Deaf Consortium to Host Hustings

NDCS Cymru has joined forces with Wales Council for Deaf People, Deaf Access Cymru, and North Wales Deaf Association to host two hustings events.

The events, which will take place in Cardiff and Mold, will give people the opportunity to ask politicians from each of the four leading parties about deaf issues ahead of the National Assembly for Wales election in May.

If you would like to attend one of the events below, please book in advance:

Ty Hywel, Cardiff Bay – 18 March, 12 - 2pm



To book your place.

Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold – 19 April, 7 – 9pm



TO BOOK A PLACE VIA E-MAIL

COMMENT: Only TWO opportunities to question ? Why isn't the event on live feed ? or at more venues, ? the timing makes it almost impossible for many deaf to attend, especially those at work or in Mid-Wales. Given the technology available this is a poor way to offer deaf an chance to take politicians to task. We need MORE dissemination of what goes on from those attending, and, in a visual/titled nature.

50 years of quiet......

By Gill Roberts

THEY say the secret to a healthy and happy marriage is listening to one another. But for Mary and Barrie Evans from Lon Bryn Teg, in Neath, that has never been an option. The couple, who are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on Friday, are both deaf. But their daughter Ruth Evans said despite never being able to hear each other, they have had a blissful 50 years together.

This year they will also both mark their 71st birthday at a joint celebration with their two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. "They married at Glyncorrwg Methodist Church," said Ms Evans. "They are over the moon that they have reached 50 years. "They go on holidays all the time and have a normal life. "They also both worked up until retirement. My father worked in a cardboard factory and my mother worked in old people's homes. "Now they both love bowls — that is their big hobby."

Ms Evans, aged 46, from Cimla, said her mother was born deaf and her father lost his hearing after contracting meningitis when he was aged 2. "My father was born in Birmingham and my mother was from Glyncorrwg," she added. "Her sister moved to Birmingham to become a headmistress for the deaf. My mother went up there with her and it was in Birmingham they met each other. "They got married and initially settled in Birmingham, but came back to Wales to have children. My mother wanted us to be Welsh.

"Me and my sister were just brought up with the fact that they could not hear anything. "They use sign language and lip reading. "When we used to cry as babies we had a monitor by the bed so the lights would go on and off. "Also they had vibrations under the pillow to wake them as an alarm. Now they have mobiles so they do a lot of texting. My mother will text her grandchildren quite a lot." The family are now getting ready for a special evening to mark the landmark anniversary on Friday. "We are putting on a big party at the Grosvenor Casino on High Street in Swansea," she said.

"We are expecting around 40 people. It is going to be lovely. "The whole family is looking forward to the celebration."

SOURCE

North Wales Police Info

Health services are 'failing deaf children

Deaf children with additional needs are having their futures blighted by bad, unprofessional and often non-existent support and medical care. Some medical staff are "overwhelmed by these children's complexity of needs" while others treat deafness as a minor condition that can be addressed later in the child's life, according to the largest study into the experiences of deaf children with complex impairments, published on Wednesday.

In one case, doctors failed to diagnose a deaf child as also being profoundly blind until she was 18 months old, despite the mother repeatedly reporting her daughter's inability to see.
In another case, the behaviour of a blind toddler who repeatedly hit his head against hard surfaces was dismissed as normal for a child with learning disabilities. It was not until the father persuaded the doctor to watch a film he had made on his laptop, that the child was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Susan Daniels, chief executive of the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) at the University of Manchester, which funded the Complex Needs, Complex Challenges report, said: "We are alarmed by the findings of this research, which shows services are not geared up to support or care for children who are deaf and have other disabilities (sic)." The research revealed the "shockingly low" expectations some professionals have of these children: often, the report said, a result of them seeing a collection of conditions instead of the whole child.

SOURCE

History of 3 deaf schools at Cardiff

We are obliged to refer to an Article by Brian Lee.

"I DIDN’T know until reading Cedric Moon’s A Tale of Three Deaf Schools in South Wales that there used to be a school for deaf-and-blind children in Wood Street. Known as the Cardiff Oral School, it stood adjacent to St Dyfrig’s Church and was there from 1894 to 1898. A Miss S A Gibson, of 45 Clare Road, Cardiff, was appointed as a “teacher of deaf- and-dumb children at a salary of £70 a year”. However, she resigned after a year and was replaced by Emma Young, one of three applicants, at a salary of £100 a year.



It was later recorded that “deaf children to be transferred from Wood Street School to rooms used by the blind children at Adamsdown”, and the blind children transferred to another school. Other Cardiff Deaf school locations were Fitzalan Place 1898-1907, Howard Gardens 1907-1941, Llandaff School 1941-1943 and Jackson Hall in Westgate Street 1943-1950.

One person who was sent to Howard Gardens was Desmond Smith who was born in 1932 into a family of six sisters and three brothers. He became deaf when aged two after a fall down the stairs at home. He remembers that he spent a great deal of time speech training with the then new audio equipment and headphones.

Another Howard Gardens pupil David Hallewell, who was born deaf in 1930, remembers that the teachers were very strict oralists with much speech training involved. Signing was strictly forbidden. David lived near the docks and during the war where he lived there were smoke machines which “belched out an artificial fog to cover the docks and hide it from the Germans”.

Tremorfa-born Lawrence Viney was an early victim of the World War II when during an air raid alert, he ran to the nearest bomb shelter and hit his head on the door frame with such force it knocked him out, resulting in him being hospitalised for some time. On leaving hospital his mother noticed that he was misunderstanding things she said. He was eventually placed in the Oral School at Jackson Hall.

In his conclusion to this unique book, the author says: “The debate on oral or manual (sign and finger spelling) teaching methods was shown to be alive and kicking from the start. Of the three schools the Cardiff Oral School lasted longest, though in my view it was too small to be a really effective school.”

(A Tale of Three Deaf Schools in South Wales is published by The British Deaf History Society and obtainable from the society 11-13 Wilson Patten Street, Warrington,WA1 1PG at £10).

SOURCE

STOP PRESS: Tuesday 8th March 2011
2nd Book Launch of ‘A Tale of Three Deaf Schools in South Wales’.
At the Bridgend Centre for the Deaf, Tremains Road,
Brackla, Bridgend CF31 2AP
Doors Open 7 pm

Wales it DOES recognise BSL Access ?

Recent comment on another welsh site was "Now the yes vote is unanimous, will this mean BSL will achieve equal status alongside the Welsh language ?". Below is the WAG official stance. It stands by interpreter support, does not put BSL on equal footing really. There was no real access at all to inform deaf people of the YES vote or referendum itself.

British Sign Language (BSL)
Delivering in British Sign Language: Advice for Public Services
British Sign Language (BSL)

"We've taken positive action towards ensuring public services in Wales will be able to deliver their services in British Sign Language (BSL).

Facts:

BSL is a visual, spatial language with its own grammar, syntax, idioms, and regional variations. BSL is the first, or preferred language of an estimated 3,000 citizens of Wales.
BSL is recognised by the Welsh Assembly Government as a language in its own right.
More information about BSL can be found by visiting the useful links section at the bottom of this page.

BSL Futures is a unique scheme to improve access to public services for BSL users across Wales. The project was created in partnership with RNID Cymru, Deaf Association Wales and the Association of Sign Language Interpreters. The project set out to increase BSL teaching capacity and train more than 30 new interpreters and achieved its aim to train and register at least 30 professional BSL interpreters to work in Wales. The project was funded £2.7m by Welsh Assembly Government and the European Social Fund.

We have taken a leading role to ensure that services and service providers in Wales are fully able to meet the needs of BSL users across Wales.

The Assembly Government developed, for the public sector in Wales, best practice advice on providing services in BSL. This Best Practice advice will mean better utilisation of interpreter services in Wales. Capacity has been increased as a result of the BSL Futures project and will improve delivery of services in BSL in Wales by ensuring availability of interpreters to public bodies."

SOURCE

Wales says YES !

Wales has voted 2 to 1 in favour of the 'YES' vote, There are some considerable reservations deaf people had no idea of what it was all about, or were informed, either in their communications formats or at their clubs. I know most of my local deaf club had no idea there was even an referendum in the offering, let alone what it was about. Not since the BDA had funding 5 years ago, to inform on electoral policies, have welsh deaf got much at all from the political process via information.

What will the result actually mean - for Wales and the rest of the UK? The consequences of a referendum can range far beyond the question on the ballot paper. The direct result will be a substantial increase in the Welsh assembly's legislative powers.

At present, the assembly has powers over 20 broad policy areas, including health, education, the environment and transport, but it must ask parliament for primary law-making powers on a case-by-case basis. Now Wales votes Yes, the assembly could pass laws without first having to gain the consent of Westminster.

What is done with those powers, though, will depend greatly on the outcome of May's election, and any coalition negotiations that may follow. The implications of a Yes vote do not stop there. A substantial Yes vote will give a more general boost to the standing of the Welsh assembly.

A more powerful Welsh assembly and the Westminster government's planned reduction in Welsh MPs from 40 to 30 would likely produce a distinct shift in Wales's political centre of gravity. What goes on in London would still matter for Wales. But rather more of Welsh political life would tend to focus on Cardiff Bay.

Some consequences of a Yes might extend well beyond Wales. A more powerful Welsh assembly would reduce, though not eliminate, the asymmetries in devolution across the minority nations of the UK. This might lead to a renewed focus on devolution's major remaining anomaly - the position of England. The boost to the standing of the assembly and its ministers from a Yes might have consequences for Wales' weight in on-going discussions about revisions to the Barnett formula that governs the block-grants given to the devolved bodies.

The emerging consensus among Wales' political elite in recent years has regarded devolution as a developing process, with steadily growing - though not fervent - public support. Many people have criticised the Welsh referendum as being unduly technical - for concerning a matter of detail rather than one of fundamental principle. This may well be true. The outcome of the 2011 referendum vote is likely to do much to shape Welsh politics, and Wales' position within the UK, for many years to come.

Cymru Am Byth....

Are you Deaf and Welsh ?

Online welsh deaf are vastly unrepresented via an site or forum or any centralised area where they can gain or exchange information and viewpoints on the their daily lives, or their aspirations, would you like to see such a site set up ? and, importantly, would you support it ? suggestions and or support welcome.

Important: (1) NOT an social area as such, as it is pointless vying with Twitter and Facebook.
(2) NOT a dedicated BSL, site but an inclusive one. Let's take barriers down.

NO welsh site has ever fully represented all wales, can the deaf and HI do it ? Look at North Welsh Deaf Association see what they can do, and why, with SOUTH Wales being the most highly populated area, is completely unable to display anything like it ?

Pictorial dictionary by Eliza Pughe

A little bit of Welsh Deaf History for you.

This volume was created by Eliza Pughe, Coch y big, Clynnog who was about 12 years old at the time. The biographical note inside the volume says that she was born about 1831 and died about 1850 and that she was deaf. It's possible that she received her education at home as no formal system of educating deaf children was developed until the 1890s, but this volume is proof that someone had endeavoured to educate Eliza Pughe.

The beginning of the nineteenth century saw a number of important developments in education for the deaf and it's possible that this volume shows this influence. In 1817 the American Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787-1851) founded a pioneering school for the deaf in the United States. He was following in the footsteps of other pioneers including the Scot, Thomas Braidwood (1715-1806) who had founded a school for the deaf in Edinburgh in 1760.

The book comprises a series of drawings to illustrate everyday words. Interestingly, often there is a Welsh term and an English term under the drawing. A note inside the cover states that the volume was bound by Eben Fardd (Ebenezer Thomas, 1802-1863).



Ebenezer Thomas, 'Eben Fardd'/ Samuel Bellin, ca.1851.

View entire book HERE


SOURCE

Passports ? Going Abroad ?

(Assuming they don't CLOSE the only Passport office in Wales !).

Specific facilities are available for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who are blind or partially sighted. If you need some other help contact the Identity and Passport Service Passport Adviceline (see under heading Contacting the Identity and Passport Service), who will try to provide the necessary help.

If you're deaf or hard of hearing: The following services are available at passport offices:

a member of staff who is trained to use sign language skills

a textphone service with trained staff at the Passport Adviceline (see under heading Contacting the Identity and Passport Service)

induction loops (only available at some offices)

access to a quiet room, if the person has difficulty hearing what is being said because of noise at the main counter.

Unless you know different.....

The VRS Campaign at the Angel Hotel Cardiff

After arriving at Cardiff Hotel, I was shown into an ante-room where SOS (Sign on Screen), were holding a small but interesting display of technology, all was sign accessible. A number of people were there from Swansea, Cardiff, Bridgend, and Newport, a few Americans too !

Later we were ushered into the main hall to listen to Paul make the introduction for the VRS campaign team, currently traversing the UK to get support for an national VRS (Video Relay Service) set up in the United Kingdom. I got to ask a few questions after the intiial campaign speech, but was put on the spot by Carolyn Nabarro, and front of house ! to do BSL which isn't my thing at all.

Curiously there was an lip-speaker/audio dialogue going on at front of house. For hearing aid using deaf ? or just the video they were making ? I rather expected some interpreter back up, but no-one offered, so I did the best I could sign-wise. I asked about staffing levels, and regional interpreting via VRS, was not really satisfied they gave a lucid answer to this question, and the Lady officiating, was having difficulty following me I think. Very much an VRS campaign gig, but if they expect people like myself to take up VRS it is a non-starter, because I would see huge issues of them accommodating ANYONE but an BSL sign
using person, although again a bit vague on who that is, or how they could identify them in Wales, or, if the proposed system can accommodate various regional signs.

Glaringly, the VRS campaigns are not visiting Mid or North Wales, so South seems to be getting the privilege again !

If the VRS campaign is to be narrowed down to the type of signers I saw today, then take up is going to be very poor (My view), even if they succeed with a national campaign. How many will take the info BACK to their peers ? we will have to wait and see.... I was rather surprised the BDA rep said nothing at all, despite advertising on their website and sending their trustee there. Questions really needed to be put so deaf would know options, as usual it was the hard sell as expected, and low time allowed on accepting questions (Also the norm as we who are time-wear attendances at these functions).

There was a video or two, I am sure the Woolfe Family were in one of them, then again they are in everything aren't they. The vids very much staged, and you had to ask if in an emergency everyone would be as coherent as we saw. There seemed a lack of understanding with some speakers, although I had asked about costs and stated the American/Canadian experience of losing street terps to VRS work, and the UK was still struggling 3 or 4 terps per 300 deaf, it was repeated again about 10 minutes later. They needed text access as an extra, but I suppose the whole point was the assumption the system is solely for BSL using deaf only.

Which raised the issue how many exactly are there in Wales ? Surely not enough for an national set up ? The attack on 'English' was very much to the fore, so why all the publicity material was in it was a conundrum, I felt this was a sop to some deaf activism and not really useful to draw lines between deaf or 'Deaf' people,but accept this is sadly a norm now. The VRS accept deaf DO know English, but want to run a campaign on deaf NOT wanting it, or even unable to follow it.

I felt this shows some lack of deaf awareness at source of the VRS campaign, as most will have little issue with English. We had that 'preference' thing raised as an issue again, when the campaign is about NEED. Most deaf are freely bi-lingual and not really struggling as texting is a deaf norm now. Indeed was being used to twitter the proceeds of the meeting.

What sign would be used ? was another question I tried to put, would it be BSL /SE ?SSE? would we be able to insist on regional terps ? How ? there are less than 30 here as it is. Again VRS appeared vague on specifics, talked 'nationally' and in ignorance basically of the Welsh differences.... we were told only some 'central' area of interpreting. I was left with the same questions I went with. Also it was evident the VRS campaign knows it doesn't need welsh support, as most meetings are in English highly populated areas.

On the issue of medical interpreting, would deaf get a download of the diagnosis proceedings, as back up, and as a refer point if something went wrong or misunderstood ? Not the question anyone would really answer except, patient confidentiality and Hippocratic oaths, so NO basically. I'd prefer something to refer to in case (A) I Missed something or (B) wanted to raise issues, or even (C) not altogether following what the terp was stating, especially medical terminology.

They needed to mirror speech to text access which offers a print out, I suppose the sign version would require a video output given, but how this was to be done.... Never believe any deaf that say they got it all first time, it's common they talk afterwards to re-check as we know ! VRS without these questions being asked is going to be a non-starter I felt. Deaf in Wales also need to understand those who manufacture the VRS technology are using sales pitch and offering financing support to the VRS campaign, (TAG and UKCoD to name but 2 groups), we might ask is there a vested interested at work here ?

What THEY said.

Welsh YES vote AD captioned.

Thanks to Alison Bryan for this...