Midland Deaf Sports Association Ball

This was a great night out to which 150 + deaf came. The disco was signed and subtitled to maximise access. Signing rather than speech was THE way to communicate! Good to learn how other deaf people have adapted to succeed.

Deaf-bikers

was another deaf organisation that I came across lately. They have a rally in June which I hope to attend, having done our compulsory bike training (CBT). We plan to have a motorbike in Arua, Uganda as it will be a quick and economical way to get about. Feel the breeze is their tag-line.. Ad.

“At Work With The Deaf Community In The West Midlands”..

.. was the title of a short film I saw recently. It was premiered by the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry and produced by ‘Zebra’, a deaf run film company. It gave me a fascinating insight into deaf peoples’ experiences of work-related issues – both good and bad. e.g. access to training opportunities, health and safety, discrimination, unions and job descriptions.

One humourous story a deaf man shared was about a factory fire drill which he was oblivious to as he sat on the toilet. He was interupted by a note being pushed under the door telling him that there was a fire. His need for relief was only marginally less than his need to save his life! This event changed safety practices in the factory. How would a “At Work With The Deaf Community In Uganda “ film differ? Food for thought.. Ad

BATOD Annual Conference - Progress of Deaf students compared to their hearing peersBristol

Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs) gathered here to network, hear the latest research on the progress of deaf students compared to their hearing peers. One observation that interested me is the slower personal development of deaf students because they spend a greater proportion of their learning time with adults.

I attended a a workshop on how to conduct noise measurements for learning environments, by Campbell Associates. They highlighted three key measures they take:

• 1. Background Noise Measurement
• 2. Measurement of Reverberation Time
• 3. Speech Intelligibility Test

I can't think of many public spaces that score highly on these count but awareness is growing! Adam

Howzat!!!!!? - Elite disabled cricketers

Yesterday, the English Cricket Board gave me the opportunity to work alongside fast bowling coach 'Shine', at Loughborough University. He was giving tips and detailed practical advice through video analysis to a group of elite disabled cricketers. I () signed for deaf England players James and Paul.

Three partially sited and two blind cricketers were also present. With a rattling ball and a team mate calling from the wicket these guys were able to bowl at speed with accuracy and regularly hit the wicket.

As a sports specialist myself, I was fascinated and impressed by the quality of the whole presentation. I learned a lot about bowling and how to encourage a sportsman. A dvd is currently being compiled based on the days events, with me signing. It was a great experience.

Sensory loss can be compensated for we just need to be open to it... Cheers. Helen

Why do you want to sign?

That was the the question I asked students on the beginner's B.S.L Course I'm running. Reasons ranged from curiosity to wanting to communicate better with deaf patients to communication difficulties with a family member to a shared interest.

It was so encouraging that most of the nine students planned to use their B.S.L. skills with someone else in the group. Most courses I've ever attended consisted of students who had no-one they could practice with outside the class on a daily basis. Plans to be part of a end of course celebration alongside other evening community education courses running at Grace academy coventry are afoot.

Aboard NDCS' Listening Bus Roadshow

One of National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS') objectives is to offer up-to-date information for deaf children and their family/ carer/friends. The NDCS Listening Bus tours Britain on anual basis, providing an opportunity for them to see demonstrations of communication equipment and other resources.

Deaf children and their families/carers can try out alternatives and so make more informed choices. The Listerning Bus Roadshow been making a a year long tour of Britain for about a decade.

I helped Roadshow Coordinator, Damian set up the bus recently in a highly multi-ethnic area of East London , answer the questions of deaf children, their families/carers and friends who visited.

NDCS was pleased to be able to offer far more comprehensive information in Punjabi, Urdu amongst othe languages on this visit. With such varied needs, questions and cultural backgrounds amongst the visitors I was impressed with the help the Listening Bus offers. I was intersted to learn of damian's previous work with the Deaf in South America too.

THANK YOU! Uganda Visit Summary Nov/Dec 2008: . Priorities for our future work with the isolated deaf in Arua District, N. Uganda .

This trip, and the meetings and community sign workshops it enabled, have only been possible thanks to a large number of people's support of time, hospitality, finance, encouragement, time and talent and prayer. Particular thanks to our UK supporters, YWAM Arua staff, Ugandan friends working on behalf of the deaf there.

All of the workshops and meetings involved travel and refreshment expenses which although low compared to the UK were far beyond the reach of the benificiaries here. I am grateful for God's protection during our travels here. Road travel is high risk whether you cycle or take a motor-bike or lorry taxi. Walking is not the safest option!

Following Adam’s recent stay back in N. Uganda, the workshops and discussions held there highlighted several priorities for our future work:

• Sourcing /developing a text-free Ugandan Sign-Language(USL) booklet with photographs of objects to accompany their equivalent sign.
  
• Provision of extra-curricular opportunities for deaf students at Eruba, e.g. training for and transport to sports fixtures/cultural exchanges with neighbouring schools.
  
• Acquisition of teaching aids, AV equipment and generator to deliver community based sign-language courses based on an existing curriculum.
  
• Identification of able and available USL interpreters/instructors to co-deliver these community based sign-language courses
• Provision of community based sign-language courses for isolated deaf, first on the outskirts of Arua town, then in more rural areas such as Offaka or Okallo. Opportunities for wider adoption of USL and social/cultural exchange within their communities through traditional dance, story-telling or sport would then be explored


• Exploration of possibilities for vocational training/income generation and social/cultural exchange for Arua town’s deaf youth for whom secondary education is unreachable/unaffordable.