Ni Gallant

Worrying about communication...

2013-04-19T06:31:00.002-07:00

Next Monday I start on the next big adventure of my university degree - my three day Social Work student placement. I've bought clothes, I've mapped the route and worked out the right bus number... I've even decided which bag I'm going to take (don't laugh... I like to be organised!).

But while my fellow students are busy worrying about Systems Theory, the importance of attachment and how to fill out a CAF form I have a slightly bigger concern.

Sure all those things are very important and I'm stressing about them as well, but for me it all boils down to communication.

I am, at times, a ridiculously independent person and this is occasionally my downfall... Although I'll have an interpreter with me on placement I feel strongly about the need to communicate for myself.

Through numerous discussions and mock-up Social Work interviews what I've discovered is that it's very difficult to build the same relationship with a service user when everything they say, all the little details, the private stuff, the emotion is being passed back and translated through an interpreter.
There are numerous problems I've encountered so far....

where to look? To me as a Social Work student it seems vital to maintain some sort of open communication through eye contact with a service user.... Should I watch them while they speak and then turn to the interpreter for clarification of things I've missed? Or should I simply watch the interpreter and not have that same level of passive understanding...
confidentiality and cultural differences... This is one that I've had big problems with and Ive definitely learned from my mistakes so far. Many people may see what they say to a Social Worker as confidential just as they would their GP. But throw an interpreter into the mix and many people become worried and stressed about confidentiality... This seems to be particularly problematic as my (amazing!!) interpreter is Asian - this sounds random I know - but some Asian families may feel uncomfortable with his presence as they may feel the interpreter will "feedback" to the community.

In terms of confidentiality I think the most important thing is to remember that although I, and other deafies, may be used to working with an interpreter and are therefore aware of the confidentiality agreements (strict ones!!) they agree to many people will have no experience of interpreting and will not know this. It's important to reassure them early on of this.

Communication affects other areas than working with service users...

I'm not particularly concerned about Team Meetings or Inter-professional meetings etc as having an interpreter for these will solve any difficulties - although I do wonder how I'll ever get a word in edgeways when I become a qualified Social Worker...

What bothers me though is our university portfolio... You see this is made up/completed by us writing detailed answers to questions that we must ask the Social Workers we are shadowing throughout the placement... This is another of those independence things. Ideally in a 1:1 situation I'd like to able to demonstrate my knowledge and get my feelings across, as well as asking the questions I need to get answers to. But what if I misunderstand? And what if... (this is my biggest fear) the social worker I'm shadowing has a strong accent and I really can't understand a word they say... How awkward could that make my week? Sorry... I can lipread that person, but not you cos... well... I don't understand your accent.

I guess the only other thing worrying me is general deaf awareness... I hope my Social Work team will be clued up enough to realise that I'm not going to be answering any phones unless they're text phones and that if I don't reply I'm not ignoring anyone I genuinely haven't heard.
I'd hope they would know these things... but from past experience, well, you'd be amazed.

Anyways, I'll be sure to write about placement and how it went next week!! But until then if any deaf social workers out there want to reassure me please get in touch!! Or if anyone in general has any tips...

How not to offer a medical service...

2013-02-25T16:33:00.003-08:00

I have a deaf friend around the same age as me who recently discovered she was pregnant, although she is in a relationship she was very unsure about whether or not she wanted to keep the baby and in the end decided to have an abortion.

She told me her story recently and I asked if I could blog about it to raise awareness of the issues she faced.

As I said my friend was very unsure about what she wanted to do and after speaking to her parents, who are both hearing, they decided that the best thing to do would be to get her some deaf friendly, impartial advice from a local service.
After a conversation with the GP it was decided that she would have an appointment at the local BPAS clinic, her mother called and made an appointment and spoke directly to the receptionist explaining that my friend is deaf and uses BSL. The receptionist assured her that everything would be sorted and that the counsellor she saw would be aware of her communication needs.

The next week my friend arrived at the clinic on her own, it was on a main road and in order to get into the building she had to press a buzzer. She pressed the buzzer and quickly realised it was an intercom system, she waited a minute and then pressed again before waiting a few seconds and hoping someone was listening explained that she was deaf and gave her name. She was buzzed into the building.

When she got to the reception she gave her name to a receptionist who then disappeared behind a computer screen and mumbled a bit. My friend again explained she was deaf and the receptionist apologised.

She waited half an hour in the waiting room before going back to the reception desk, worried she hadn't heard her name being called. The receptionist explained the clinic was running late.

Eventually a counsellor came out and called my friends name and took her through to another room. The counsellor was talking with her back to my friend who was unsure what she was saying. Again she explained she was deaf - the counsellor had not been told and there was no interpreter.

Deaf awareness aside it quickly transpired that the counselling service was not particularly impartial. My friend was pressured to have an abortion and told that she could have all the medical checks that day and set a date if she wanted.

The appointment ended after half an hour. My friend still doesn't know the name of the counsellor she saw. She was charged £60 for an hour appointment.

Skipping over the next few weeks in the end my friend decided that she wanted to have an abortion. She felt it wasn't the right time for her to have a baby and that she couldn't support it and it wouldn't be fair to expect her own parents to help her out. She also wanted to continue studying.

My friend was given an appointment at a local abortion clinic and although the clinic were told by the nurse that my friend was deaf her mother was advised to contact them to ensure she would be able to accompany my friend and help her with communication.

Her mother phoned the clinic and was told categorically that she would not be able to stay with my friend even though she was deaf. They wouldn't book an interpreter as they had a member of staff with BSL level 1 and it was procedure that nobody could accompany a patient.

My friends mother asked to speak to the manager and eventually received a phone call back. The manager again refused to book an interpreter, my friends mother explained that someone with level 1 BSL would not be able to communicate for my friend and that my friend was getting increasingly distressed by the situation. The manager also said that they could not state for sure that the nurse with level 1 BSL would be present all the time, they would likely only be there when my friend was in recovery.

My friends mother explained that my friend would not be able to take on any information given to her and would feel incredibly isolated.

After more than a week of phone calls the clinic eventually gave in and booked an interpreter, however they were only booked for 3 hours and had to leave for their next booking before my friend had properly come round from recovery and had her post-abortion care explained to her.

The nurse on the recovery ward handed my emotional and groggy deaf friend her hearing aid and told her she had to put them in and "listen". The nurse had an accent and my friend had no idea what she was saying.

The clinic sent her home half an hour after she had come round, with no painkillers as she was a danger because they couldn't effectively communicate with her.

Through all this the one thing my deaf friend most wanted me to tell you was that the attitudes of the midwifes when she went for an emergency scan at the local hospital were amazing. As soon as they realised she was deaf they made every effort to ensure she understood, were clear and gave her extra time to ask any questions she wanted and even gave her some of the impartial medical advice she needed.

I feel like the story I've told is pretty self explanatory in the problems it highlights. I was shocked when my friend told me her story and I can only hope that she had a run of bad luck in terms of services. I'm aware that her parents have complained to BPAS and I really hope they get the answers and the apology they deserve.

Christmas Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Decorating...

2012-12-27T09:19:00.002-08:00

I've created a sneak-a-peak video of some of the fantastic designs that parents and teens have come up with this Christmas!

Check them out in the video below :)

For more pictures, or to find out how to join in with our jazzing up craze visit our Facebook Group - http://www.facebook.com/groups/pimpmyhearingaidsandcochlearimplants/

We now have nearly 500 members and literally hundred of photos a long with lots if different ways and ideas to make your aids or CIs more colourful and unique!

Pondering Noises...

2012-12-10T14:57:00.001-08:00

Sometimes things happen in the world around you that make you sit down and reevaluate your own life as such.I've certainly had one of those days today and they're the times when you realise that just perhaps you aren't as comfortable with your own deafness, your own identity as you thought you were. The days when everything just feels a bit of a struggle, and you're not a hundred percent sure whether its really worth working everyday to overcome the barriers that you face.

Of course with my positive role model hat on I know that confidence to shout out and feel at ease with your own deafness is important for your own well-being (and everyone around you's!) but there are some days when you feel like going oh f*** it and putting on your "I don't speak hearing person" tshirt.

I've lived with the fact that my hearing loss is progressive for a few years now, most of the time I don't really give much thought to it. I've learned to get over the panic that happens every time your audiogram shows another 10dB gone... But however comfortable, however much of an incredible role model people might believe me to be I'm just a teenager really, and I have days when the idea of losing my hearing scares me to death.

I might say I hate my hearing aids, that I'd rather go without them, I might throw them away when I'm mad or sad or just plain confused. But if you told me that I would wake up tomorrow morning and they wouldn't be there if I wanted them I have no idea how I would cope. What about music? What about the world around me?

Maybe I'm melodramatic, I know some people who would say I am. But maybe I'm just tired of pretending I'm "cool" with being deaf when actually it makes me cry every time I really sit down and think about it.

I wonder how many other deaf teenagers, either deaf from birth but maybe more specifically those with late onset or progressive loss feel the way I do.

I guess the difficulty with being a late onset progressive deafie is I feel like I somehow missed out on the childhood lectures on how to cope in a world that doesn't seem to see passed the word deaf to actually understand that it means you can't actually hear. I'm a little sick of being told that "your speech is so good that of course I forgot that doesn't mean you understand me like I understand you". I find myself wishing that my speech was a little worse, a little more obvious. Just so people would have a little reminder every time they spoke to me.

So yeah, I guess all this pondering is what happens when your lecturers play 3 DVDs in one day - none of which are subtitled. When you're already exhausted from lipreading conversations in a noisy background just to appear as "normal" as possible then that's a killer right there.

But then what is "normal"? Certainly my social work lecturers wouldn't agree with that particular sentence.

So deaf kids out there... Embrace "abnormality" and rock on.

A&E and Me - PDDCS Website

2012-12-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

So I have a new column now as well as this blog! I've been asked to write for the Peterborough District Deaf Kids Society website and I'm loving it...

I even have my own banner at the top of the column!! :)

Here's my first post courtesy of... http://www.pddcs.co.uk/2012/12/deaflifeaandeandme.html

So, last week I was asked to start writing this column and while I was thinking about what to write, an issue that has probably affected every deaf child, teenager and adult popped into my head.

This week I took a trip to A&E and it struck me once again just how un-deaf aware a number of doctors and nurses are. I mean, of course, you occasionally meet the odd person, like the paramedic I met whose wife was deaf or the nurse who had a profoundly deaf nephew, but by and large medical staff seem to have absolutely no idea what I mean when I say 'I’m deaf.'

It’s not just A&E staff either. I've had the GP who walks around the room while talking to you and even the ENT consultant who talks at you whilst looking in your ears. The story my mum always tells is when I had a chest x-ray and the radiographer asked me to take out my hearing aids and then said 'I’m going into the back room now, but when I shout I need you to breathe in for me.' I’m afraid I just looked at him with confusion.

But for me that’s not even the worst part. As a Deaf teenager, I’m fiercely independent. If I want to communicate with someone, I will, even if it means a long frustrating half hour writing everything down on a piece of paper. So what annoys me more than anything is when medical staff talk to the person next to you as if you’re not there. 'Is she allergic to anything?' or 'What’s her pain threshold?' I thought that going to the hospital with a friend rather than my parents would stop this from happening but it made no difference…

Are deaf people really so difficult to communicate with that it’s just not worth the effort? I know that Deaf Direct in Worcestershire have taken on board the issues that deaf patients are experiencing every time they go to the GP or hospital and have recently been running some deaf awareness training in local hospitals. Hopefully this will make a difference and change the way doctors and nurses treat deaf patients. Maybe this deaf awareness training is something that could be done nationally by agencies such as NDCS or Remark?

In terms of advice on how to deal with these un-deaf aware medical staff, I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask! But when I have it sorted I’ll let you know. For now I guess these are a few pointers that might help:

Make sure that doctors and nurses know you are deaf, it’s annoying but staff don’t seem to share that kind of information between them.
If a doctor or nurse doesn't communicate well with you try and give them some handy tips. I know this is hard and feels embarrassing at times but the next deaf person they meet will be so thankful you did it!
Don’t be afraid to shout up if you haven’t heard. It’s your care and you have the right to understand everything that’s happening to you. Similarly if you want or need an interpreter then make sure you get one, it’s important to understand everything and that will make you feel more confident.

Pimping your hearing aid or CI... A "How To" Guide with pictures!

2012-11-02T05:47:00.003-07:00

Lots of people on the Pimp my HAs and CIs Facebook group have been talking about how fiddly it is to stick nail foils on their hearing aids and cochlear implants, so I thought I could do another step by step tutorial for those people who are just getting started!

1) Take of the mold and take out the battery.

2) choose your nail foils! You can buy hundreds of different designs from shops and online from Amazon and Ebay.

3) Choose a nail sticker about the right size and stick it down, don’t worry if it’s too wide as you can cut it to the right shape.

4) Carefully cut the sticker to size so that it doesn’t cover volume controls and most importantly microphones!! Sometimes you can do this before you put the sticker on and sometimes afterwards by carefully trimming the edges.

5) Use the same process to cover the rest of the aid! Make sure you can still open the battery door and nothing is covered over! You can cover just one side of the aid or all of it! As long as you’re careful!#

6) If you have a radio aid shoe you can also decorate that!

You’ve now successfully pimped your hearing aid or cochlear implant!!

Other things you could consider “doing up” would be your radio aid, box for your hearing aid, i-com or oticon streamer… Some people have also started colouring their tubes using a sharpie!

Fairy Ears...

2012-10-30T17:07:00.001-07:00

This is another blog post by my friend Eloise... I asked her to write about overhearing this conversation because it shocked me so much!!

It was a very bad day in audiology today. Not for me, but for a girl who looked to be the age of around six or seven waiting with her mother to go into an appointment.

“Mummy, please let me have the pink hearing aids,” she said, swinging her legs off the chair. She was pretty with brown, slightly curly hair which came past her shoulders. Her mum was also quite pretty but oozed pretentiousness throughout the situation.

“I promise I’ll be a good girl,” she continued, “All I want is fairy ears…”

Her mother interrupted before the girl could carry on. “Be quiet, Martha, we need to listen out for your name to be called.”

The little girl sat quietly, still swinging her legs around. She looked at the TV but the mumbling of the news could not keep her distracted for long.

“But mummy, Josh in year two at school has blue hearing aids and says they are like superhero ears! I want to be the same, but with fairy ears! And the nice hearing lady said I could have pink ones if I wanted!”

“Martha, how many times have I told you to be quiet about the fairy ears? You’re a big girl now and you can stick to brown. It blends in with your hair and so everyone thinks you’re normal. Josh’s ears are very nice, but you’re grown up now and all these colours look silly on such big children!”

At this point, I had become so angry and upset at the mother’s attitude that I had to switch my own hearing aids off. My hearing aids are pink with glitter moulds, blue tubes and butterfly stickers – and I’m eighteen years old. The fact that I can decorate my hearing aids gives me a sense of pride and identity as a young deaf person. It seriously upset me that this little girl could not get the ‘fairy ears’ that she desperately wanted. That small dream would have been in reach had her own mother let her have them. Instead, her mum, only concerned about appearances, forbid her own child from having the colour and design she so wished for.

"Eloise's hearing aids before blue tubes!"

To children, having the colour of hearing aids and ear moulds that they want can make all the difference between being confident and proud of who they are or being frustrated. I just wonder whether in the future, this little girl, Martha, will grow up wanting to show her hearing aids, or whether her confidence will be low and she’ll be constantly asking God “Why me?”

Please share your opinions on this situation. What would you say to the mother and the little girl? I certainly know what I’d say, and the mum probably wouldn’t like it!

Team V needs you!! Tackling Youth Homelessness...

2012-10-20T04:56:00.002-07:00

A slightly different blog post than usual this time as I wanted to tell you all about the work I've been doing with vInspired an organisation connecting young people with charities and voluntary organisations as well as promoting self development.

Each year vInspired runs an amazing opportunity for young people aged 18-25 called Team V and after a long interview process I've amazingly made it onto this years Team V 2012!

Over the course of the year Team V will run 3 national campaigns within their local communities by recruiting a "dream team" of volunteers to manage PR, media, finance and pretty much any other role you can imagine within a campaign!

The first campaign reveal was last weekend and I'm happy to announce that our first campaign will be tackling youth homelessness and promoting awareness of organisations offering help for young people experiencing youth homelessness.

Below is the campaign video - entirely accessible :) A big step as I've previously complained to vInspired about their videos being all speech and no subtitles...

I think you'll agree that the statistics around youth homelessness are pretty amazing - and not in a positive way... I was shocked to learn how many young people experience youth homelessness and even more shocked to learn how many of my fellow Team V members had personal experience of homelessness and living in supported accommodation.

I'm really excited to start campaigning but i really really need volunteers!! Team V has never had a deaf young person involved before and this year we have 2 - but id love to have a "dream team" of deaf and hearing volunteers who could work together to run this campaign!

As you saw from the video there are a number of steps involved in this campaign... contacting a local organisation... running an event or exhibition... and organising an eye catching stunt in order to draw attention to youth homelessness!

I can't do all that by myself - so if you're interested in campaigning to raise awareness of youth homelessness, live in the Birmingham area and would like to get involved then please give me a shout!

You can comment on this blog post with your email address, or you can email me directly at teamvnairi@gmail.com

As well as volunteers I could also do with a couple of interpreters or communicators - I have a campaign budget but i'd rather spend it on the campaign than interpreters to help out :) again if you're interested get in touch!

For more information take a look at the vInspired Team V page :) http://vinspired.com/teamv

Starting University... and wearing my hearing aids for 17 hours!

2012-10-04T03:38:00.001-07:00

This was first published on the Limping Chicken :)

I’m writing this sat in the laundry room of my university.

From what I can work out there are 3 washing machines and a tumbler dryer on the go but all I can hear is, well, nothing. This is what I love about university. I woke up this morning and looked at my hearing aids before thinking – “you know what, today I want to be Deaf.” Nobody stopped me, my parents didn’t nag me. There wasn’t even a particular reason, and even though I can’t hear anything I feel perfectly safe because for the first time I have a pager in my pocket which I know will vibrate like hell if the fire alarm goes off.

As well as all this silence I’m feeling amazingly awake, buzzing, and full of energy… Despite having two hours of lectures already today I don’t feel like I’m in information overload – the reason why? Oh, well I have an interpreter now! In terms of academics and support I’m loving it! After years and years of battling for support in a mainstream school, with a council that never seemed to come through with support even when it was promised, I feel like I’m on cloud 9 right now. This is another thing I love about university.

I’m not going to lie though; there have been moments when the tears have spilled over and I’ve sat in my room with my hearing aids out wishing and hoping that another deaf person will just walk through the door and start up a conversation with me. You see, although I have enormous amounts of fantastic support within university outside of lectures it’s just me. All on my own. My university is actually split into three campuses – North, South (that’s me!) and Millennium Point – and although there are apparently a couple of other deafies up at City North, here at South I’m the only one.

In the long run I hope this won’t matter too much, that people will become more deaf aware and that the university will hurry up and organise a deaf social event like they’ve promised! But at the minute it means that for the first time in years I’ve felt almost (shock horror!) like a hearing person…
Whereas I would normally do as I’ve done today and spend any free moment hearing aidless I realised last week that what with moving in, talking to new people (scary!) and going out for Freshers I’d actually had one day where I wore my aids for 17 whole long hours… That has to be some kind of record! I found myself sitting in conversations, where I couldn’t hear much of what was being said, debating the benefits of stem cell research and cochlear implants… Scary thoughts for someone who’s always sworn blind they would never consider them! Not that I’m saying I would – but I’m really starting to see why people would think about it!

In the defence of my lovely and wonderful flat mates, and flat next door mates, they have made an effort! Nearly all of them now know their names in sign, as well as various things such as “hello”, “good morning” and amusingly “where are the tea bags…?” So I can’t fault them for effort. But I think it’s more of a general misunderstanding about the complexities of not being able to hear half of a conversation, or not ever having had to think about how tiring it is to lip read a conversation all day. But I do love them all to bits, and I hope that over time they’ll become fluent signers or at least incredibly deaf aware!

To look back over my past week I have to say that moving in day was the most daunting experience, a flat full of new people who could have potentially been horrendous to lip read was never going to fill me with joy! But I do seem to have lucked out – so far all my flat mates have been easily lip readable!

I suppose the funniest moments have been in clubs where at first I felt even more isolated until I realised that people’s deaf awareness increases ten-fold. Suddenly texting on phones when you can’t understand is acceptable and normal, and using gestures and signs is common place! I even found I had an advantage – lip reading skills are very useful in a club!

I guess in conclusion I should say that after a week and a half I both love and hate university. I love my support and my friends. I dislike the general lack of deaf awareness, but I applaud the efforts made by everyone I know (well most of them…). At the same time I do hate not having my deaf friends around me – I find myself overjoyed just to have an appointment with my disability advisor and actively seeking out speech and language therapy students or pretty much anyone with sign language skills!!

I’m sure that overtime things will improve and so for now I’m staying as positive as possible! But if you’re reading this and you happen to be a deaf person living in Birmingham please do get in touch! I would love a coffee with another deafie!! 

Writing for the Buzz -Pimping My Hearing Aids And Cochlear Implants

2012-10-03T04:05:00.001-07:00

Our group were recently given the opportunity to write for the NDCS Buzz to promote our group and give others the chance to learn about decorating the hearing aids and cochlear implants! This is what will be published...

Do you think your hearing aids or cochlear implants look dull and boring?

Would you like to make them individual, funky and fun?

Why not try customising them?

By using small stickers or gems you can create a look that’s unique to you; or if you want something even funkier you can use nail foil stickers to cover the whole of you hearing aids or cochlear implants! (Don’t cover the microphones!)

You can also use printable sticky paper to create your own designs or use Tube Riders, Skinits or Ear Gear!

Pimp my Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants is a group set up by teenagers (with help from some parents!) who felt that their hearing aids and implants were uncool and wanted different ways to show them off with bright colours and awesome designs! The group has grown and now has nearly 300 Facebook members who share pictures of their jazzy aids and implants or share advice about new ways to customize!

Pimp my HAs and CIs Facebook Page

Pimp my HAs and CIs new blog!

Skin-its for Advanced Bionics

Connevans Ear Gear

Tube Riders :)

Deaf Gerbils...

2012-09-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2012-09-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

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....

2012-08-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

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...

2012-08-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

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

2012-08-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

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?

2012-07-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

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

2012-07-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

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

2012-07-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Comments on "The R Word" by Emily Howlett.

2012-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Sean Forbes "I'm Deaf"...

2012-06-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

There was an article today on the Limping Chicken about the new Sean Forbes song which made me remember having seen this one and really liking it! So I thought I'd share it for everyone to enjoy!

Pondering Audiology... again!

2012-06-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

This week I've been thinking and chatting about audiology again - in particular this same issue around access to colourful hearing aids.

I do still think it's important to firstly say that I love my audiologist! She's deaf herself and for me this is really cool - every deaf child should have the chance to see a deaf audiologist! - she understands the issues so much better than anyone else I've ever met and when I say things like "it's a kind of crackly, hissy thingy..." she immediately understands what I mean rather than looking at me like I'm totally losing it...
I know that it's not audiologists fault that their is limited access to coloured hearing aids - a number of audiologists I know really believe that deaf people should have the opportunity to pick what they want. It's the system were in and the annoying post code lottery situation which determines what service you receive.

I was thinking last night though... As far as I'm aware Selly Oak HARC where I go only hand out beige aids to adults. \As far as I understand one of the reasons they do this is because they believe the majority of adults want inconspicuous aids rather than in your face colours.
But what if, like me, you're skin is not beige... actually do you know anyone whose skin is beige? I thought not... My skin is olive coloured and many of my friends have dark skin... Based on the HARC thoughts of inconspicuous aids surely we should then be offered some other colour? One size (or in this case colour...) does not fit all as they say.

From where I'm sitting this position taken by many audiology departments that only those deaf adults (or in some places children too!) who have additional learning difficulties or mental health issues should be allowed colourful hearing aids is so silly its just... silly!

What about freedom of expression? What about confidence? Being 19 might make you an adult in the eyes of an audiologist but really I'm still a kid at heart! I want cool colours to show off and make my ears look great...

It's not like having coloured aids costs anything extra... I did check this out! It costs exactly the same amount to order coloured aids as it does to order plain, boring beige ones.

The other main reason I was given for not being allowed to have coloured aids was that if I changed my mind about "liking" the aids and wanted to change them (can I do that?!) the audiologist would be stuck with a pair of colourful aids and no one to give them to. (From the feedback I've had audiology could probably find a hundred new people to give those aids to, but maybe not...)
I have however come up with a solution - and it didn't take much thought! Why not give out beige aids for the 6 week "trial" period that everyone has with their new aids... Then, if the person likes the aids and feels they're working for them then swap them and order them a colourful pair! Problem solved :) Not rocket science really...

It is fun to decorate aids, and there is now an amazing facebook group called Pimping My Hearing aids and Cochlear Implants - UK where lots of parents and deaf teens show off their funky designs and share ideas on how to decorate. I've seen some more brilliant ideas and I'm amazingly proud of the group and what it's achieved!

However, it's not the same... Decorating aids can get expensive (6.50 for my latest nail foils..) and many people I'm sure would rather just have colourful versions of their aids.
I have to say that the post code lottery involved is also incredibly unfair... In Worcester their are colours but go up to Birmingham and suddenly no colours...

So, here's my plan!

I've made a petition which you can sign at the end of this post... Once a number of people have signed the petition I'll start sending off copies to audiology departments around my area asking them about coloured aids. It would be great if I number of people got involved to and tweeted, facebooked and emailed around the petition and later spoke to their audiologists too!

Thanks :)

Petition to make colourful hearing aids available from all audiology departments :)

My NDCS Week :)

2012-06-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

So in the last week or so I've finished the mass panic of A Level exams and am finally free of school -which seems like a mixed blessing!

This means summer has finally started and it looks like its going to be another "NDCS Summer" again! This time last summer I was off on my second NDCS YAB residential and then straight up to the Lake District to spend a week doing the John Muir Award, again with NDCS.

This year I've been helping Jo and Krishna from NDCS with interviews for our new Youth Advisory Board!! We finished today in Birmingham with 7 people and as off tomorrow we will have new board - which is exciting and sad at the same time...
The interviews have been fantastic! It's great to meet so many deaf young people I don't know, and I'm rather impressed that Jo has managed to find so many deaf young people I haven't met! Their interviews have been insightful and inspiring... Their "objects" that they have brought along to talk about have been funny and given a really great impression of the lives of deaf young people. The final question: "what do you think the biggest issue facing deaf young people today is?" has produced a range of answers from the usual deaf awareness to the more unusual: cochlear implants and the inability of different services (audiology, ToD etc) to work together and share information... Two things I don't think we talked about on the YAB last year!!

I can't wait until the first residential in July where a few of us old board members will become young facilitators and try to teach our skills to the new members! Should be fun and awesome to meet the new members! I'm very excited to see who gets a place as I don't know yet!!

Yesterday was the NDCS Family Fun Day at Hatton Country World in Warwickshire - an amazing event which offered families of deaf children the chance to let their hair down, meet friends and gain information on various topics.

I spent the morning setting up and then watching over the giant games and teddy bear's picnic which was a great opportunity to be "hands on" and beaten! at loads of games including a massive version of snakes and ladders as well as giant connect-4 and jenga... Great stuff!
After that I spent some time "guarding the entrance" and pointing people in the right direction before climbing on to the NDCS Listening Bus to answer lots of questions on loads of topics like alarm clocks, door bells and independence through technology.

I was amazed by how many parents hadn't heard of the amazing NDCS Technology Test Drive a unique project which allows you to borrow equipment such as clocks, radio aids, music links etc... to "try before you buy". I've used the test drive a couple of times and it is great!!

Tania tells us about interviewing for the new NDCS YAB!

2012-06-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

This is a post from the NDCS Youth Advisory Board blog :)

YAB member Tania tells us about being on the interview panel for the new Youth Advisory Board!

On Wednesday 13th June I went to London to do some interviews with Jo and Lucy . This was held in the NDCS offices, which is somewhere that I have never been before.

The experience of doing the interviews was great for me, not only cause it was fun, but mainly because of seeing what views the young people had and their enthusiasm about being on the board.

It gave me a great insight of what they also want to change about the future for deaf young people. The people I interviewed were great and really wanted to have the place on the board!
Looks like Jo and the team will have hard decisions to make because young people seem to have many great ideas.

Overall, it was a great day and experience for me and I would love to do this sort of thing again

Cyber Bullying... It affects deaf kids too!

2012-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

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 :)

"Don't Leave Me Out"

2012-06-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

So after the amazing #subtitlesnow campaign that Sasha wrote about CCAC have organised another cross-atlantic campaign to increase awareness about the necessity for subtitled online videos!

This campaign entitled "Dont Leave Me Out" includes a video made by a number of adults and a couple of young people explaining why subtitles or "captions" are important to them in their everyday lives.

Below is the press release CCAC have released along with some photos and the video!

Please help spread awareness of the campaign via twitter, facebook, local media etc :)

The Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning (CCAC) is happy to announce the release of its first film to raise awareness and advocate for inclusion of quality captioning (subtitles) universally, for so many everyday needs.

Created by the CCAC, all volunteers, with the assistance of professional editing, the CCAC invites all to participate in the new international media campaign, ensure that the video, freely distributed, goes viral globally, and welcomes requests for media coverage (e.g. news interviews, television, radio). The video is now live on the CCAC website, from today forward.

Call it a film, documentary, or PSA (public service announcement) – when you see it, you’ll understand why mega-millions of citizens need much more inclusion of subtitles, captioning, and real time captioning in real life. Thanks to the sponsors listed in the credits, the CCAC is able to distribute the film without cost. Donations to the CCAC organization for continuing advocacy are welcome.

The video, “Don’t Leave Me Out!” is a powerful educational message for audiences everywhere, and will be useful for a large variety of organizations, groups, and companies focused on access, disability, deafness, hearing loss, literacy, technology, and inclusion.