scod news issue 29

scod.org.uk

Registered charity: SC016957NEWS is

sue 29

Winter/Spring 2014Scottish Council on DeafnessSCoD

The Great Tapestry of ScotlandDeaf People at Home on DVD New SCoD Position Statements

Annoying a Lipreader

Deaf Volunteers at the Commonwealth Games

This newsletter is prepared in-house by SCoD staff, with contributions from permanent staff, project staff and other interested parties. Articles for future issues are always welcomed and considered. Please contact the editor:Email: [email protected]/textphone: 0141 248 2477Visit the offi ces: Central Chambers Suite 62, 93 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 6LDSCoD is a registered Scottish charity: SC016957Printed on paper from well managed forests, where trees are farmed as crops.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this newsletter, SCoD disclaims any liability for inaccuracy or omission.Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of SCoD. No endorsement of services, events or products is intended or implied.

EDITORIAL NOTE

Photo and Artwork thanks

Photos by Alison Coyle and Nicola NoonCartoons by Alison Coyle

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8&910

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Three New SCoD Offi cersConnexin 26BT’s Next Generation Text ServiceThomas Braidwood & BSLBack to SchoolNew Position StatementsNational Council and AGMVolunteering at he Commonwealth Games How to Annoy a LipreaderThe Great Tapestry of ScotlandTribute to Rev. Alistair KellyBSL at Glasgow MuseumsDeaf People at Home DVDSupporting SCoD

In this issue

Welcome...Mark Griffi n MSP came to speak to the BSL and Linguistic Access Working Group at their meeting in August 2013. He reported that he had achieved full Cross Party support for his proposed Bill in June 2013. Although this is a good early sign, it does not mean the Bill will defi nitely get full support all the way through.As a Private Member’s Bill it has been reviewed by the Non Government Bills Unit. A policy paper is being drafted which will be sent out to an independent legal draftsman to check before going in front of the Presiding Offi cer who will decide if it has legal competence.Stage 1- a Debate will take place in parliament and it should be possible to gauge how well the Bill is supported and what changes should be made before it goes to Committee. Stage 2 - The Committee will then say what changes they want to make. Outside

parties can suggest changes at this stage and these are called “Sponsored amendments” and they will be drafted by a member of the committee at the request of the outside party. The Committee will call for evidence in support of or against the amendments. At this Committee stage, the bill goes through very close scrutiny. However Mark Griffi n MSP can accept or reject suggested

amendments. Stage 3 – a further Debate will be held where parliamentary members can suggest further amendments. Usually these will come from

anyone who was unhappy with Stage 2. If you have a good consensus at Stage 2, Stage 3 will be a simple process. After Stage 3 it goes for Royal Assent and if granted will become an Act of Parliament within the following 18 months or so. The timescale will depend on how complex the Bill is. The draft Bill, which was compiled according to analysis of the consultation responses, has gone back and forth between the Non Government Bills team and the legal team. Mark has been in meetings with the Non-Government Bills team and they will prepare a policy paper. No fi nancial analysis has been done yet, however Mark does not think the expense will be anything like the cost of the Gaelic Language Act (which is the template used for the BSL Bill). The Scottish Government is interested in the cost particularly as they have a Spending Review coming up. Also COSLA (Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities) is interested in the fi nancial implications and will meet Mark Griffi n MSP prior to Stage 2.The Committee allocated by the Presiding Offi cer to review is Health and Sport and not Education which would have been the preference of Mark and the members of this group. Since Mark’s meeting with the BSL & Linguistic Access Working Group, SCoD was advised that no date has been given for the Stage 1 debate “because of the backlog due to the Scottish Parliament being taken up with all aspects of the Referendum”. However, the Non-Government Bills Unit is confi dent – after discussions with the Presiding Offi cer - that the Bill will be ready to be formally introduced before the summer recess, which begins on 28 June. The Bill itself will be drafted before that time and the views of the BSL & Linguistic Access Working Group will be sought and discussions/amendments made if necessary.

...to the 29th issue of SCoDNEWS! This issue is a bit later than usual and for that we can only apologise. We hope we’ve made up for our tardiness with this bumper issue fi lled with interesting articles and features about our work and the work of others. Find out what it was like to work on the Great Tapestry of Scotland, learn how to annoy a lipreader and ask yourself: how did Deaf people know when there was someone at their door before fl ashing doorbells were invented? We hope you enjoy this issue!

- the Editor

BSL Bill: A Further Update

Information in BSL on DVD

The BSL and Linguistic Access Working Group (BSL&LAWG) is delighted to announce the appointment of three Project Offi cers to work on the “Equality and Access for Deaf People” Project which will receive £300,000 of funding from the Scottish Government’s Equality Unit until 2015. Under SCoD’s leadership, the BSL & Linguistic Access Group’s sub group entitled BSL Consortium has been working with the Equality Unit for the past year to secure this funding. The project seeks to improve equality of opportunity for deaf people by working with public authorities to solve the problems which exist. The project will work within both existing and new legislation, policy and services. A “Statement of Intent” will be developed and agreed by deaf people before being promoted to public authorities as the way forward to achieving linguistic access for deaf people. Deaf and deafblind people will be recruited and trained to work in collaboration with authorities to seek viable solutions at both local and national level. They will be enabled to deliver awareness training, to represent their needs at a local level, and to positively engage with existing frameworks to promote the needs of deaf people. At its completion, the plan is to evaluate the project and produce a fi nal report with recommendations for sustained improvement across the sectors. Although the Project Offi cers will work from SCoD’s Offi ces, they will be accountable to the BSL & Linguistic Access Working Group. The working

group consists of representatives from key organisations and Government offi cials. It enables the Government to discuss issues at the heart of linguistic access for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing people and has a remit to develop strategy for improving linguistic access for deaf people in Scotland and to raise awareness of deaf issues among policy makers, professionals, service providers, deaf people and the general public. The working group was set up in 2000 and administered by the Scottish Government Equality Unit until SCoD took over its administration in 2011.

Fruits of the recent BSL&LAWG Away Day

Three New Project Officers at SCoD

Project Offi cers are (L to R): Derek Todd, full time; Stephen Joyce on part time secondment from Deafblind Scotland and Rosie Rutherford - also part time. All can be contacted by email, so if you want to fi nd out more about the project, please email either [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]

Consent – It’s Your DecisionOn BSL DVD, on www.nhsinform.co.uk and www.hris.org.ukThis BSL leafl et gives you information about your right to make decisions about your care and treatment. All local NHS boards within Scotland have been sent master copies of the BSL DVDs and have full responsibility for making them available to members of the public, on request. For your own copy, you will need to contact your local NHS board to request this. Direct link to the BSL: www.nhsinform.co.uk/Rights/Publications/OtherFormats/BSL/ConsentItsYourDecision or follow the tiny url:http://tinyurl.com/pan8cm8

Cancer Information in BSL

Information in BSL on the Web

Macmillan Cancer Support has fi lmed their cancer information in BSL and made these clips available on their website.Information covers: Coping with hair loss, radiotherapy, having radiotherapy, the side effects of radiotherapy, fi nancial support, living with colon cancer, advanced cancer and diet and cancer. The web address to reach these videos is quite lengthy, so follow this tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/oxzh9lj or visit www.macmillan.org.uk, click cancer information and then choose other languages from the side bar.

Contributed by the BSL&LAWG

SCoDNEWS Issue 29 Winter/Spring 2014

When I was writing the piece on Language origin (see next page), I thought I’d better check the earliest historical mention of Sign Language. I’d read about Socrates mentioning it in 400BC. It was

interesting to fi nd the reference to Deaf men working in the Hittite

temples in what is now Turkey/Syria in 1350BC.

I think I then googled “Hittite+Deaf” or something similar and was amazed to fi nd an article about Dr Derek Braun, former student of Gallaudet Deaf University in Boston, USA. Dr Braun is looking into the genealogy of the Connexin 26 gene – a cause of deafness.

Genes are our pattern of inheritance, passed down from our parents and grandparents. Sometimes genes mutate – or change. It is the mutation of the connexin 26 which causes some types of genetic deafness.

The interesting thing is that there is evidence that the fi rst mutation of this gene may have occurred around Aleppo during the Hittite empire in what is now Turkey/Syria.

Gene mutations can have more than one effect and geneticists have established that people with the connexin 26 gene mutation are more resistant to diseases like cholera. Did Deaf people survive when huge members of the hearing population were killed by the plague?

Well! Let’s hope we hear more about this.

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101 Police single non-emergency number101 is the new number to contact Police Scotland that replaces existing non emergency numbers. This is for you to call when you want to get through to the police when it is less urgent than 999.

When should you use 101?You should use 101 to report less urgent crime or disorder, to contact the police with a general enquiry or to speak to a local offi cer.For example; • if your car has been stolen;• if your property has been damaged; • where you suspect drug use or dealing; • if you want to report a minor traffi c

collision; • if you want to give the police information

about crime in your area; or• if you’d just like to speak to a local police

offi cer.The 101 number is available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.

Need the police?

www.scotland.police.uk/101Add Police 101 to your mobile now.

Scottish Council on Deafness

The Next Generation Text Service

There has been a national text relay service in the UK since 1991 enabling textphone users to contact hearing people over the telephone and of course enabling voicephone users to contact textphone users. BT is launching an improved service known as the Next Generation Text Service (NGTS) in April 2014. You will be able to make calls in exactly the same way with NGTS using your textphone but the new service will give you more ways to make a call so you don’t need to rely on a textphone.If you would like to be able to make calls via your computer or on the move, using a PC, laptop, various tablets and other mobile

devices you will be able to do so with a specially designed application. The app will be free to download in April 2014 from app stores or via the new NGTS website (www.ngts.org.uk). More information is available on the website.When you make a call, if you currently use your voice to speak but read the reply in text, NGTS will allow you to do so without having to change between voice and text as you do now with the current service. All you will need to do is use an internet connected device, such as a tablet or laptop, with the app installed and you will be able to speak and read at the same time, which will help the fl ow

of the conversation.If you are fed up with having to give out the 18002 prefi x to any hearing person who wishes to call you, NGTS will give you the ability to link your standard telephone number to a specifi c NGTS TextNumber. A TextNumber is just like an alternative phone number and can be given to friends and family and companies, so they can call you using this number without the need to use the 18002 prefi x. More information on how to register for a TextNumber is available on the NGTS website along with full details of the new service.

The reason for this article is that we've seen it reported on a couple of occasions that Thomas Braidwood invented BSL and we need to set the record straight.

No-one really knows the origin of language. There are theories but none can be proved because language was born such a long time ago – something like 300-500,000 years ago. What is certain is that language was not invented. And that includes Sign Language. The earliest recorded indication so far of Sign Language dates back to the Bronze Age – around 1350BC - in Turkey where Deaf men working in the Hittite temples there used Sign Language.

I like the theory that early man used both speech and sign and that speech “won” because it was easier to speak and shoot

your dinner; speak and build a fi re and speak and cook at the same time than to sign and do these thing simultaneously.

What is certain is that human language is at a different level compared to bird song and other animal communication systems which comprise a simple set of warning and information calls. Human language can express complex ideas includingConditionals – sentences using “if”uncertaintly - sentences using “maybe”the future – tomorrowthe past – 300,000 years ago

Sign Languages such as British Sign Language (BSL) can express such complex information.

Thomas Braidwood was the Edinburgh teacher who in 1760 was asked to accept the deaf son of a wealthy merchant into his school following which he set up the fi rst school for the Deaf in the UK.

Braidwood was secretive about his methods but it is now thought that he may have watched his Deaf pupils communicating through Sign and adapted his teaching methods to incorporate this. If he did, then he is to be congratulated for his understanding of how the Deaf communicate and let's applaud him for that. But please, let's appreciate language whether spoken or signed for what it is - a wonderful naturally occurring phenomenon.

Thomas Braidwood Did Not Invent BSL! by Alison Coyle


A Wordle About our Annual Report 2012/13

This year we decided to make a “wordle” for the front cover of our Annual Report. By defi nition a wordle is simply a visual representation of text. In action it is much more as it can convey many thoughts and ideas very quickly - visually. Presented at our AGM, the annual report was once again very well received. The Vice-Convenor was particularly impressed with the number of visitors (‘hits’) our website achieves. Last year we had over 205,000 hits, averaging out at around 570 each day. That is quite an achievement and, as the Vice Convenor said, is testament to the currency and relevancy of the information held within! But that does not mean we can relax! Our next plan is to revamp the site - as a full overhaul is long overdue. While the site still looks appealing, its coding is out of date which makes it diffi cult to embed footage and add on widgets (like a Twitter feed, for example).

Let’s hope that by the time you read our next newsletter we will have something exciting to report on that front.As you may already know, our website has always housed a calendar which is fi lled with accessible events held throughout Scotland and sometimes further afi eld. We include accessible screenings of mainstream fi lms and interpreted theatre shows and the calendar is maintained with high frequency by our Information Offi cer, Nick.We recently switched to Google Calendar to power this feature and have never looked back as it offers superb fl exibility. It is much easier to add new events and being powered by Google has a range of underlying benefi ts - not least of which is the Google Map link enabling users not only to fi nd out very quickly exactly where an event is taking place - but also showing them how to get there too.Visit our calendar now! www.scod.org.uk

57 Deaf people were interviewed about their school experiences. The Back to School Team has viewed the footage and Alison is working on the booklet which will accompany the 3 DVD box set.That just leaves the editing and design work outstanding.

The stories recorded give a fascinating picture of the lives of Deaf children from the 1940s to the 1970s. At this time the majority of educationalists believed that Deaf children should attend boarding schools from an early age and many of our interviewees talk about their

fi rst day when their parents were told to leave without saying goodbye.

Watching the stories, feelings of

sadness – tiny Deaf children realising they are at school to stay, crying every night for their parents – turn to joy when they become part of the school community learning to sign with each other.

Some of the experiences are quite shocking. Today’s young people are taught at primary school that they have human rights which must be respected. This did not apply to the pupils who were made to eat disgusting food and do hours of chores. Shock turns to anger as more and more interviewees

tell how let down they feel at not receiving an adequate education.

This is a taster of what we have captured on fi lm, but we don’t want to spoil your viewing by telling you any more.Suffi ce to say that these memories are from an era which has now gone, but which is very much a part of Deaf History.

We are so grateful to the participants for sharing their experiences with us.We are also grateful to our funders without whom this project could not go ahead.

Hugh Fraser FoundationMartin Connell Charitable TrustJTH Charitable Trust

DVD Project


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At SCoD we have always had a series of Position Statements, outlining our views on how best to achieve full and fair access for deaf people in every aspect of life. Until now, these statements have only ever existed on our website and on an information DVD dating from 2003. Thanks to funding from Awards for All, the Soutar Charitable Trust, Martin Connell Charitable Trust and the Cruden Foundation, we have been able to rewrite and update these Position Statements, producing printed versions of 16 individual statements, presented in a wallet to keep them all tidily and conveniently together.

Position Statement packs are now ready and include our stance on:Access to Information, Accessible Public Transport, Accessible Transport Infrastructure, Audiology, Consultation, Counselling, Deaf People with Complex Needs, Health Services, Informed Consent, Linguistic Access and Communication, MMR Vaccinations, Newborn Hearing Screening, Procurement, Residential Care, Self-Directed Support and Social Work Services.

A series of six Information Sheets also accompanies the statements and these cover:Accessible Information, Communication Support, Deaf Awareness Training, Defi nitions of Deafness, The Equality Act 2010 and Terminology.

Packs are free and can be collected from our office ... while stocks last!

Packs are being sent out to local authorities and other statutory bodies and the Consortium project staff will also be taking packs out with them for distribution. Our next plan is to fi lm British Sign Language (BSL) translations of these Position Statements and post all clips to our website enabling even wider access to these important documents.All of the Position Statements have been uploaded to our website as pdf fi les. Text /HTML versions have also been created for the site. Another reason to pay us a visit! www.scod.org.uk.

Thanks to Awards for All, The Souter Charitable Turust, Martin Connell Charitable Trust and the Cruden Foundation for their support in making these packs possible.


A SCoD Welcome to our Honorary President!

We were delighted to see so many of our members and associates at our National Council at Touchbase in October. The

Touchbase staff were really helpful as usual which contributed to the success of the day. The meeting was chaired by our Vice Convenor, Andy Irvine as the Convenor, Donald Richards

couldn’t be there. After warming up with teas and coffees we got down to business. First of all, the Vice Convenor introduced Janis McDonald,

who would take up post as SCoD Director in January after Lilian Lawson’s retirement.

The Director reported on the key areas of her current work and then handed the fl oor to Alison who gave a presentation entitled 21st Century SCoD, which outlined the activities of our organisation since Lilian’s appointment as Director in 2000. The presentation highlighted the many ways SCoD represents deaf people on national forums including the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, NHS departments Social Work divisions and the

Westminster Government, in particular meeting with Anne McGuire, then Minister for Disabled People to pass deaf people’s concerns regarding new Access to Work guidelines directly to the Minister.

Over the years, speakers from key organisations in Scotland have come to speak at our National Council meetings and AGMs including Donald Lyons, Chief Executive of the Mental Welfare Commission; Malcolm McIvor Chief Executive of the General Teaching Council; Joan Jamieson MSP and Nicola Sturgeon, Depute First Minister of Scotland who met deaf people at the National Conversation event organised by SCoD. At every one of our meetings, we have interesting speakers to address topical issues where deaf people have full communication support and the opportunity to make comments and ask questions in a way which is comfortable for them.After Alison’s presentation, Management Committee member, Frances Dolan proposed that Lilian should become Honorary President of SCoD.This was agreed to unanimously.

Lilian looking mortifi ed as her past is paraded before her!

Honorary Treasurer Alan and Fundraiser Linda discuss the

budget over lunch Scottish Council on Deafness

After a most enjoyable lunch, we reconvened for the AGM where Lilian’s appointment as Honorary President was confi rmed. Alan Macdonald continues as Honorary Treasurer for another year (his fortieth with SCoD!) and Carly Brownlie of SASLI, John Brownlie of Sign Video, Joel Kelhoffer of AC2.com and Trudi Collier of BDA were elected as new members of the Management Committee.

Lilian was expecting to give a presentation next, but was overwhelmed when she learned that instead a presentation had been prepared about her! She was even more amazed when a group of her old friends and colleagues came in to join the meeting. She later discovered that Alison had been furtively emailing and collecting photos and stories for the past year which she and Nick had compiled into a “This is Your Life” book. During the presentation, which told Lilian’s personal story, there were three key speakers. First up was Valerie Helliwell, her friend since they attended Donaldson’s nursery together and who now lives in the south of England. It was so good to hear Valerie’s account of that special friendship. The second speaker was Martin Colville. He spoke about the BSL Research Project at the Scottish Sensory Centre in the 1980s and emphasised the importance of that programme in the recognition of BSL as a language. Lilian worked on the project with Martin and the late Mary Brennan. Others from Donaldson’s and Mary Hare schools had come along as well as colleagues from Lilian’s previous workplaces. Altogether, there were over 50 messages in the “Red Book” which was presented to Lilian by the fi nal speaker, Jim Macdonald, Honorary Member of SCoD.

For the fi rst time in ten years, according to her Staff, Lilian did not know what to say...However she managed to collect herself and say some words of thanks. After that, people who had not seen each other for years got together to catch up. Old friendships were renewed and new ones made. Oh – and there was wine, too. Everyone had a wonderful time.

LIL

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Best friend:Valerie Helliwell

Jim MacDonald

Martin Colville

Lilian, This is Your Life!

“I am most fortunate to have had a brilliant team of Staff at SCoD”

I have always been interested in watching sports. My earliest memory of watching the Olympics was when Anita Lonsbrough, a swimmer, won her Gold Medal in Rome in 1960 on a black & white TV at home. When Edinburgh hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1970, I bought tickets for the Opening Ceremony and was fortunate to see two Scotsmen winning medals – David Wilkie and Lachie Stewart. That was like icing on the cake!

London Olympics 2012 were wonderful to watch. I was impressed with the way games makers had worked and had made a huge contribution to the success of these games.

So when I read in the press that the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 were looking for volunteers (and knowing I will be retired by then), I quickly logged on to my computer and registered my interest to volunteer. There was the online volunteer application form to fi ll in. I did that and waited for a reply.

I got an email inviting me to attend an interview. I logged into the website to pick a date in May 2013 and noted, when reading the guidelines, that the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 would not provide or pay for BSL/English interpreters. I sent a few emails to the Volunteer team seeking clarifi cation and reminding them about the Equality Act 2010. Rather than jeopardising my chances of getting a volunteer place, I brought my own BSL/English Interpreter. I was advised by someone with ‘inside information’

that I should ask the Volunteer team for a BSL version of the introductory fi lm. So I did that.

On the day of the interview, I went along to the Volunteer Centre with the BSL/English Interpreter. I have to say the staff were friendly and co-operative. After checking my credientals, I was taken to a room where the introductory fi lm was shown. Yes they showed the correct version – there were a BSL signer and subtitles. After that, I was taken to a small room for an interview. I was assured a few times that it would be very informal and horizontal – their words, not mine! As soon as the interview proceeded, I quickly realised it was not informal – the questions were tough. It was like applying for a director’s job! Anyway, I thought I did well. The interviewer seemed to be impressed and did tell me that if it was up to her, she would say “defi nitely yes”. I came away feeling hopeful.

I had to wait until 17th December before I received the email telling me I had been accepted. Unfortunately, the email also said that “any requirement for BSL/English Interpreters would be provided by yourself and we would ask that you make us aware of this prior to the event”. SO the fi ght continues!

SCoD has received many emails and telephone calls from deaf organisations raising questions why deaf and deafblind people had to make own arrangements for communication services for their interviews. SCoD raised this concern with the Scottish Government Equality Unit. We were aware that the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 had received substantial funding

by Lilian Lawson

from the Scottish Government to ensure that disabled people have full access. The Scottish Government Equality Unit agreed that should not have happened and gave SCoD names of three offi cials who would be willing to meet with SCoD, Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters and Signature. This meeting took place in SCoD Offi ces on 30th October. The offi cials took note of all our concerns and advice on accessibility. They promised to give us their response regarding provision of communication services for deaf volunteers before the Cross Party Group on Deafness meets on 3rd December.

Since that meeting, we were shocked to learn from a deaf applicant who had successfully applied to be one of the Mascots. He had a BSL/English interpreter for his interview but since he successfully got one of the places, he was told to pay for BSL/English interpreters for training, meetings, etc.! We passed on this case story to the Scottish Government but have had no response to date.

I cannot understand why the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 did not follow London Olympics 2012’s example. Deaf Games Makers had positive stories of their volunteering experiences and BSL/English Interpreters were provided for their interviews, training, etc.

I am so pleased to be one of the 50,811 people who applied to volunteer and am really looking forward to being a ‘clydesider’ at the Commonwealth Games.

She’s One in 50,811


Get me a man without a moustache!

Writing of her experience since “the world became silent”, she tells of an incident in a shop. When asked what she wanted, she replied “Will you please get me a man without a moustache,” a request she repeated more loudly when she was met with an expression of bewilderment. By the time she realised what she had said seemed strange, half of the customers in the shop “were convulsed” and she couldn’t speak for laughing as she tried to explain that she needed to lipread and the man’s moustache was hiding his lips.The writer goes on to encourage other readers with hearing loss to persevere and learn lipreading, a skill best mastered with the support of an excellent teacher, she advised.Fast forward to May 1993 and an article in our newsletter by Sarah Kilby, lipreading teacher. She begins her article by saying “Hearing loss is a terrible blow to the confi dence. All of a sudden people start treating you like a fool...One of the ways people can be helped to cope better is by coming to a well run lipreading class, taught by a qualifi ed teacher of lipreading to adults.” Funding for lipreading classes has been sporadic over the years – you’d think that the authorities would have understood the need

The British Deaf Times of November 1908 featured an article called “The Silent World” written by “A Lipreader”

by now, given that deafened people have been asking for lipreading classes since at least 1908! In our newsletter of June 2012, we reported that the Scottish Government had awarded £200,000 funding to the Scottish Lipreading Strategy Group to develop a course to Train Tutors of Lipreading. We really hope that this is the beginning of continued and consistent support for lipreading in Scotland.

If you are looking for a local lipreading class or group you could try enquiring at your local library. Alternatively, you

could visit the ATLA website. ATLA is the Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults and has a website with a search function enabling you to fi nd classes in your area. Visit: www.lipreading.org.uk/lipreading-classes.html

Finally – please have a good look at the cartoons. It’s my guess that many of you reading this will be nodding in agreement. For others, please think about your fellow readers and try not to make life diffi cult for them.

Don’t face the lipreader

Stand with the light behind you

by Alison Coyle

Talk with your hand over your mouth

Unnecessary background noise on the TV

Walk into another room while talking

How to Annoy a Lipreader



Working on the Great Tapestry of Scotland

Caroline working on the vowels

It is just over a year ago that I joined the Cammo Quilters with the mission of completing a panel, number 64. By sheer coincidence this is one that depicts the Dumbiedykes School for the Deaf. The link with myself? I was born severely hard of hearing but as a

child missed the chance of attending Donaldson’s School for the Deaf in Edinburgh. The two schools have an historic association and while stitching I contemplated what life might have been like had I learned BSL.

The six members of our group took it in turns taking the panel home for several days at a time. For me it was quite stressful trying to match my handiwork to my quilting colleagues (I knit, but I don’t quilt!). Some of the stitches were very tricky to execute and the frame needed frequent tensioning. The artist allowed us plenty of leeway into how we interpreted his pictures, but we had a set thread colour palette. Some of the stitches were truly amazing – a testimony to the creative imaginations of the volunteers. At the exhibition I could only stare in wonder at the efforts of the other groups.

Stitching this panel brought back some uncomfortable memories for me. My childhood world revolved around seeking the artistic solitude of activities like drawing and knitting. I thought

back to the days of the playground when kids would yank my box hearing aid - complete with heavy 3V battery - from my pinafore pocket. The hours spent in contemplation whilst contributing to such a worthy legacy was true therapy. It is refreshing to abandon the high speed megabyte, ultra-pixelated information superhighway for the peace and relaxed tempo of the thread through

cloth.

Many people asked me if I ever get bored doing stitch work, or how I could sit for hours doing the same little stitch over and over again. Not nearly as boring as staring at walls or now, struggling to listen to accents and the many who do not care about speaking clearly. I have come to regard these spells of ‘me time’ as a time to ‘just be in the moment’ and to live in the present, lost in my thoughts and appreciating just who I am. I am thankful that my disability has given me an ability to appreciate more of the simpler things in life and make a small contribution to a huge work of art.

I feel very privileged to leave my mark on Scottish heritage. Rather than seek my 15 minutes’ fame in public, I have left behind dozens and dozens of turns of colourful threads knotted in linen that may still be there centuries later.

by Caroline Watson

The Great Tapestry of Scotland consists of 160 delicately stitched panels depicting events in the history of Scotland from the ice age to modern times. Brainchild of author Alexander McCall Smith, artist Andrew Crummy and historical writer Alistair Moffat, the 143 metre long work attracted around 1000 stitching volunteers from all over the country. In September of this year the completed work was exhibited for three weeks at the Scottish Parliament where it attracted more than 30,000 visitors.

Did you miss the exhibition at the Scottish Parliament? Don’t worry - it will return in July for three months. Find out more: www.scotlandstapestry.com

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The work took 65,000 hoursIt used 300 miles of woolConsists of 160 panelsIt is double the length of the Bayeux TapestryTook almost two years to completeForty Margarets worked on it!

Tapestry Facts

Panel 64 was stitched by the Cammo Quilters who are:Katherine ForsythRosemary Gordon-HarveyAvril GreenElizabeth ReekieGillian SwansonNorma WatkinsCaroline Watson

Hand-stitched in Edinburghh

Rev. Alistair Kelly10th March 1933 - 4th November 2013, Aged 80

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We were sad to learn of Rev Alistair Kelly’s passing. He was a member of our Management Committee for many years and represented Albany Deaf Church on our National Council. SCoD Convenor Donald Richards attended his funeral at Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh and we sent a letter of condolence to Alistair’s widow and family.Donald Richards said it was a very moving ceremony, attended by many people, deaf and hearing. The Edinburgh Deaf Choir sang hymns in BSL.

Rev. Kelly:Minister

Children’s Panel Reporter Artist

SCoD Representative

Rev Kelly:

Set yourself a challenge this year. Explore some of Scotland’s beautiful countryside on one of our treks – raising vital funds for SCoD as you go! We are delighted to introduce our treks for 2014, including for the fi rst time The Sutherland Trail in August. For more information, please visit our website: www.scod.org.uk and choose support SCoD or telephone us here at SCoD. Our full contact details are on the back page.

Proceeds will be dedicated to the building of a new Learning and Development Centre in Lenzie for deafblind people. For enquiries or tickets please call 0141 777 5823 or email [email protected] Deafblind Scotland, 21 Alexandra Avenue, Lenzie G66 5BG

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BSL welcomes rolled out across the service

Glasgow Museums is delighted to announce that after the success of the introductory welcome video in the People’s Palace, welcome videos in British Sign Language are now available for all nine Glasgow Museums on the museums website at www.glasgowmusuems.com They can be found at the “about page” for each individual museum. Also

on these pages (except for the People’s Palace – that’s coming soon) you will fi nd welcome videos in International Sign language as we prepare to welcome visitors from all over the world during the Commonwealth Games and beyond. Visit: www.glasgowmuseums.com

International Hearing Loop Conference

Hearing Link hosted this year’s International Hearing Loop Conference – “Hearing Loops for All” – at the Winter Gardens in Eastbourne. Over the two days of conference, more than 200 delegates listened to 47 different presentations on the subject of hearing loops and induction loop systems and took part in many discussions about hearing loops here and now and what the future may hold. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend and to enjoy the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to talk to them about the issues and experiences they have at home. On the Saturday night before the conference began, there was a “Let’s Get Acquainted” evening on the Eastbourne Pier. This was a chance to meet old friends and make new ones. There was even a bonfi re, fi reworks and a parade of

pirates, dancers and drummers to enjoy courtesy of the Eastbourne Bonfi re Society. A coincidence I am sure, but a good one.

There were too many seminars for one person to attend, but I managed to go to several. The fi rst was about hearing aids and why many people fi nd that hearing loop products do not work for them. For example, if the T-coil has not been activated in the person’s hearing aid, no matter how many loop systems there are, that person will not benefi t from them. Many electricians who are fi tting loop systems haven’t had any training in how to do the fi tting properly and do not understand why certain things need to be done in a certain way.Another seminar I went to was about how Asda has been making their stores more accessible to hearing aid wearers. This work started in 2003 and there is a commitment to introduce loop systems to more and more of

their stores. Are there any other supermarket chains doing this in the UK?

The conference fi nished with a “Challenge the Panel” session that gave us an opportunity to put questions to people from the hearing loop companies, hearing aid manufacturers, audiologists and public bodies. The main questions from the audience were why aren’t all hearing aids fi tted with a telecoil (T-Coil) and why can’t hearing aids automatically pick up whether or not there is a hearing loop present. The panel explained that it is about wearer choice – not all wearers want this technology in their aids.

It was a good two days and well worth attending. I learned a lot. I also met many good people who are all trying to do what we do every day and that is make their small piece of the world accessible for people with a hearing loss.

by Mandy Reid

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Deaf People at Home

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Deaf People at HomeDeaf People at Home is a collection of stories about the home life experiences of Scottish Deaf people.Ask yourself: How do you know when your baby is crying? What about when someone rings your doorbell? How do you keep in touch with your friends?What do you do if you are ill and need the doctor?

Simple? Now, think about how you would answer if you were Deaf? Of course the stories presented here predate technical aids so there were no visual baby alarms, fl ashing doorbells or textphones. Solutions were therefore quite inventive and sometimes even dangerous! For example, one woman interviewed said she left the key in her door because people had been knocking and then going away after getting no answer! One young mother slept with

one hand on her baby. If the baby started crying she would feel it and waken up. Imagine having to rely on friends, neighbours or family to make telephone calls on your behalf? Perhaps we take our privacy for granted too much! Order your copy of the DVD (and the others in the series) using the form below or if you don’t want to cut up your newsletter, simply send us a cheque with your details and detail which DVD(s) you’d like to order.

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scod news issue 29

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