Should deaf communication be reserved for the deaf, or can we all benefit from learning sign language?
Ordering a meal, booking a taxi and accessing healthcare services are all simple everyday tasks that so many people regularly take for granted, but what about the one in six people who live with some degree of hearing loss? Although deaf awareness and access to services for the deaf community have vastly improved in recent years, as society has grown more aware of the communication barriers faced, there is still much room for improvement.
Full social inclusion is the ambition of everyone engaged with the deaf community, no matter what the age group involved, and we need to ensure that every member of society receives the right level of support. Most importantly, though, we must remember that quality deaf education shouldn’t just be aimed at the deaf community. As deafness isn’t necessarily an immediately apparent disability, many people will, without realising, come into daily contact with people, of all ages, who have some form of hearing impairment. By helping to create a society which has an increased sense of deaf awareness, we can help members of the general public to quickly identify whether the person they are dealing with may require extra support in communicating.
The importance and benefits of children starting to learn another language at as early an age as possible have been widely discussed, so why should sign language be excluded from consideration as a second language for study? Exposing children to a new skill early on is the best way to unlock their learning potential in that subject and helps to shape the brain when it is at its most flexible.
Often, hearing people simply do not realise or appreciate the communication barriers which the deaf community face; an introduction to the idea of signing at a younger age can help to offer a better insight, while also providing a better understanding of deaf culture.
Unless directly affected by a hearing impairment themselves, some adults can shy away from learning how to sign, either because they don’t think they will ever need to use the skill or because they are embarrassed by getting it wrong if they do (as they may be trying to speak French, for example). It would be all too easy to avoid using a language by avoiding its country of origin, but one’s life would be considerably enriched by a willingness to embrace new experiences and ways of communicating with new people.
Supporting deaf pupils
As around 85 per cent of deaf children now receive mainstream schooling, schools must work to ensure that their deaf pupils are fully supported and are helped to integrate not only by the school’s teaching staff, but also by their peers.
Mainstream schools may also have to adapt their learning environments in order to successfully meet the needs of all pupils. Many deaf children can struggle to follow a lesson simply because of poor acoustics in the classroom or if their needs haven’t been fully considered during lesson planning.
There is also the issue of being made to feel different from others. A positive awareness of deaf culture within the school and an encouragement of people to sign from a young age can ensure that our nation’s 20,000 deaf children are not seen by their school friends as being different, which will help reduce social exclusion in the long-term.
Children who do not receive the right educational support can be left behind in the classroom. If this occurs, they will often quickly lose focus and can become at risk of underachieving and developing anti-social behaviour.
Increasing deaf education for all youngsters would not only have a dramatic impact in the classroom, it could also go a long way in helping to create a more understanding and inclusive society. The growth in adults learning British Sign Language (BSL) is beginning to bring about a big change in how the hearing community interacts with the deaf community, but to achieve a true change in society, we need to address the issues from the bottom-up.
While Citizenship education in schools is helping young people to become more aware of the social world and the needs of others, it is also helping youngsters to make a positive contribution, to change attitudes and to help pupils to become more self-confident. This alone, though, will not break down the barriers between the hearing and the deaf communities.
Opportunities for all
Through encouraging more hearing children and young people to invest their time in learning BSL we are opening up a whole new career path for them to explore, which is imperative at a time when we face a shortage of qualified interpreters. There are scores of examples of young people already thriving and reaping the benefits of raising their knowledge of deafness by taking part in BSL training.
Eleanor Healy, an 18-year-old who knew nothing of the deaf community when she first started her BSL course in September 2009, is already putting her new skill into practice. As her flair for supporting others in their BSL studies has cemented her determination to teach children with additional needs, she has set up an after-school class, teaching Year 7 and 8 students the basics of BSL.
Another shining example of a young hearing person who has been a great inspiration is 13-year-old Harrie Towndrow, who is the youngest learner in her BSL Level One evening course. Since starting her course, Harrie has seen her confidence rocket and is now very comfortable in providing constructive feedback to her fellow learners regardless of their age. After completing her BSL qualifications she hopes to take her ability to sign a step further by volunteering at a local special needs school and eventually utilising her new-found skill as part of her future career.
Tara-Eve Forkin, a 15-year-old who is profoundly deaf, has already successfully completed her BSL Level One, Level Two and Level Three certificates in only two years. She is using her passion for the subject to help improve accessibility for the deaf community by lobbying on deaf issues and acting as a school ambassador to help promote positive attitudes towards deaf children.
As with any skill, confidence develops with practice and by learning how to sign at the earliest possible age children will grow to become competent signers, able to successfully communicate with all members of the deaf community. BSL is a talent that people can carry with them throughout their lives, helping to create a much more inclusive society where we can all enjoy full access.
Further information
Jim Edwards is Chief Executive of Signature, a charity promoting excellence in communication with deaf people:
www.signature.org.uk
