Manualism vs Oralism debate
Because humans use our eyes more than any other sense and because of our instinctive fear of the dark, most people think deafness must...
William Stokoe – American Sign Language scholar
William Stokoe (pronounced Stowkee) is the man most responsible for ASL being recognised as an official language rather than just a mimed vocabulary. Surprisingly, he wasn't deaf or a signer. He was an English teacher who had gone to Gallaudet college (the world's only Deaf University) in 1955 to teach Chaucer to deaf students.
13 Reasons to Sign to Your Hard of Hearing or Cochlear Implanted Child
Extracted from "On Deafness" - By Elizabeth Engelman.
When we implanted our profoundly deaf two-year-old son Micah with cochlear implants, we gave little thought to American Sign...
97% of young people support for BSL in GCSE
97% of young people support the idea of a GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL). A petition (currently at 22,008 signatures) calls for BSL...
DAW Communication Tips
This week we’re celebrating Deaf Awareness Week (14-20th May).
There are approximately 10 million people in the UK with hearing loss (according to UK Council...
Deaf funny
This week is Deaf Awareness Week... celebrating Deaf Culture and the wonderful community that we are a part of.
Living with deafness isn’t all doom...
How I learnt a foreign language with a hearing loss
You might be wondering, how can a deaf person with speech, learn a foreign language? During my time at school, I learnt German. Here’s...
WANTED! Firewalkers to fundraise money for new deaf academy
WANTED! Firewalkers to fundraise money for new deaf academy. Would you walk barefoot over red-hot embers to raise money for the New Deaf Academy in Exmouth?
The importance of Sign Language in early years
“It does not slow down your speech. Signing babies generally have better language capacity or language authority than babies who don't sign, because even though signing is physical, it's still a language. Whether it's manual or verbal is secondary to the point that you're learning to communicate your thoughts and ideas, learning to transmit your intentions to someone else and theirs to you.”
Deaf Schools or Mainstream?
In 1792 Britain's first Deaf school, the Royal School for Deaf children, opened.
It was closed in December 2015. According to the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf (BATOD), the number of Deaf schools fell from 75-21, 1982-2016. From 2011-18, there was a 14% decline in teachers of the Deaf and a 31% increase in demand.
