I realize no one could understand me
then so I’ve brought my elates on asan
he’s going to be voicing over for me
just so you all have access hello
everyone I’ll go back to the start my
name is Rebecca and my psy name is our
speed cuz I run really really fast I’m
deaf and usually I don’t understand
hearing people but today you’re all able
to understand me through our interpreter
that who we have with us today the world
was created for hearing people but all
my life I’ve grown up death so I’ve
never known what sound is like my world
is completely silent and I’d like to
invite all of you here today to come
into my world so I can share a few deaf
issues with you I want to share issues
that I faced and barriers I faced
through my childhood and it’s not just
me it’s all deaf people who face these
barriers I want to ask you as the
hearing audience here to help me break
down smash those barriers I’m going to
tell you about my story and just bear in
mind that every deaf person’s story will
what do you think about deaf babies how
many do you think are born to deaf or
hearing parents do you think it’s mostly
to death or mostly to hearing well as
you can see from the slide behind it’s
90% of deaf babies are actually born to
hearing parents who have no clue about
deaf issues and no communication network
methods so I am actually one of that 90%
my parents are hearing and they knew
nothing about deaf issues before I came
along my mum actually told me that when
I was born she thought I was hearing
later on when I was about six months old
she noticed something wasn’t quite right
so she decided then to take me for a
hearing test they assessed me and they
found that I was moderately deaf my
parents felt quite worried and that was
a normal reaction a lot of hearing
parents feel worried when they find out
they have a deaf child later on when I
was about two and a half I had to go for
another test and it was confirmed that I
was profoundly deaf the tests proved
that I lacked any auditory nerves within
my ears so I have no access to sound so
hearing devices won’t offer any benefit
to me like I said earlier my world is
beautifully silent my parents were
obviously worried and scared but they
are wonderful and they have helped me
through my life break down so many
barriers the first barrier is
communication and that’s the main one my
parents use gesture as a starting point
because I couldn’t hear my parents
decided that they would learn sign
language they decided to learn the
basics to start with such as drink food
and with toys they would point at them
but unfortunately as you can imagine
that wasn’t enough vocabulary to aid in
my development and aim and to aid me in
reaching my full potential they decided
to go to BSL classes at that point
unfortunately at that time and still now
parents go on courses but they’re not
subsidised they had to pay full price to
attend courses to communicate with me
before I carry on I want to tell you a
little bit about BSL BS l stands for
British sign language and it was
recognised in 2003 within the UK by the
government the language is a wonderful
rich language it’s beautiful I’m going
to give you a bit of a comparison
between BSL in English and the
difference within the structures if
there was a sentence that you would
write in English such as what is your
name
in BSL it would be translated as your
name what and you can see that’s a big
difference another example would be a
sentence what is the weather like in
Scotland in BSL it would be Scotland
weather like what and you can see again
that difference remember if you’re
communicating with a deaf person by pen
and paper and they’re writing in English
remember English is their second
language BSL is their first and it’s a
different structure one more thing when
my presentation finishes in case you
need to know this is how we clap in BSL
we raise our hands there are over 50,000
people that use BSL as their preferred
language my parents as I said went to be
a cell classes but they had to pay full
price for them which proved very
expensive and I often think about
parents that maybe can’t afford to
attend these classes and how they could
communicate with their child and what
the effect would be I feel they would
suffer greatly without that connection
there would be delays in their language
acquisition and delays overall they
would lack confidence they would be
quite isolated even within the family
home and this could later lead to mental
health how we could solve that problem
it’s quite easy
BSL classes should be provided to all
hearing parents of deaf children free of
the second barrier that my parents face
as I was growing up was finding the
right school to ask you parents in the
room obviously you want your children to
have a good education you want to
prepare them for the adult world right
my parents wanted the same for me they
wanted me to access everything that I
possibly could to enable me to be ready
for the heat for the world going back 50
years ago there were quite a few deaf
schools nationwide there was 73 in total
that number has dwindled greatly and
there are only 23 deaf schools in the
whole of the UK there are all in all
about 40 or over 45,000 deaf children in
the UK so can you imagine trying to fit
that amount of children into 23 schools
nationwide it’s an impossible task my
parents at the time had three different
options for me one was for me to attend
a deaf unit attached to a mainstream
school one was for me to attend a deaf
school where all children and adults
signs and the other was to attend
mainstream school
mixing with hearing peers I throughout
my life have experienced all three I’ve
had some good experiences and some that
could do with some improvements I went
to a primary school specifically for
deaf children and it was amazing
everyone communicated in that visual
language 78% of deaf children now attend
mainstream school so they don’t have
that same experience that I did they
would face barriers along the way they
would face struggles along the way
within mainstream schools I attended a
college actually a mainstream college
and I had a dream at that time I wanted
to be a deaf filmmaker I still do
I want to involve deaf and hearing
actors as well to integrate together I
attended a boarding school for deaf
children and in the daytime I attended a
mainstream college it was for my media
course it was a hard course and I had
support from a csw a communication
support worker who’s responsible for
voicing over and translating into BSL
for me the barriers I experienced were
the jargon within the lectures they
proved quite problematic as I needed
we also watched a lot of films as you
know it was a media course but the
lecturer didn’t ensure they had
subtitles molecular would also speak
really fast and walk around the whole
class at the same time which was really
helpful I wasn’t able to access half of
the information so I was quite behind
trying to communicate with my hearing
peers also proved quite difficult so I
was quite isolated in college it was
really difficult to me occasion to
communicate with them but we could have
written things down we could have used
mobile phones to communicate and there
are several solutions I would have liked
one-to-one so I think in future they
should offer that one to one with the
so that I’m able to digest that jargon
and sure all films have subtitles and
then also to email the information maybe
a week before so that I can read that
information as well as my SCW to prepare
us for the lecture I also think that
deaf schools should link in with
mainstream schools and offer deaf
awareness and basic BSL classes so it
means that my experience would be
greatly improved and I’m hoping that
will happen to ensure that future
experiences of future college students
who are deaf will be include improved I
think it would benefit not just the
after college I kind of thought about
what I wanted to do next I could have
gone down the volunteering route
University route and so on but I knew I
was going to experience barriers along
the way I decided I want to volunteer I
wanted to get more experience and one
day I was walking in my local town with
my mum and I saw a charity shop window
with a poster in it it was asking for
volunteers and I thought great what an
opportunity I approached the man within
the shop and my mum voiced over for me
while I signed and I’m said I’m deaf but
I’d like to apply for this job and he
responded how how will I communicate
with you and I explained the simple ways
or methods that we could use and he said
oh that’s a bit of a long-winded way to
communicate I was her really her but
there’s no way I was giving up I know
that in future every time I try to look
for opportunities I’m going to
experience these barriers and I’m
prepared for that and prepared to fight
remember as deaf community we have
skills that we can offer we have a
wealth of experience we have dreams same
as everybody else
and we just want equality and access to
discrimination is illegal the law needs
to become more robust to address issues
where discrimination occurs we need to
break down those barriers I’ve faced
barriers through my life within
education employment and so on but those
are just a few examples
it could be doctors hospitals dentists
and this is not just me it’s every deaf
so in conclusion I hope that I’ve given
you a little bit of an understanding
about me and you’ve been able to
understand everything I’ve said through
the interpreter that’s a simple right
that many many people are not provided
with looking back to the 18th 19th 20th
century how many groups have faced
barriers and challenges along the way
we’ve had black people fight for their
rights women’s group fight for their
rights it’s the 21st century equality
should be there I have a dream I want
deaf and hearing people to be seen as
equal I want access to be provided as
standard and we need your help we need
your help to solve that problem
what smash down those barriers with me
thank you so much for watching [Applause]
then so I’ve brought my elates on asan
he’s going to be voicing over for me
just so you all have access hello
everyone I’ll go back to the start my
name is Rebecca and my psy name is our
speed cuz I run really really fast I’m
deaf and usually I don’t understand
hearing people but today you’re all able
to understand me through our interpreter
that who we have with us today the world
was created for hearing people but all
my life I’ve grown up death so I’ve
never known what sound is like my world
is completely silent and I’d like to
invite all of you here today to come
into my world so I can share a few deaf
issues with you I want to share issues
that I faced and barriers I faced
through my childhood and it’s not just
me it’s all deaf people who face these
barriers I want to ask you as the
hearing audience here to help me break
down smash those barriers I’m going to
tell you about my story and just bear in
mind that every deaf person’s story will
what do you think about deaf babies how
many do you think are born to deaf or
hearing parents do you think it’s mostly
to death or mostly to hearing well as
you can see from the slide behind it’s
90% of deaf babies are actually born to
hearing parents who have no clue about
deaf issues and no communication network
methods so I am actually one of that 90%
my parents are hearing and they knew
nothing about deaf issues before I came
along my mum actually told me that when
I was born she thought I was hearing
later on when I was about six months old
she noticed something wasn’t quite right
so she decided then to take me for a
hearing test they assessed me and they
found that I was moderately deaf my
parents felt quite worried and that was
a normal reaction a lot of hearing
parents feel worried when they find out
they have a deaf child later on when I
was about two and a half I had to go for
another test and it was confirmed that I
was profoundly deaf the tests proved
that I lacked any auditory nerves within
my ears so I have no access to sound so
hearing devices won’t offer any benefit
to me like I said earlier my world is
beautifully silent my parents were
obviously worried and scared but they
are wonderful and they have helped me
through my life break down so many
barriers the first barrier is
communication and that’s the main one my
parents use gesture as a starting point
because I couldn’t hear my parents
decided that they would learn sign
language they decided to learn the
basics to start with such as drink food
and with toys they would point at them
but unfortunately as you can imagine
that wasn’t enough vocabulary to aid in
my development and aim and to aid me in
reaching my full potential they decided
to go to BSL classes at that point
unfortunately at that time and still now
parents go on courses but they’re not
subsidised they had to pay full price to
attend courses to communicate with me
before I carry on I want to tell you a
little bit about BSL BS l stands for
British sign language and it was
recognised in 2003 within the UK by the
government the language is a wonderful
rich language it’s beautiful I’m going
to give you a bit of a comparison
between BSL in English and the
difference within the structures if
there was a sentence that you would
write in English such as what is your
name
in BSL it would be translated as your
name what and you can see that’s a big
difference another example would be a
sentence what is the weather like in
Scotland in BSL it would be Scotland
weather like what and you can see again
that difference remember if you’re
communicating with a deaf person by pen
and paper and they’re writing in English
remember English is their second
language BSL is their first and it’s a
different structure one more thing when
my presentation finishes in case you
need to know this is how we clap in BSL
we raise our hands there are over 50,000
people that use BSL as their preferred
language my parents as I said went to be
a cell classes but they had to pay full
price for them which proved very
expensive and I often think about
parents that maybe can’t afford to
attend these classes and how they could
communicate with their child and what
the effect would be I feel they would
suffer greatly without that connection
there would be delays in their language
acquisition and delays overall they
would lack confidence they would be
quite isolated even within the family
home and this could later lead to mental
health how we could solve that problem
it’s quite easy
BSL classes should be provided to all
hearing parents of deaf children free of
the second barrier that my parents face
as I was growing up was finding the
right school to ask you parents in the
room obviously you want your children to
have a good education you want to
prepare them for the adult world right
my parents wanted the same for me they
wanted me to access everything that I
possibly could to enable me to be ready
for the heat for the world going back 50
years ago there were quite a few deaf
schools nationwide there was 73 in total
that number has dwindled greatly and
there are only 23 deaf schools in the
whole of the UK there are all in all
about 40 or over 45,000 deaf children in
the UK so can you imagine trying to fit
that amount of children into 23 schools
nationwide it’s an impossible task my
parents at the time had three different
options for me one was for me to attend
a deaf unit attached to a mainstream
school one was for me to attend a deaf
school where all children and adults
signs and the other was to attend
mainstream school
mixing with hearing peers I throughout
my life have experienced all three I’ve
had some good experiences and some that
could do with some improvements I went
to a primary school specifically for
deaf children and it was amazing
everyone communicated in that visual
language 78% of deaf children now attend
mainstream school so they don’t have
that same experience that I did they
would face barriers along the way they
would face struggles along the way
within mainstream schools I attended a
college actually a mainstream college
and I had a dream at that time I wanted
to be a deaf filmmaker I still do
I want to involve deaf and hearing
actors as well to integrate together I
attended a boarding school for deaf
children and in the daytime I attended a
mainstream college it was for my media
course it was a hard course and I had
support from a csw a communication
support worker who’s responsible for
voicing over and translating into BSL
for me the barriers I experienced were
the jargon within the lectures they
proved quite problematic as I needed
we also watched a lot of films as you
know it was a media course but the
lecturer didn’t ensure they had
subtitles molecular would also speak
really fast and walk around the whole
class at the same time which was really
helpful I wasn’t able to access half of
the information so I was quite behind
trying to communicate with my hearing
peers also proved quite difficult so I
was quite isolated in college it was
really difficult to me occasion to
communicate with them but we could have
written things down we could have used
mobile phones to communicate and there
are several solutions I would have liked
one-to-one so I think in future they
should offer that one to one with the
so that I’m able to digest that jargon
and sure all films have subtitles and
then also to email the information maybe
a week before so that I can read that
information as well as my SCW to prepare
us for the lecture I also think that
deaf schools should link in with
mainstream schools and offer deaf
awareness and basic BSL classes so it
means that my experience would be
greatly improved and I’m hoping that
will happen to ensure that future
experiences of future college students
who are deaf will be include improved I
think it would benefit not just the
after college I kind of thought about
what I wanted to do next I could have
gone down the volunteering route
University route and so on but I knew I
was going to experience barriers along
the way I decided I want to volunteer I
wanted to get more experience and one
day I was walking in my local town with
my mum and I saw a charity shop window
with a poster in it it was asking for
volunteers and I thought great what an
opportunity I approached the man within
the shop and my mum voiced over for me
while I signed and I’m said I’m deaf but
I’d like to apply for this job and he
responded how how will I communicate
with you and I explained the simple ways
or methods that we could use and he said
oh that’s a bit of a long-winded way to
communicate I was her really her but
there’s no way I was giving up I know
that in future every time I try to look
for opportunities I’m going to
experience these barriers and I’m
prepared for that and prepared to fight
remember as deaf community we have
skills that we can offer we have a
wealth of experience we have dreams same
as everybody else
and we just want equality and access to
discrimination is illegal the law needs
to become more robust to address issues
where discrimination occurs we need to
break down those barriers I’ve faced
barriers through my life within
education employment and so on but those
are just a few examples
it could be doctors hospitals dentists
and this is not just me it’s every deaf
so in conclusion I hope that I’ve given
you a little bit of an understanding
about me and you’ve been able to
understand everything I’ve said through
the interpreter that’s a simple right
that many many people are not provided
with looking back to the 18th 19th 20th
century how many groups have faced
barriers and challenges along the way
we’ve had black people fight for their
rights women’s group fight for their
rights it’s the 21st century equality
should be there I have a dream I want
deaf and hearing people to be seen as
equal I want access to be provided as
standard and we need your help we need
your help to solve that problem
what smash down those barriers with me
thank you so much for watching [Applause]
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