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!

A business proposal....

So, I think I should go on Dragon's Den.

My pitch I hear you ask; well its been gradually brewing over the last few months. Over the past few months the idea of decorating hearing aids has gone from a pet project belonging to a few Mums to something wide spread and massive, crossing the Atlantic and bringing together parents and teenagers on Facebook as they search for the latest cool nail foil/sticker design.

But as time has gone on and the market for hearing aid decoration has increased I've realised that the whole process would be a lot easier (and make someone ALOT of money) if there were specificly shaped hearing aid stickers made from the same material as nail foils. These could easily be available in a range of colours, patterns etc and with a bit of work i'm sure the stickers could soon be made available in a range of sizes/fits.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be difficult... To start with I reckon that on the Facebook group alone I've probably seen close to 15 different makes of hearing aid - Phonak and Oticon are of course the most popular companies but there are also a lot of Siemans aids around and even something called Danalogic... And all these companies make more than one type of aid... So of course a lot of market research would need to be done. However in some cases two hearing aids are (we have discovered) the same size and shape (Phonak Naida and Nathos being the obvious example...).

There are other difficulties of course... With my own hearing aids the battery door has to unclip from the rest of the hearing aid and therefore you need two stickers in order to allow it to open and close...

However I reckon all these difficulties could be overcome to create an amazing and special project or even business for somebody with the ability to take it on! There is definetely a huge market out there and lots of opportuntites to sell products through facebook, webpage and even connevans (like Ear Gear do) and possibly the hearing aid companies themselves.

I also think there are lots of opportunities to branch out as well - lots of people in the group complain that their cochlear implants are boring so maybe cochlear implant decoration would be something to explore. I've seen loads of amazing designs with flowers on the coil or sparkly diamantes so they look more like hair clips!
I also decorated my radio aid the other week which has made it look tons better!

So - for any bored people out there who have the skills, or would be willing to learn the skills needed to make nail foils into the right shapes for hearing aids we need your help!!!

No seriously... Get in contact :)

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.

Did you miss me?

You probably haven't noticed but I haven't been around much these last couple of weeks! I've been off travelling around the countries doing lots of fun things, especially NDCS events!

The other weekend I was volunteering at a Pre-Secondary Weekend in a place called Irthlingborough, near Northampton. The idea of the weekends is that all the parents come together and meet with other parents, NDCS staff and in particular education advice people who talk about statements, picking the right school etc. The parents (and kids!) also get to meet Deaf role models who share their experiences of secondary school and what worked for them.

At the same time the kids meet and do fun activities aimed at raising their confidence and talking about things such as "what makes a good or a bad friend?".  They also do outdoor activities - team building, climbing and archery this time...

For a volunteer its an awesome weekend with the best of both worlds, you spend the day with the kids but at meal times and in the evenings the families have responsibility so you're free to do silly things like have pyjama parties...

I've just got back from my latest NDCS event... Last year I was lucky to be a member of the NDCS Youth Advisory Board along with 13 other amazing deaf young people. Now that we've "graduated" from the YAB a group of us have become young facilitators and did a day of training on Friday where we learnt about communication, leading sessions and the importance of giving clear instructions! It was a great day (yummy food) and in the same place as our last residential as a YAB. (The Studio in Birmingham.)

Today the new YAB arrived - looking very nervous! and Ellen and I were on hand to "meet and greet". It's great to see how similar and yet different our two groups are. This years board are much more diverse with a deaf-blind member, more BSL users and more people from Deaf schools. Oh and there are people from Wales this year too!! (drastically under represented last year!!)

The new YAB have done most of the same activities that we did last year... Talking about why they wanted to join the board, getting to know each other and discussing their rights as young people.

Ellen and I also ran a session about the "vintage" YAB and explained what we had achieved...

It was great to see and new, motivated and committed YAB and I hope they become great friends and enjoy the rest of their weekend :)

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!

Deaf Education vs. Mainstream Education - Kathryn

This post was written by my 16 year old Deaf friend Kathryn who is currently agonizing over whether or not she should apply to our local council for funding to go to Mary Hare Sixth Form.

As a lifelong main-streamer Kathryn knows all the ups and downs of mainstream school life as a profoundly Deaf teen but she fell in love with Mary Hare's unique environment when she visited a few years ago.

I hope you enjoy her moving post because it certainly resonated strongly with me... 

The way in which society educates deaf people has evolved throughout generations.  There was a time when deaf people were taught at deaf schools only, using the strategy of BSL, then BSL was banned in deaf education and deaf people were forced to speak. They were punished if they chose to sign as it was forbidden anywhere on school grounds.

BIG MISTAKE! 

By making them speak they felt like they lost their freedom, the freedom to embrace their deaf culture.

But have we learned from our mistakes?

Over time more deaf schools have been closed and deaf people have been sent to mainstream schools and have been taught orally.  Deaf people are now seen as part of the hearing world.  We have to learn English yet BSL isn’t taught.

We are seen as “deaf and dumb” this is NOT true, we can achieve anything in life if we put our minds to it. 

But shouldn’t we have the choice as to where we’re educated? 

The mainstream environment can cause deaf people to feel isolated, with lower confidence and self esteem but of course this doesn’t apply to everyone many deaf students thrive in a mainstream school and many don’t let their deafness get in the way of their goals and will continue to achieve their potential, with the right support and equipment.

But why should we have “special equipment” and have a TA sat next to us, and be seen as the odd one out, the one who’s disabled? Well, we’re deaf not disabled. Wouldn’t you like not to constantly battle for the right hours of support or equipment? 

Well, none of this matters, no battles are needed.   

Doesn’t society encourage equality? 

We should have the choice, the option to be educated in a deaf environment where you’re all treated equally, not being treated any different; not being singled out or having advantages because of your deafness. 

Not having to worry about explaining to a supply teacher how a radio aid works, or having to stick your hand up, embarrassed because you couldn’t hear what the teacher has said. No bullying towards your deafness. 

The deaf education is tailored to students who are deaf, with special group hearing aids, specialist teachers of the deaf. Deaf education allows deaf people to be themselves and forget their deafness, immerse themselves into a world of like-minded people, people who understand them, allowing them to feel “normal”, and also to develop their love for education again. Therefore, increasing self esteem and confidence.

The reason why we don’t see many deaf schools open and very few deaf students applying to go to deaf education is because of cuts and lack of funding. Why should our futures be decided by our LA’s?  However, there is a wide amount of support available in a mainstream environment but the quality of support is arguably varied. 

Wouldn’t you like the option to choose; mainstream or deaf education? You should have the choice to embrace your deaf culture, to decide how you want to lead your life, for you only live life once. So you should think about what’s best for you, and take the opportunity by both hands.