someone high up in the company. It’s full of technical language and corporate speak, not in plain English at all. Joe only uses English as a second language and he struggles to unravel the meaning of the message, worrying about what he might have missed or not understood.

At the end of the working day, Joe decides to treat himself to a new mobile phone before heading home. He compares a couple of models and wants to ask a few questions of the shop assistant, but they become flustered when he explains that he is Deaf and refuse to gesture or write anything down. Again frustrated at the difficulty in communicating, and cross with the assistant’s bad attitude, he leaves the shop without buying anything and heads home an angry man.

Joe’s day was full of miscommunications, missed information and misunderstandings. Sometimes he feels like it’s all just too much.

And Joe is not unusual. Deaf people face these kinds of frustrations and problems on a daily basis, because they live in a world that operates differently to the way they do. It’s not surprising that Deaf people are often lacking in confidence.

Now imagine for a moment that the situation was reversed; that the majority of people were Deaf and used sign language and that hearing people were in the minority. I honestly believe that those problems and those feelings would be exactly the same in reverse. In a world built to suit Deaf people, hearing people would struggle to function in identical ways. They would not understand signed announcements on train station screens; they’d be left out of the office banter by their Deaf workmates; they’d struggle to understand video emails and become frustrated at the slowness and confusion of having to relay all their calls through a video relay telephone service; they’d despair at the attitude of impatient shop assistants. All of this would affect their confidence and self esteem and leave them feeling frustrated and isolated.

If hearing people experienced this, even for just a day, they would have some understanding of the reality of life for Deaf people. They would be able to empathise with Deaf people and be more aware of their suffering. The aim of my business is to make those people working in public services aware of the difficulties Deaf people face on a daily basis in the hope that increasing their awareness will encourage them to commit to making their services more accessible and equitable for Deaf people.

That’s all for this month, but next month I’ll be considering the future of British Sign Language and asking whether it can continue to thrive into the 21^st century, or whether it will die out and become a thing of the past.

Hello and welcome to my February blog post!

My latest topic is Deaf English and BSL (and SSE). ‘Deaf English’ refers to Deaf people’s written and spoken English skills. BSL – British Sign Language – is a visual-gestural language that relies heavily on facial expressions to convey emotions. SSE – Sign Supported English – involves signing in English word order; although it uses BSL signs, it is very different grammatically.

Now, many Deaf people have problems with English - although there are also many who are fluent in the English language - lots are fluent in BSL but only have a basic grasp of English. Is this because they are Deaf? Definitely not. Personally, I blame the education system, which is simply not good enough. The oral method of education can be very confusing for BSL users, as the structure of English is completely different to that of BSL, which is more concise and visual. This is a big problem for lots of Deaf people. Bilingual education is the answer; if Deaf children are properly taught English and BSL as separate languages, they will be fluent in both.

As I have said before, Deaf people’s fluency in English differs from person to person, but I want to focus on those who lack confidence in their English skills upon leaving school; when they have to apply for a job or place at college or university, for example. Application processes can be inaccessible for someone who is not familiar with writing letters etc and simply doesn’t know what to do. I understand how they feel.

This is a big problem, and often leads to people who aren’t confident in their English skills asking their parents or friends who are good at English to edit their work. This isn’t good, really, and shouldn’t be happening – everyone should be fluent in English, and we all would be if we were taught properly. However, educators simply don’t understand how to teach Deaf people bilingually. It would be a lot better if teachers of the Deaf fully understood how BSL and English are different, and how to teach both properly. This situation has improved in recent years, but it’s still not good enough and we still have a long way to go.

Now, there’s a company called Team HaDo (www.teamhado.com) that works with Deaf people who are in employment or at university but lack confidence in their English skills. If you email them an English document that you’ve typed, they’ll edit it into beautiful English and send it back to you within 24 hours or a week. Or, if you’d rather not write in English because it isn’t your first language, you can film yourself in BSL using a webcam and then send the recording to them. Again, they’ll translate whatever you sign into beautiful English and send it back to you. Take my word for it, they know what they’re doing and are good, professional, accurate translators, delivering on time at reasonable prices. I use their services myself and I’m certainly impressed. Any Deaf people out there who aren’t confident English-wise should use them - they can help you! If you’re working, then don’t worry; Access to Work should cover the costs of the service. They do in the North West, anyway; I’m not sure about other regions, but would imagine they’d be the same. University students who want to use Team HaDo’s services should be able to pay using their Disabled Students Allowance. Why not try them? You’re sure to be satisfied!

Of course, the issue of Deaf English strengthens our case for a BSL Act. Hearing people tend to insist that Deaf people use English – and English is useful, but what about our right to use BSL too? The two languages should have equal status, thus levelling the playing field.

Now this blog entry is drawing to a close and I’m thinking about what to write about in March already! My next entry will be a bit different. Imagine the majority of society were disabled in some way (physically, Deaf or whatever), and vastly outnumbered ‘able bodied’ hearing people. What would life be like for non disabled people then? Would they struggle access-wise, while everything was accessible to disabled people? That’s one for next month! Bye for now!

Hello again. Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoyed feasting on your Christmas dinner – turkey and all the trimmings.  I love that Christmas feeling! Seeing the tree with all those presents underneath. It’s so exciting and I’m sure you feel the same.

In my blog this January I’m going to look at the idea of a BSL Act. I’ll explain what such an Act would be like and what changes it might bring about.

Now, I’m sure you’re all aware of the campaign for BSL recognition that went on over a number of years. Deaf people all over the UK marched in support of BSL recognition, until in 2003 the Government finally agreed to recognise the language. The Deaf community was ecstatic until it was pointed out to them that this “recognition” by the Government did not go so far as to create a BSL Act, but was simply official recognition that BSL was in fact a language in its own right, nothing more, nothing less. Many Deaf people were disappointed that recognition did not go as far as creating an Act of law.

The fact that BSL has now been recognised as a language by the Government is a good start, but the next step needs to be an Act of law which formally protects BSL in the same way that minority spoken languages like Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are protected, or, looking further afield, how languages are recognised internationally. Having a BSL Act would put BSL on the same footing as these other languages, giving Deaf BSL users a level of language equality that is already enjoyed by Welsh speakers, for example. This would mean that Deaf people would have a right to interpreters to provide access to any service within the public sphere. Television, videos and DVDs would have to have an option to watch with a BSL interpretation, in the same way as we can select to watch with subtitles at the moment. Easy access in BSL across a whole range of things would become standard as a matter of course, because a BSL Act would mean that Deaf people would have a right to expect this.

If you look at America, in some schools, ASL is taught to hearing children from a very young age, though admittedly only to a fairly basic level. This must have a great effect on these children as they grow older. Sadly in Britain we do not have a similar programme, and BSL is only taught in a few schools in a few areas. How great would it be to see that rolled out to all schools in the UK? That’s what a BSL Act could give us. Children are taught a variety of languages in schools, why not BSL? If that happened, those children who enjoyed learning the language, and who were good at it, would have the option of continuing to learn it at higher levels. We’d see a huge increase in the number of people able to use BSL and it could solve the problem of interpreter and communication support worker shortages, both in Deaf people’s work environments and in schools, colleges and universities. This is another strong reason in support of a BSL Act.

I really want to see Deaf people start to campaign for a BSL Act. I think that some people in the community want to get this campaign rolling and would organise marches in support of it in the future, maybe in the next year or two. We need to keep pushing this issue with the Government, to ensure that BSL is treated equally to other languages. We need to keep campaigning until the Government are forced to do something to move things forward. This needs to happen so that the future is better for Deaf people, so that we have better access, better lives, a better education, better public services, hospitals, police, fire and ambulance services and so on. We should have access to everything at the same level that hearing people who use spoken English do.

I believe that this will happen one day. As Deaf people over the years have received a better education, they are now more knowledgeable about these kinds of issues and I really admire those Deaf people who have pushed for equality over the years. I’m sure that will continue and Deaf people will campaign successfully to push the agenda further forwards. It will happen one day, and hopefully, when it does, I’ll see you all there marching!

My next blog, in February, will focus on the topic of Deaf English and BSL. I’d love to tell you more now, but I’ll save it for next month.

Hello and welcome to my December blog entry! In my last post, I said I’d be discussing the British Sign Language Act this month, but something’s come up since then so I’d like to put it on hold for now. That ‘something’ is the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

So what’s it all about then?

Basically, if this Bill is accepted, it means that people who go for fertility treatment will no longer be able to have babies who are disabled or ill because all of the relevant genes will be removed before treatment, resulting in ‘normal’ babies being conceived. This might sound OK in theory but in reality it is not so. This treatment will also include the removal of deaf genes, something which has both floored and worried me and other Deaf people. We can’t believe that the Government is proposing to do this; to eradicate deafness!

However, the British Deaf Association (BDA) have sent a long, impressive letter to the Government to try and stop this going ahead – it hasn’t become law yet, of course, and is just in the consultation phase at the moment. I do hope that the Government listens to the BDA; although they may stick to their guns and go ahead with it… we’ll just have to wait and see.

If this goes ahead, it means that doctors can stop Deaf couples who want fertility treatment from having deaf babies, even though it is their right to have children who are just like them. On the other hand, it means that hearing people will be supported in their quest to have ‘perfect’ non-disabled babies. Why is this fair? Why shouldn’t deafness continue be part of our lives in future? I really don’t think it’s natural to eradicate Deaf people, disabled people, or those with mental health issues from society.

To me, this sounds just like the holocaust, when Hitler aimed for a ‘clean’ race and killed Jewish people, black people and Deaf people; this genetic cleansing certainly does remind me of it. What’s more, the fact that the Government is making decisions about wiping out Deaf people, BSL and Deaf culture also reminds me of what happened in Milan in 1880 when hearing people made seriously oppressive decisions about Deaf people. It’s awful, isn’t it?

So, what do we do now? I don’t think there’s much we can do at the moment except wait and see what the Government does next. If it moves in our favour, great, but if not, then I don’t think we have any choice but to take action and march. Just as we marched for BSL recognition, we’ll need to campaign and march again if the Government refuses to listen to the BDA.

If this Bill goes ahead, what will happen to Deaf people in the future? I can see us, and our beautiful language, BSL, dying out. Our community and culture will be extinct, too. And what will happen to the few Deaf people who do survive? They are certain to feel the impact of this decision – how will they communicate if BSL no longer exists? That’s just too awful to think about. Our beautiful language and culture deserve to continue. Sadly, the Government will never, ever understand us and our lives – I wish they would consult more with us Deaf people and attempt to understand us, but they just create ways to get rid of us instead. It’s wrong; it’s just plain unfair, and highlights the gross inequality that we, as humans, have to live with.

It makes me wonder; if this does happen and everyone breeds ‘perfect’ hearing babies, what happens to those who are born hearing and become deaf through illness later on? How are they going to communicate without BSL? Also, what about people who are deafened due to war injuries and suchlike – what will happen to them? You see, no matter what happens, deafness can never be fully eradicated because so many people become deaf due to illness or injury, etc.

I do feel it is now time to take action to make the Government get the message about how we feel. We need to contact the media, too, and tell them that we don’t want Deaf people to be implicated in this Bill. But first, we must wait and see what happens next.

In the future, I predict (and this is just a prediction, of course) that the number of deaf people will indeed have dwindled in, say, 100 or 200 years time, due to technological advancements. Of course, I object to any unnatural practices and want the Deaf community to thrive, but we cannot deny how the technological and medical professions are pushing and pushing to turn things around their way. That’s why we should do all we can to fight against it.

There’s more information in these links below:

Grumpy Old Deafies

Stopeugenics.org

Clark Denmark on parliament’s proposals around genetics.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2007 - 2008

Please do spread the word about this issue because we need to make sure that everyone is aware of it. The BDA and the Deaf community need all of us to show support in challenging the Government!

Finally, I do hope you have a great Christmas and a very happy new year – all the best for 2008!

Hello! I hope you’ve all enjoyed Halloween and the fireworks! My November blog entry is going to tackle the great ‘Deaf schools versus mainstream schools debate’. Let me start by explaining about Deaf schools…

In the past, there were many Deaf schools all over the country; most used BSL, although some favoured the ‘oral’ education approach. Indeed, Deaf schools were popular, with Boston Spa, Ovingdean Hall School, Mary Hare and the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby, to name but a few. At the time, you see, the Government was happy to pay for deaf children to go to Deaf schools (including boarding schools), positively encouraging this in fact. I would say that Deaf schools are worthwhile.

There are two main methods of Deaf education; the oral approach and the signing approach, each favoured by certain people. I would say that most hearing parents of deaf children are likely to place their children in oral education because they think it’s a good opportunity for them to practise their oral communication skills ready for their future employment. That’s some hearing people’s view. However, in some – if not most – cases of oral education, the deaf child simply doesn’t understand what is going on, whether they are wearing headphones or not; it is often only the deaf children with ‘good’ hearing who can actually hear and lipread enough to understand. The rest simply don’t have full access to information, which is a great shame.

Although having good ‘speaking and listening’ skills is useful in terms of participating in the hearing world and in employment, there are also huge advantages to signed education. Fluent BSL is far easier for deaf children to access, and makes the learning process much more thorough and less of an effort. Personally, considering how not being able to speak can present barriers, I advocate the use of both speech and signing – I think deaf children should be taught in BSL, with additional speech therapy. It would be good to be bilingual in BSL and spoken English, just like how people learn languages like French, English or Italian. I think deaf children should be allowed access to both languages to improve their confidence and ability to access society. That’s just my view, though, and I’m aware that some Deaf people might not agree with me. Indeed, it is a difficult situation.

Over the last ten years or so, Deaf schools have been closing down at an alarming rate, a tremendous shame, brought about because the Government can’t afford to fund them and prefers to mainstream deaf children instead. That’s really disappointing. Lots of Deaf people don’t like mainstream education, but looking at it from another angle, I could say that it isn’t all bad; some mainstream schools aren’t suitable for deaf children, while others could do with some improvement, but there are also good mainstream schools too.

The mainstreaming of deaf children usually means they are taught alongside hearing children, often with the support of interpreters, English support tutors etc. These ‘interpreters’ are mostly not qualified to an appropriate level, often just to Level 1 BSL, for example, meaning they cannot do an adequate job and deaf children miss out on their education, including learning English properly. This is a bit of a failure.

So, how can the situation be improved if Deaf schools are being closed down and mainstreaming is inevitable? Lots of Deaf people say it would be good if deaf children were mainstreamed in larger groups of, say, 60 or 70, alongside good teams of professional interpreters and English support tutors etc, so that they have access to education. It would also be good if all of their hearing classmates could be taught Deaf awareness and communication tactics so that the children could communicate more freely at break times etc. That is the kind of thing that I want to see, but there isn’t enough of it at the moment.

I was shocked when a reliable friend of mine told me about her experiences of teaching Deaf Studies at a college. Some of her students were deaf or hard of hearing school leavers who had no knowledge of the Deaf world; not even basic things like minicoms, the Deaflympics, Deaf culture or the Deaf experience. It was all new to them, and came as something of a shock – my friend had quite a task to teach them over the course of four years. She also noticed that her deaf students who had been educated in BSL at Deaf schools outperformed those who had been mainstreamed; their written English was of a higher standard. Appallingly, those who had been mainstreamed had literacy levels comparable to those of seven-year-old children; what a massive failure by the education system! The Government needs to recognise that this kind of thing is happening.

Although there’s no proof, some Deaf people say that they think Deaf schools will start to open again in future, so let’s keep an eye out for that. It is safe to say, however that deaf children in mainstream schools need a great deal of support, and it goes without saying that I want to see good BSL-using Deaf schools carry on thriving. I wish the Government had plenty of money to fund Deaf schools so that they could continue, but we are powerless to stop them while they make mistakes. We can also see the effect of this when we look at the Deaf community as a whole; when there were more Deaf schools, it used to be united and everyone knew each other, forming a strong, healthy community, but these days it is much more disjointed. This is partly because the Government is staffed by hearing people with no knowledge of deafness, our culture and our background, so they cannot empathise with us.

One way forward is the formation of a BSL Act, something that might be possible one day if we campaign for it. I could be wrong, but this could also mean the resurrection of Deaf schools, if a BSL Act says that deaf children should be educated in BSL, along with plenty of interpreting support, etc. However, that’s all a very complicated subject, so I’ll save it for next month’s blog post.

Thank you!