Deaf Gerbils...

So yesterday the press (and Action on Heairng Loss) published a story which has - yet again - brought the Deaf community together in what has mainly been shock and sadness.

The BBC news story Deaf Gerbils hear again after stem cell "cure" has sparked interesting, if a little outraged, debate on social media. The story claimed that over 10 weeks of being injected with stem cells and such like the Deaf Gerbils could hear on average 45% better than before. And as the story reports "It would mean going from being so deaf that you wouldn't be able to hear a lorry or truck in the street to the point where you would be able to hear a conversation. It is not a complete cure, they will not be able to hear a whisper, but they would certainly be able to maintain a conversation in a room."

But the question I know I immediately asked was what on earth will happen to our amazing Deaf community and to BSL as a language in its own right. Will it just die out? Will the 90% of deaf kids born to hearing families really never know what it means to be deaf? Or will parents think of the future and wonder how their child might be if they were allowed to be deaf... 

Because I was interested in the story I posted it around Facebook. On my own page I got the kind of predictable "Oh my Gods" and the normal arguments against a "cure" for deafness from my deaf friends. And the normal misunderstanding from my hearing friends who couldnt work out why anybody wouldnt want to hear.
In a kind of sweet way a friend of mine going to university to study medicine promised never to allow a family with a deaf child to make such a massive decision without contacting NDCS first. (See! There is hope for the hearies!)

It was when I posted the story on the NDCS facebook page that I was a little shocked.. Straight away I had a comment telling me that the research was amazing... and the overall opinion did seem to be that deaf children were part of a hearing rather than deaf community... and that they didnt have much of a deaf identity.
I did think it would be interesting to know how many of these children also had cochlear implants?

I do have to stress though that I know several "NDCS Mums" who would never dream of "curing" their childs deafness and are proud of their deaf child and what they achieve.

However perhaps the most disturbing thing was the message I had when I woke up this morning... (From someone Ive never spoken to and dont know.) Telling me how evil I am for wishing deafness on could be hearing children... I mean Ouch. I dont wish deafness on anybody! I just think that people need to see deafness as more than just a medical condition. Its a culture, language, history etc...

The twitter debate #DeafGerbils has been predictable really... The people I know are mainly members of the Deaf Community in a big way and there have been some funny comments and cartoons - including the picture below.

I did have an interesting discussion with one person about the similarities between the arguments about stem cell "cure" and cochlear implants. We agreed that actually the pressure put on families by ENT consultants, audiologists, ToDs etc has a massive impact on the choices parents make. We already know that some audiologists and consultants are openly still preaching against BSL use which I think is unforgivable.

From what I've understood - which is limited by my scientific knowledge - if someone did gain funding etc to continue this research it would be many years before it was successful enough to even be trialled on humans.
Thats great because it gives us plenty of time to campaign against it and show people the reasons why deaf people love being deaf! As someone told me earlier, there needs to be a greater focus on raising deaf awareness so that when a deaf child is born to a hearing family they have some basic knowledge of deafness.

Unlike some people I do have a slightly random aside view to all this... As a person with progressive deafness I can understand that there might be some newly deafened people out there who did want their "sound" back. I think if you're an adult who suddenly loses all hearing, or an elderly person with age related hearing loss, maybe this idea of a "cure" suddenly looks a lot more promising...

Anyway - If you want a particularly interesting film to watch about the -dangers- of a "cure for deafness" I totally recommend watching the film The End, by Ted Evans. Its a remarkable piece and made me cry when I watched it - I think it sums up the fears of the Deaf community perfectly.

Our Local Celebrity :)

So normally this blog discusses issues relating to deafness etc, has a good moan and chats about how much I love decorating my hearing aids.
But I thought for a change I would introduce you to an inspirational deaf friend of mine.

15 year old Tilly was diagnosed as deaf when she was a baby and has overcame many barriers to gain a place at Chethams School of Music in Manchester where she is a boarder. (I should add that there are other deaf students at Chethams!)

This year she auditioned for, and was picked to be, a part of the Paralympic Paraorchestra! An amazing opportunity to play alongside other disabled musicians as well as Cold Play!

She also got a chance to show off her blue ear gear and hearing aids to a national audience... A great way to raise deaf-awareness! 

Tilly, who plays the viola amongst other instruments, told me "it was an amazing and unforgettable experience, I love the orchestra and will be continuing with them and it was inspirational. Just a very emotional night!"

Serious kudos to Tilly for being an amazing role model to other deaf young people wanting to learn to play an instrument. A great example of how being deaf should never hold you back and that you should always reach for your dreams!

Well done Tilly, we're all very proud of you!

Kathryn Wilkins - The new Deafie on the block...

So my friend Kat who has written a couple of posts for this blog has now started her own blog writing about deaf issues and ideas as well as her life from the point of view of a deaf teen!

To visit her blog please go toooo... kathrynwilkins16.blogspot.co.uk

This is just a sample of some of her writing...

After doing some research into a well-known deaf model:Fletch@, reading about Louis Tomlinson's new found "deafness" and simply talking to deaf friends I started to wonder  what are the connotations of the word "deafness", what does it really mean?

Well, deafness goes across a wide spectrum: from mild to profound and within that spectrum are many different levels, and every individual's needs regarding deafness is unique. Some people choose to use BSL, some choose to speak and some choose to use a combination of both. There are hearing aid users, cochlear implant users, BAHA users and some who choose not to wear anything. Unfortunately Cochlear Implant's do spark a bit of controversy within the deaf community, but I'll leave that for another post! As you can tell, the deaf community is diverse, so being deaf doesn't always necessarily mean that you cant hear-full stop.

So why do we have to tick the disabled box on forms, just because we're deaf-we can still do everything that hearing people do so why should we let our deafness get in the way. We're not disabled, we're able to do anything. I personally think that deafness is separate to disability, we should be allowed to say that we're "deaf" and not "disabled" when applying for jobs,for uni etc. Another label we have to put up with; Special needs. Man people associate special needs with being stupid, that they can't do anything. Well I for one know that's not true because I volunteer with them, I have a family member who has Down's Syndrome and they're a pleasure to be with. But why should people associate deaf people with the word stupid? This relates back to the old saying 'deaf and dumb', many deaf people are on par with hearing peers,some above average and yes some are below the national average but that's not because they're dumb, it's because they haven't been provided with the necessary amount of support to enable them to achieve their potential. And yes we may need to have support and resources in an educational and work environment, and we may use a different language. But Special needs?! What happened to being "deaf"?

To end on a positive note I'm proud to deaf, proud to be a part of the deaf community, proud to say to people "I'm deaf."

#UKYP2012

So a couple of weeks ago I was up in Nottingham representing NDCS at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Conference - an opportunity for all members of UKYP to meet and attend various lectures, presentations and seminars. Its run very similarly to a real deal party conference with fringe events taking place as well.

This year NDCS had managed to set up an information stall and get permission to run a half hour workshop about our Look Smile Chat campaign as well as playing a Look Smile Chat video to all UKYP members after lunch.

We arrived early in the morning to set up our stall with loads of information about NDCS, The Buzz, the YAB and our campaigns. We also walked around sticking up posters advertising our lunchtime workshop and asking young people if the would be interested in learning some random signs.

During the breaks between seminars I was amazed and so excited at the number of people dropping past our stall for a chat, to ask questions and to fill in our quizs etc. Everyone had a question and we were very happy to answer as many as we could and to teach some signs and point people in the direction of places they could learn BSL.

I was set reading through some of the material in a quiet moment when I realised that the UKYP manifesto said in big letters that UKYP supports the teaching of sign language in mainstream schools alongside languages such as French and German.
I started pointing this out to people dropping by the stall and was a little disappointed that none of them even knew this aim was in the manifesto... I talked to a few people about why it was so important to teach BSL in schools and explained about Signatures new GCSE in BSL.

At lunchtime a large crowd of people crowded around our stall all very excited (I bet the other stalls were jealous!!) to begin a quick workshop.

We decided to play a lip-reading game to show people how hard lip-reading is and to make them aware of the importance of good communication tactics such as facing people when you talk and speaking clearly. We pointed out to them that these skills transfer to everyday life, not just to when you meet a deaf person.

It was really funny to see young people and adults struggling to lip-read words and phrases and resorting to amusing gestures in order to make themselves understood... I think they got the message we were trying to put across!!

After that we talked for a bit about the difficulties of being a deaf young person in mainstream education, focusing on the lack of subtitles on educational videos. We played on of the Look Smile Chat Videos and we answered questions.
Finally we taught the group a few signs including parliament, geek, tortoise and whats your name?

It was great to see how enthusiastic and motivated everyone was about the workshop and to realise that all the things they had learnt would be fed into their work in their local communities!

In the afternoon we attended a seminar with an MP and two young men who worked in the media who were discussing the attitudes of the media to young people. I was able to ask them a question about how they thought young people with disabilities were portrayed in the media, and whether they believed their views were fairly represented.

The Theme Park Theory - Eloise

Another post written by somebody else! Think I'm going to have to rename this blog something other than "Ni Gallant" as that doesn't seem very fair anymore!

This post is by Eloise and came about after some discussion on the NDCS Facebook Page following her school trip to Alton Towers. 

Theme parks can be tricky places for many people who have particular needs. For those who are physically disabled, many special arrangements are made in order to accommodate them in the best possible way. 

However, for those who are deaf, there seems to be an unseen loop amongst these thrilling attractions.

I recently went on a trip to Alton Towers with my school. When I arrived, I was given a white wrist band by guest services in order to highlight the fact that I had either a visual impairment or that I am deaf. Although there were no major problems with Alton Towers throughout the day, there were a few points I would like to highlight with the service I received:

• A white wrist band wasn’t enough to draw the attention of the staff at Alton Towers – In fact, I’m not sure anybody noticed at all even though I walked around with my right sleeve rolled up to make it easier to see! My main problem with this is that when my friends and I got stuck on a ride in the dark, I couldn’t see or hear anything – especially with my hearing aids out. My understanding of the ‘rescue mission’ was nil until my friend shouted the process into my ear so that I could get the gist of what was going on!

• Some of the staff were evidently undertrained in how to help a deaf person on a ride. As you know, visual cues are an important part of understanding what someone is trying to say to you. There was a lack of this, particularly amongst the younger members of staff at the park who tended to put their hands in front of their mouths and turn away at crucial moments of instruction. It’s unsettling to be sitting on a noisy ride and not being able to understand the instructions from the staff as they’re strapping you into your seat!

• Finally, I could see no evidence of flashing alarm systems being installed into rides. I would have difficulty hearing an alarm without my hearing aids in unless it is very loud. I expect that almost every deaf person would take their hearing aids out on rides to make sure they stay safe, so this would further the need for visual warning systems.

Although my experience was not bad at Alton Towers, a little bit more awareness and understanding amongst the staff would have gone a long way. I’m not someone to shout out to people if I am having a communication issue as I’m naturally quite shy, so this awareness really would help me and probably a huge number of others.

Many parents worry about their children going to a theme park if the system is not well established. The concern that parents have for their deaf child’s safety in theme parks is completely understandable – rides should be made accessible to all people with a variety of needs, and if this is not the case then it can be extremely worrying.

What is terrible is that some theme parks have been reported to discriminate against deaf sign language users - namely Disney Land Paris. One person reported that as a deaf family, she and her family weren’t allowed onto some of the rides without a hearing peer aged 18 or over. In order to access these rides, they had to pretend they weren’t deaf, thus putting themselves at potential risk. This situation could be easily resurrected through some training and a simple system for the staff to help deaf people access the same attractions as their hearing friends.

Other parks, however, have received gleaming reviews on their efforts with helping all people of all kinds. Lego Land is said to have their staff walk around with badges stating which languages they can speak, and sign language is on the list. This is a system to be admired and hopefully followed by other theme parks.

Alton Towers is half way there, and will hopefully improve with a nudge or two in the right direction from deaf visitors. Keep up the good work and I hope to have a great time next time I go!

Comments on "The R Word" by Emily Howlett.

Last week Emily Howlett wrote a piece that struck a large personal chord with me for the Limping Chicken entitled "The R Word - Why we Need to Start Talking About It". The article discusses rape and the attitudes towards rape of different groups of people including the Deaf Community.
I thought it was an interesting article because, as Emily rightly points out - rape is something that, understandably, is just not spoken about. I thought some of her reasonings for why perhaps rape is an even harder topic of discussion for deaf people made perfect sense and many of which were things a number of my friends have had to consider, and overcome, in the past.

I also thought that her comments about the fear felt by deaf women around the issue of how and when to report rape or sexual assault were very interesting.
I have never come across (although there may be one!) a charity dedicated to only helping deaf victims or abuse... Many charities offer phone line counseling for victims which is completely inappropriate for deaf people and would be very difficult to access. 
As well as this Emily's points about the closeness of Deaf Community making reporting rape even more difficult really hit home with me. Deaf Community is a world where almost everyone knows everyone and you often have mutual friends with other deaf people... I suppose it's a similar feeling to having 100 people in your school year and being sexually assaulted by one of those 100 people... You have to see this person, and all the other people 5 days a week, have lessons with them and socialise with them. Imagine how hard it would be to admit to having been sexually assaulted - particularly if this was denied by the other person. An impossible situation.

This post is a few of my thoughts and comments upon reading the article - I actually wrote them all down on my phone while they were fresh in my memory because I thought some of them were actually quite interesting and impacted alot on the lives of deaf teenagers in particular.

Firstly, I wanted to draw people's attention to the incredible statistic that deaf children and young people are 70% more likely to suffer from mental health issues than their hearing peers and around 50% of deaf children and young people are said to suffer from some kind of mental health problem.
Personally, I think this makes perfect sense and I don't understand why more isn't being done to address this... Plenty of research shows that deaf young people are more likely to be bullied, abused etc. So why is it that projects specialising in mental health in deaf young people are still in such early stages?

My second thought surrounds Personal and Social Health Education, Tutor or Form times and Citizenship in schools... I don't know about other areas but here in Worcestershire if you see your ToD frequently this is most likely to be organised over one of the previously mentioned lessons. While this on the surface seems sensible (you could argue these lessons are less crucial than maths or English perhaps...) this often means that as a deaf teenager you miss out on a wide range of topics and information which is presented to all teenagers through these lessons.
These topics and information include: sexual health (STIs etc), relationships, teen pregnancy, drugs, bullying, mental health... The list is endless, I could go on for hours!
As well as this much of this valuable information is often presented in a completely inaccessible way. I remember the frustration of struggling through hours of you-tube clips and unsubtitled videos where the characters had strange accents and all the information was given quickly and without thought for deaf young people...

It's little wonder that deaf teens are considered more likely to drink, take drugs, get pregnant etc... I mean really, what do people expect when the information about all these issues is just not there in an accessible format! Deaf young people need leaflets, booklets, fact sheets with clear and concise relevant information rather than garbled videos with no subtitles or fast paced group discussion.

I think a great example of this lack of "information" is the knowledge about "sexual language" of deaf teens... I know in the past one parent of a deaf teenager has approached me with concerns about their teenage daughters lack of understanding but as well as this I can draw on my own painfully embarrassing experiences of being the last person to understand the terms LGBT or f**k...  Hearing children and young people learn these phrases often in the play-ground or lunch hall by word of mouth and over hearing other people's discussions. Yet for many deaf children and young people this is not possible - or certainly more difficult than for other hearing peers!

The net result from my point of view is that deaf teenagers have a biological understanding of "sex" and "gender" as this part of the curriculum is taught in an accessible way... But often then have little social understanding of "sex" and the dreaded topic of teenage relationships...

Apologies for the rather depressing nature of this post... But I hope it's given a few people "food for thought" as such. I don't think enough emphasis is put on the need for better Personal Social and Health Education for deaf teens but there is a definite need! We're not just statistics... We're young people who apart from not being able to hear so well carry out normal, functioning lives! Why should we be deprived the information and access we need as teenagers in order to inform our selves on issues affecting us.

That said, here are a number of links to sites/charities/information that I've found over the years :)

National Deaf CAMHS (Children and Adolescents Mental Health Services).

Deaf E.A.R.S - education and advice on relationships and sexual health for deaf people in sign language or speech, subtitled videos etc.

Sign Health - information on mental and physical well-being

NDCS Buzz - information about a range of issues including bullying, family and school aimed at deaf children and teenagers.

Cyber Bullying... It affects deaf kids too!

Until yesterday I had never experienced anything that could be counted as "pressure" or "bullying tactics" on Facebook. I've been part of some arguments but they've always been between members of my own peer group, friends or classmates. I'd never experienced a situation where an adult was behaving in what could be called an inappropriate way and putting unwanted pressure on young deaf people - and adults too to be fair! -

It did make me realise that as well as being possibly more vulnerable to bullying by their own peers deaf young people can also be a lot more open to or at risk to pressure from adults in numerous situations - not only the obvious stereotypical sexual pressure but a whole host of things including pressure from adults trying to persuade them that their personal audiological choices are incorrect and not benefiting them, or are holding them back.

I'm very lucky - and so are my friends - that as a deaf young person I have a whole group of adults who look out for me online as such and are very quick to pounce on anything they perceive to be inappropriate. Last night I really think that without them a bad situation could have become a lot worse.
Not all deaf young people, or even hearing young people because at the end of the day cyber bullying as its called can happen to all young people! are lucky enough to have that support and friendship.

So last night when I was thinking things over I remembered the video that NDCS showed the Youth Advisory Board last year when it was first made. It shows deaf young people the dangers of cyber bullying, what to do if you're being bullied online etc... I think its a really great video for deaf young people as rather than being the normal "hearing" video with subtitles the boy in the story is a deaf teen and the storyline is more deaf specific...

So here's the video and I hope it helps raise awareness with deaf young people and adults about cyber bullying :)

Introducing Sasha Thorpe - a Deaf Girl in a Hearing World...

 Meet Sasha, a 23 year old student at York St John's University currently studying Counselling and BSL. She introduces herself as:

 "Sasha Thorpe: Deaf girl with a hearing family. Full of life and Humour, rather cheeky at times! I wear two hearing aids due to baldness in my cochlea's (Balder than my grandad's head!)."

There has been an international campaign today  in England and America using Twitter and #Subtitlesnow #captionTHIS in order to raise awareness on lack of subtitles on online videos.

Here's a link to explain the campaign further.

Limping Chicken - Using the #subtitlesnow to highlight inaccessible online videos.

This past year at university I’ve been having problems with subtitles. There are two issues that I have raised.

First issue is videos being shown in lectures that are from YouTube, therefore no transcripts or subtitles. These are being shown for educational purpose, how am I supposed to learn if I cannot fully comprehend what is being said?

The other issue is the student union (SU) are making videos to advertise things that are happening within the university such as the summer ball or to educate students. Half the time these SU videos are voice over’s so I cannot lipread.

The feedback I got originally was an apology from my lecturer and a promise that they will let me know in advance so I can get the disability services at uni to transcribe for me. Several clips from YouTube later, still no warning from lecturer so no transcripts.
And as for the Student Union early on in the year the issues of subtitles was raised in a meeting and they decided they would transcribe the videos, still waiting for this to happen.

Today I tweeted both the University and the student union with #subtitlesnow.

The university are going to subtitles their videos at the end of summer ready for the new academic year :D
The SU will subtitles the welcoming videos (Aimed at new students) but will transcribe the rest. Now I understand their reasons for not being able to subtitles all the videos due to funding and staffing levels.

My university is a small uni, but if they want to grow and gain more students then there need better access for the deaf or hard of hearing. I also think subtitled welcoming videos may trick new hearing impaired students into thinking this university is good at providing to their needs. They need more improvement to their disability services.

Transcripts and subtitles are not the same. If I read a transcript then there no point in watching the video, but with subtitles you can watch the video and read the subs at the same time.

To make it fair… Give transcripts to all students (and in braille) and forget videos. They will save time and resources doing this. Is wrong of me to keep pushing for all videos to be subtitles? Funnily enough there is a small part of me that is afraid to ruffle some feathers! But why should I sit back and miss out on all the fun that is watching these videos?

Another major Issue I am having, relating to my degree in counselling. We have to film ourselves in a counselling role and then analyse ourselves. In essay we have to transcribe our dialogue to show our skills. This difficult for me as the film only shows the side of me and client, therefore no lipreading. The downside to this is i’m not allow to show the clip to anyone else due to confidentiality. I get soooo frustrated that I was tempted to throw my laptop! But I’m not going to let this hold me back from completing my course!

Read more of Sasha's blog posts on her own blog - Deaf Girl in a Hearing World. 

 AAX3GHJA3M8E

Quiet Signs of Love

I cam across this video on the internet! I think it's really beautiful and moving but also captures some of the frustrations of couples in a deaf-hearing relationship.

I know its technically an advert for the Australian Relay Service but still... Enjoy it as a creative and awesome short film all about love :)

BSLBT - The End

I saw this on the Limping Chicken this morning and when I watched I thought it was an amazingly moving, thought provoking and slightly scary film...

"The End" is definetely worth a watch if you, -like me- have ever wondered what the world will be like for deaf people in 30 years... And even if you've never given that any thought watch it anyway!!

I'm afraid I couldn't find it on YouTube but click on the link to watch it on the BSLBT website! :)

BSLBT - THE END

Odeon Cinemas - Deaf Awareness Week.

Welcome to the biggest scam ever committed by a national cinema...
Last week I received an email from Worcester Odeon Cinema excitedly telling me about their national support for Deaf Awareness Week. The email claimed that as a trial run they were prepared to show several more subtitled films than normal to "test the market" and would I forward this information on to other deaf young people, deaf organisations etc.

I clapped my hands in glee, forwarded it to all my contacts, shared it on facebook and then wrote to Worcester News asking them to advertise the fact that films suddenly became way more accessible.

It wasn't until my friend and I went to check the website yesterday - in preparation for a youth group visit to the cinema! - that we discovered this...

These are the ONLY subtitled films Worcester Odeon will be showing during Deaf Awareness week:

1. American Pie Reunion - Thursday - 15.50
2. Marvels Avengers Assemble - Monday - 14.00; Tuesday - 13.00
3. Mirror Mirror - Wednesday - 14.10

Funny thing is, I was under the impression that deaf people generally still go to school, have jobs and aren't particularly available until after 17.00 most days of the week...

Although I admit this is an increase in subtitled showings (we've gone from 2 per week to 4...) these aren't at accessible times and not one of them is at the weekend! Although Avenegers is being shown on the bank holiday. But on a normal school week I wouldn't be able to make a single one of these showings - and I don't know anyone under 60 who would!!

What's the point in emailing around several people in a good position to advertise your cinema's accessability if you're not going to IMPROVE your accessability! All Odeon have done is make a lot of deaf people laugh at them...It makes me so angry!

I recently wrote to Worcester Odeon and gave them a copy of our YAB petition and they wrote back to me assuring me that they had considered my points and would act on them - silly me to think that Deaf Awareness Week was their action.

So I'm writing another letter and enclosing another copy of all the petitions we have... If you want to sign the petition please click here: YAB Campaign to increase frequency (and accessability) of subtitled film showings...

If your local cinema is being accessible - or if you don't have a job! then enjoy your subtitled showings!!

"Look, Smile, Chat..."

"I don't hear so good..."

Despite the glaring grammatical errors I've lost count of the number of times I've used this phrase over the past few years... teachers, family, doctors, friends...It's my back up phrase, you know for cases of emergency where the hearing aids don't show through the hair of the lack of correct response doesn't make someone suspicious.

From where I'm sitting Deaf Awareness is THE biggest issue for deaf teenagers in this country; and probably kids and most adults too... You could argue that post-code lottery, education, equal access are all more important but actually when it comes down to it all those things are simple - Deaf Awareness.
With better awareness in schools about the needs of deaf teenagers teaching methods would improve, students would be more welcoming. If more cinema managers understood the problems deaf people have understanding speech, more subtitled films would be available. If the government could see that although each deaf child is unique we all deserve to have our individual needs met we wouldn't have such a blatant post-code lottery when it comes to issues in Audiology and deaf education.

I'm not the only person who belivieves this... Last year the NDCS Youth Advisory Board voted that Deaf Awareness was the most important thing we wanted to campaign for - purely for the reason above. We could all see that by improving awareness we would improve a number of other areas simultaneously. Deaf Awareness was just an umbrella heading for many other issues we faced.

And so, this week NDCS have launched their new campaign - Look, Smile, Chat.

The campaign focuses on raising awareness in schools but also spreads out to youth groups, mainstream events and I personally hope that it will be successful enough to one day hit the people who need to see it the most. NDCS have invested so much time in the fantastic resources available - posters, deaf awareness videos, teaching resources and they're all fantastic and made with an incredible amount of input from deaf young people all over the UK.

As well as all this NDCS is encouraging parents, teachers for the deaf, youth workers and deaf young people themselves to go into schools and teach people about Deaf Awareness - who better to tell young people about the issues facing deaf young people than deaf young people themselves?! Sadly I don't think that this happens enough, but who knows, maybe Look, Smile, Chat will change that!

To view all the resources and download copies of the lesson plans, posters etc please please visit The Buzz - Look, Smile, Chat. You can show your support for the campaign by adding the logo to your facebook picture via the Buzz website.

Rita Simmons... Her personal journey to make her daughter hearing...

I came home from school early today and began searching through Iplayer for something interesting to watch. I wanted something with sign language as my subtitles had been playing up - searching through I noticed the documentary everyones been talking about: Rita Simmons - My daughter, Deafness and Me. I thought I'd give it a go and try to approach it with an open mind.

After 50 minutes I wasn't quite sure what to think to be honest. I'd seen things that confused me, that made me angry and some things I very much agreed with.

I'll save you from my thoughts on every minor detail and stick to one or two major things.

My first point may start off sounding positive but belive me I'm not impressed. I've noticed recently that there has been an increase in programmes with a "Deaf" theme. On the surface this is a brilliant thing! I'm always up for a bit of low key deaf awareness raising but lets face it, neither this programme or Deaf Teen: Hearing World have successfully managed to raise deaf awareness. They've been talked about yes, but only within the Deaf community. Ask a hearing person, even on of my friends about the programmes and the response you'll get is a blank look of non-recognition...

Like I previously said when I wrote about Deaf Teens here was a unique opportunity to truly engage the "hearing world" and put our view across. Show people that Deaf people are not dumb, or stupid - we can achieve as much, if not more, than your average hearing person.

From what I've seen Rita Simmon's lasting impression of the Deaf community will be that they believe she's abusing her child if she arranges for her to have a cochlear implant. Is this really the impression we want to leave people with? I think not...

There was no acknowledgment in the programme by Rita or by the proffessionals surrounding her that all deaf children are different. Not all of them have good speech like Rita's daughter does. Not all of them are deaf for the same reason. Each child is unique, an individual with their own needs and ways of communication.

The second time I felt like running to a shed to find an axe was when Rita comments that her deaf daughter who will one day become profoundly deaf does not need Deaf people, their community or language. Well I'm sorry, but who are you to make that decision for your daughter? Why not give her the opportunity to meet other deaf young people, to learn to sign and to interact in an environment where she won't feel as frustrated as she clearly at times is. I can see where Rita is coming from as a hearing person - but really she needs to think about her daughter and the opportunities she deserves.

The same could be said of her decision about cochlear implants; Rita is convinced that this is the way forward for her daughter in the future. Well maybe it is. But Rita's enthusiasm for implants seems to be because she sees them as the "cure for deafness". She cannot understand why some deaf people would willingly choice to not have sound. I have to say that to me this shows a profound lack of understainding of the issues around cochlear implants; a lack of understanding of the sense of Deaf community tied in with sign language; and a belief that with a cochlear implant her daughter will be hearing - like the rest of her family. Well I'm sorry. But she won't be...

I could rant on for hours more about the programme but I won't. I thought it showcased some interesting differences of opinion; and in the end my major qualm is with the missed opportunities for highlighting the difficulties facing deaf children and young people. A valuable opportunity missed, ah well.

Supplies and Wales...

I think I’ve just found the least deaf aware teacher in the world. I mean, if there was a competition I’d vote for her hands down.

Every two weeks on a Tuesday morning our form teacher takes some time off to do fun things with her kids and we get a sparkly new form teacher (whose name after 5 months I’m still not sure of). Every Tuesday morning without fail she comes in and sits at the desk and takes the register; and every Tuesday morning without fail I’ve missed my name and been marked absent until she finally notices I’m present and gets a little annoyed. Then I patiently and slowly explain (in one syllable words) that I’m deaf and can’t hear her from all the way on the other side of a science lab, especially not when 20 teenagers are all trying to have their own conversations. In fact, I can barely understand her when she’s 3 feet away – but that’s not her fault.

This Tuesday was a little different. As sixth formers were not required to wear a blazer and so instead most of us wear a jacket over our uniform, we’re not really meant to wear them in class but nobody counts form. What happened next I only know because I’ve been told by my friends. Standing on the other side of the (very large) science lab she told us to take our jackets off. Some people complied, I was doing homework and didn’t even realised she’d spoken. Apparently she then repeated her request calling my name – no response. She walked closer and repeated again – no response. The first I knew was when she’d jabbed me in the arm and was right up in my face “DON’T YOU IGNORE ME, TAKE YOUR JACKET OFF.”

So I did. And then tried to explain that I couldn’t hear her and I hadn’t meant to ignore her, I was concentrating on other things. “I’m deaf, I couldn’t hear you…” the answer I got? “SO WHAT?” Well I guess this is only the 20^th time I’ve explained all this, maybe a few more weeks are needed for the message to sink in.

And yes, so what if I’m deaf? I’m not asking for special treatment… Just a little awareness! But apparently our supply form teacher believes it too much to make sure everyone in the form can hear and understand her. Well sorry if that’s inconvenient to you Mrs Teacher Lady.

There is however a little more purpose to this rant than my frustration at undeaf aware teachers.

I remember back through the mists of time (jokes) to Lower School, that’s Years 9 to 11, and what I remember most is the dread and frustration I would feel every time I realised we had a… supply teacher.

Surely every teacher going through teacher training must at some point be told about “the deaf kids”, I mean wouldn’t it make sense to explain a little deaf awareness to them? Maybe teach them a little about Radio Aids? Most teachers will at some point come across and have to teach a deaf child. A lot of time and energy (and tears of frustration) could be saved if all teachers just understood a little bit about deafness before entering the classroom.

My experience of supply teachers is this. When you tell them you’re deaf they look at you like an alien from Mars. When you hand them a Radio Aid they treat it like a bomb. They write on the board with their back to the class. They don’t tell everyone to shut up. Basically, they make life a living Hell.

Oh how happy I am that in 6^th form supply teachers don’t exist and when a teacher is ill you are given a “magic free”.

And if you're still with me! On a slightly lighter note... 

I went to Wales this weekend with a friend and his mum and sister; I was absolutely amazed at how deaf friendly everything was! Everything from buses, to shops, to train stations and well just everything really had T switch signs; and after careful and critical inspection I haven't found a single one that doesn't work! I mean hallelujia! This England is the way forward!

Not just that but it gets better - on Saturday we went to Cardiff Castle. Normally I find these trips frustrating because I can't use the audio guides... But the lady in the office heard me muttering complaints and brought out a BSL interpreted guide! I was impressed. In fact, I may move to Wales!!! 

 

The chicken incident...

I'm aware that I have yet to blog on my view of the "chicken incident" which rocked the deaf world at 9pm last Monday night. If you don't know what I'm on about then check out Deaf Teens: Hearing World rejoice in it's awesomeness and then come back and read this!

I should admit that I did sit down the day after watching Deaf Teens: Hearing World and make some attempt at writing a passable bloggish comment about the programme. But then, stupidly, I went away and read all the fantastic blogs discussing the programme and realised I had yet to write anything original about it...

Now time has passed however, and more of my "hearing" friends have been *forced* to watch I do have some deaf-teen comments of my own to make...

Having watched Deaf Teens: Hearing World from a deaf perspective all I could see was how wonderful the deafies had been; how I too felt "proud to be deaf"; and how awful the hearing people had come across... the nurse, the note taker and the "my chicken is ill" excuse... Need I go on?!

So I was shocked when my best "hearing" friend came in to school on Thursday morning with the comment: "I think the deaf people in that programme cut off their nose just to spite their face..."
It was one of those moments where someone says something and everything just goes silent... Like in old films when tumble-weed just floats past.

With everyone around us looking on I asked her what she meant, and this is (roughly) what she said.

 "The two deaf teens in the programme (Sarah and Asher) refused to talk, they refused to wear hearing aids or have cochlear implants. They just signed and lived in their own little world and expected everyone else to support them when they didnt make the effort. Maybe with a cochlear implant that girl might not have needed a note taker or interpreter! And that other girl at Mary Hare, she didnt want to wear her hearing aids, I can't understand why!"

What ensued was a rather long argument about deaf community and how she as a "hearing person" could not understand what it was like to grow up in a Deaf family with Deaf friends etc. How sound is overrated and deafness is amazing...

But what interested me the most was her later comment:

"The girl who had the cochlear implant was all right! She wanted to hear and fit into the normal world, and look what it did for her! Now she can hear and she's just like a hearing person, she doesn't have to be deaf anymore. Don't understand why you and your friends are some against them!"

My first reaction was just Ouch.

But...

Looking back on Deaf Teens: Hearing World I can totally understand how my friend has jumped to the conclusion that cochlear implants are a magic cure for all deafness and why she can't understand why everyone wouldn't want one. She has no clue about different types or levels of deafness or about situations where implants may not be appropriate.

The way implants were portrayed by the makers of the documentary glossed over the years of hard work most people have to put in so that they can hear with an implant, side-stepped the risks of the operation and in my opinion didn't really go out of the way to show case the views of some members of the Deaf community and the valid reasons why they are so against implants. They were shown as "the magic cure for deafness"!

I personally believe that Deaf community is a fairly exclusive club... But it needs to be preserved! In a world where less and less parents are choosing sign before speech for their deaf child we run the risk of losing sign language as a native language completely. The dawn of cochlear implants means that many deaf children who would have grown up signers now grow up integrated into maintream hearing schools and possibly never knowing a single sign... Deaf community, and its language, needs to remain strong; if only because it provides the most amazing support network possible for deaf teens growing up in a mainstream hearing world.

So yes, Deaf Teens: Hearing World made me happy and proud to be deaf. It made me laugh and it made me cry (oh god how will i survive at university?!)...

But in the long run my honest opinion is I'm not sure how much it helped the deaf world.

Here was a unique opportunity to raise all manner of issues affecting the Deaf community! To teach some deaf awareness to these somewhat ignorant hearing people, so that the next time they meet a deaf person they don't just dismiss us as stupid or impossible to communicate with. To show that deaf people can achieve anything they want and more importantly that they can achieve as much, and more! than hearing people.

But it didn't do that... And I think that's a great shame.