October 2015

It was an emotional day on 17th September when The Scottish Parliament voted

unanimously to recognise BSL, including tactile BSL, as a language. The Bill requires public

bodies to produce a National Plan detailing how they will ensure full inclusion of British Sign

Language users.

As part of the BSL and Linguistic Access Group, Deafblind Scotland has campaigned for ten

years for BSL to be recognised. When Mark Griffin proposed a private members’ bill which

would achieve that aim. Deafblind Scotland provided a guide/communicator service which

enabled deafblind people to visit their MSP to ask them to support an amendment which

would include hands-on signing and deafblind manual in the Bill. After discussions it was

agreed that Tactile BSL would be included in the first sentence of the Bill and that

throughout the Bill deafblind people whose first language is BSL would be included in its

provisions. Dennis Robertson who is himself blind, agreed to propose the amendment,

which Mark Griffin fully supported, and the amendment to include tactile BSL was enacted.

MSP Dennis Robertson paid tribute to the work of Deafblind Scotland.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in lobbying for this. We must continue to work

together to support the implementation of the legislation.

Photo: Deafblind Scotland staff with Mark Griffin MSP

BSL (Scotland) Bill

Have you entered our raffle for the chance to win a brand new car for £1?

Go to page 9 for more information.

Car Raffle

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Mobility and Access Committee Appointment

Deafblind Scotland’s Health Access Officer John Whitfield has been

appointed as a member of the Mobility and Access Committee for

Scotland. The committee advises on planning and regulating transport

facilities to ensure that they are accessible to all. To find out more

about the work of the Mobility and Access Committee then visit

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/public-transport/concessionary-

travel/mobility-and-access-committee-scotland-macs

Care Inspectorate Report

In August Deafblind Scotland received a short notice full inspection

from the Care Inspectorate. The report has just been published and

we are pleased to announce that Deafblind Scotland performed

extremely well in all areas of the assessment. A copy of the full

report is available to download from http://

www.careinspectorate.com

Deafblind Scotland News

Afternoon Tea

Deafblind Scotland hosted a fantastic afternoon tea at the Radisson

Hotel on 20th September. Guests were treated to some fantastic

goodies to eat as well as live entertainment, make-up demonstrations,

manicures and more.

All guests had a fantastic time. Over £1100 was raised on the day

which will go towards the Field of Dreams project to build a purpose

built centre for deafblind people.

Michael’s Way

Vice Chairperson and member Michael recently competed the Eyemouth triathlon

and plans to do other bike and hike events to raise money for Field of Dreams.

74 year old Michael, who has Usher Syndrome, completed the 750m swim,

19.14km cycle and 4.66km run in an incredible 2 hours 21 minutes 35 seconds.

Michael is calling his efforts Michael's Way. He stated "The name was dreamt up

because I have very different ways of doing things. I have to run with a guide and cycle with a pilot so I do a triathlon Michael's way. I have to be guided on a walk

and use my balance and sense of touch to find my way so I will be doing the hike

Michael's Way."

There has been some fantastic press coverage of Michael’s Way including an

article titled Brining Hope to a World of Darkness in Evening Times

www.eveningtimes.co.uk

The JustGiving page is https://www.justgiving.com/michaelsway/

Photo: Michael and guide during the Eyemouth Trialthon

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June 2015

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Deafblind Scotland was chosen as Awaz FM’s charity of the year in 2015. Since the

start of the year they have been doing fantastic work with us and fundraising for

deafblind people. So far Awaz FM have raised over £7000 for Deafblind Scotland.

The fantastic Awaz FM staff took part in the Great Scottish Run on 4th October to

raise even more money for Deafblind Scotland. Well done everyone!

Bills, Consultations, Publications and Reports

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) The Scottish

Government's Draft Delivery Plan (2016-2020) - Consultation

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/6979

This draft plan sets out our aim to removing barriers and enabling disabled people to enjoy equal

access to citizenship. Over 50 commitments will help us deliver the four outcomes and three

cross cutting themes that will bring about change to disabled people. We will consider the views

of disabled people on this approach and finalise our plan in spring 2016

Programme for Government 2015-16

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/7685

The Government’s Programme for Scotland 2015-16. The document sets out the legislation for

the coming year, as well as summarising the Scottish Government's key achievements and main

goals for the future - both legislative and non-legislative.

Scottish Health Survey 2014: Summary

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/3074

This report presents summary statistics on the Scottish Health Survey 2014 topics: general

health and mental wellbeing, alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity,

respiratory health and asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, health risks and deprivation.

Everyone Matters:2020 Workforce Vision. Review of progress in 2014-15

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/09/8824

The report reviews the progress made in implementing the actions in the Everyone Matters

Implementation Plan for 2014-15 and progress toward delivering the 2020 Workforce Vision.

Social Networking Evidence Summary - An Accessible Guide

http://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/download/library/lib_56123bdb12048/

The People Powered Health and Wellbeing (PPHW) team recently carried out an evidence

summary in partnership with the Knowledge Into Action programme at NHS Education for

Scotland. This showed that using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and closed forums can

be beneficial in helping people with long-term conditions to self manage.

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Projects

Connect to Welfare Rights

The “Connect to Welfare Rights” project has now been running for over one year

and is funded to run until March 2016. We have been consistently assisting more

people each month with welfare rights enquiries, with a high percentage of positive

outcomes.

We have continued to raise awareness of the project through attending events,

liaising with local community groups, liaising with other Third Sector organisations

and attending visually impaired support groups.

Please contact Helen or Chris on 0141 777 5828 or WR@deafblindscotland.org.uk

if you have any questions or issues in regards to welfare rights, including benefits,

money matters, access to information in different formats and your equal rights as

sensory impaired adults.

Deaf Sector Partnership BSL Bill Project

On 17th September, the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill was debated in the

Scottish Parliament. With considerable excitement and some pride 9 deafblind

people and their Guide/Communicators attended the debate and experienced the

successful passing of the Bill. The Bill, in time, will hopefully make for significant

changes in the future to the lives of people who use BSL. This should include

deafblind people who use BSL, as they are specifically referred to in the core of the

Bill.

As part of the Deaf Sector Partnership (DSP) Deafblind Scotland has the remit to

support as fully as possible those deafblind people who specifically use tactile British

Sign Language as their necessary communication. The objective is to support those

deafblind people who use Tactile BSL to take part on the future BSL Advisory Board

which will, amongst other things, help to produce the first ever National Plan for BSL

in Scotland. We have already engaged with deafblind people on this with meetings in

Edinburgh and Glasgow. The next stage is to support deafblind people so that that

they can successfully represent themselves and their small but distinct community, by

making sure that their specific needs are well documented in the BSL National Plan

so that future improvements to their services can be effected.

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Training Courses SQA BSL Level 1 Intensive Course (H3PA 10)

This is a daytime course which consists of one full-time day per week for a period of 5

weeks. This course is suitable for people with little or no understanding of British Sign

Language.

Cost of this course is £300 and is inclusive of all materials, online homework, review,

assessments and Certificate.

Compatible with Skills Scotland ILA £200 accounts. Payment plan available.

Schedule:

Tuesdays, 9.30-4.30pm

October 27 – November 24

SQA BSL Level 2 Part-Time Evening Course (H3PA 11)

This course is one evening per week for 20-25 weeks and is suitable for people who have achieved

BSL level 1 .

Cost of this course is £500 and is inclusive of all materials, online homework, review, assessments

and Certificate.

Compatible with Skills Scotland ILA £200 accounts. Payment plan available.

Schedule:

From November: Tuesdays, 6-8.30pm

Hands on-British Sign Language Workshop

This workshop is delivered as a full day course or over two evenings. When applying, please state

your preference.

Hands on signing is also known as hand over hand signing, and refers to a type of sign language

where the user's sense of touch as well as, or instead of, sight is used. Tuition will include practise

with HoS users. This course is suitable for people who have achieved BSL level 3 and above.

Cost of the course is £100pp. Discounts may be available for Group bookings.

All delegates will receive a Certificate of Attendance, which may be used as evidence for CPD

purposes.

Schedule TBC when class size achieved (6-10people)

For more information on any training courses contact Ellen on

trainingadmin@deafblindscotland.org.uk or call 0141 777 6111

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…… … ………… ..

Win a brand new car for £1 Have you entered Deafblind Scotland’s car raffle

2015 yet? Bargain price of only £1 per raffle ticket,.

Why not be the best colleague ever and buy raffle

tickets as an extra for your fellow workers this

Christmas? Tickets on sale now and the draw will

be, via live link at www.deafblindscotland.org.uk on

Thursday, 24 December 2015. The time of the draw

will be given on Deafblind Scotland’s website from

Monday, 21 December 2015.

To buy your tickets visit call 0141 777 6111 or email alisonhardie@deafblindscotland.org.uk. Best

of luck!

Sterling Silver Appeal For over 25 years Deafblind Scotland has been a constant lifeline of assistance, there for deafblind

people when they need us, and you can now help continue our critical work by donating to our

Sterling Silver Appeal or signing up your business as a Sterling Silver Business Partner.

Individual Donations By donating £25 or pledging to donate more regularly, you will be supporting Deafblind Scotland

to continue its work with the deafblind community. Contact our team for donation options or

you can text SLVR99 £25 (or other chosen amount) to 70070 . You can also donate online at

www.justgiving.com/sterling-silver.

Business Partners Contact Deafblind Scotland to find out the various benefits your business can have if you donate

£25 to the Sterling Silver Appeal.

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Referrals Deafblind Scotland aims to help people in Scotland live as rightful members of their own

communities. Membership is free to anyone who has a severe degree of combined visual and

auditory impairment resulting in problems with communication, information and mobility. To refer

a person call 0141 777 6111 or email membership@deafblindscotland.org.uk

Mailing List If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Deafblind Scotland Newsletter mailing list

to receive this email, or if this mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive it directly,

please contact information@deafblindscotland.org.uk.

Deafblind Scotland

21 Alexandra Avenue

Lenzie

G66 5BG

Tel/Text: 0141 777 6111

Fax: 0141 775 3311

info@deafblindscotland.org.uk

www.deafblindscotland.org.uk

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