Congratulations to Paul Kirby for being shortlisted from over 250 nominations to be included in the ‘Signature Hall of Fame’ of people who have advanced the cause of the Deaf Community and their rights of equal access to information, education and services in their own Language, BSL.
Paul was nominated by his employer, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for his unstinting efforts to develop Deaf Awareness and Sign Language skills across the CQC and care institutions, locally and nationally. In addition, he is much loved and admired by both the Dorset Deaf Community, as an inspirational role model & champion of BSL and the hearing community who have experienced his wonderful talent as a communicator and teacher. Many of us can testify to the influence he has had on our lives. He says he doesn’t want nominations and awards and that his reward is seeing the smiles on the faces of people that benefit from the exposure to British Sign Language and the gathering pace of its inclusion in the fabric of society, bringing Deaf and hearing people together in equal opportunity.
Well done Paul, and very best wishes for the formal recognition of your achievements at the awards ceremony in November, at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
We would like to share with you another celebration of the achievements of deaf and hard of hearing people in our local community and today we are featuring Gwen Raggett MBE. Now a spritely 96-year-old, great grandmother, Gwen has been hard of hearing all her life though perhaps only being diagnosed during her World War II service in the Women’s Land Army aged 19. At that time, she was a charge hand for a group of 100 girls from all over the UK, working and living together in Redenham House, Weyhill near Andover. She recalls that some of the girls thought her aloof and stuck up, probably, she now realises, through her not always hearing or responding appropriately to their conversation and the tendency like many deaf people to withdraw from group social interactions. Her astute mistress and mentor noticed her behaviour and correctly ascribed it to her hearing loss rather than indifference or snobbery. Remarkably Gwen had excelled at school, even winning a scholarship to Talbot Heath Girl’s Schools that regrettably her parents barred her from taking up, partly through being unable to afford the cost of her uniform but also through a belief that a young woman’s place is in the home as a housewife and mother rather than pursuing a short-lived career. Prior to her diagnosis and the issue of smaller transistorised body worn hearing aids on the NHS, Gwen had relied on her naturally acquired ability in lip reading to follow one to one conversation. She acquired her first hearing aid in her late 30’s at the same time her younger son, George was also diagnosed with a mild hearing loss as a result of the national screening program set up in the 1950’s to identify school children with a hearing loss and hence to provide technical aids and educational settings best suited to their needs. As with many parents of deaf children then and still today, she was tenacious in her efforts to ensure the best possible outcomes for him. Of course, she had her own experience of deafness and so, well understood the issues of living and learning with hearing loss and the pros and cons of body worn hearing aids. She used this knowledge to challenge the perceptions of both medical and educational experts who did not have this first-hand life experience. Looking back, she was an early champion of raising deaf awareness in these institutions.
An interest in family history research and with support from her daughter in law led to the revelation that there is a long history of hereditary hearing loss In her family beginning with her great, great grandmother, Elizabeth Court, born in Weymouth and who was herself described as “deaf from birth” in the 1871 census when she was 39 years old, as indeed were several of her children. Prior to the 1871 census this information was not routinely recorded. Many of Gwen’s close relatives, brothers, nephews, nieces, grand and great grandchildren also developed hearing loss, seemingly starting from about 7–8 years of age. Such hereditary hearing loss is relatively uncommon, when statistically, 9 out 10 deaf children are born to hearing parents with no family history of early onset of hearing loss. Her own family would no doubt provide an interesting genetic study for this condition. Since her Land Army days from 1943–1949, Gwen has continued to dedicate herself to the service of others in the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, WRVS, (now homogenised to RVS) for over 55 years and with her work in Bournemouth Libraries Home Book service and further voluntary work with Stroke patients and their families. In 2004 Gwen received the MBE from her majesty the Queen for these services and only stopped when the Covid pandemic gave rise to local council policy of not allowing people aged over 65 to work in these voluntary capacities. Despite this, Gwen has kept herself busy corresponding with former colleagues and customers by letter, phone and occasional visits to drop off birthday and Christmas gifts. She has also been in demand to recount her personal testimony of her life in the Land Army for various projects and exhibitions to show case and record this important history for future generations. Her personal story has been included in a recently published book; “Remarkable Women of World War II” by Victoria Panton Bacon, The History Press (ISBN 978 0 7509 9996 0) Her illustrated story can also be found on the Women’s Land Army website. Gwen keeps herself up to date with the work of Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association that she has supported since it’s inception in 2007 and their signing choir, Significance, donating equipment and funding for social activities. She is one of many deaf and HOH people who have enriched the lives of their own families and countless others they have met in their life’s journey, ever cheerfully and uncomplainingly. All of them role models for all with any level of hearing loss that they too can contribute to their local communities and wider society when given the opportunity.
Congratulations to Evelyn Anne Riggs on passing her Music Teachers Board, Performance Keyboard Grade 1 examination, with Merit. Evelyn has been deaf since birth and struggled in early life due to a lack of suitable technology for her type of hearing loss and several failed operations from the age of 10. Then, 40 years ago in 1982, she became one of the first people in the UK to be fitted with a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) that she says transformed her life.
Evelyn Anne Riggs
Evelyn has a deep passion for music and learned to play piano and keyboard. She has a beautiful singing voice and is a member of the voice choir at St Clements Church, Poole. Evelyn studied British Sign Language (BSL) part time, at Bournemouth and Poole College, achieving her Level 1 qualification taught by Paul Kirby and continues to develop her skills, attending workshops with WDDA. In 2011 she became one of the founding members of the WDDA Signing Choir, Significance and subsequently, St Clements Signs in Worship Group from 2015.
For both, she is always the first to arrive and last to leave at weekly practices and performances. Her determination, unruffled and stoical character makes her a wonderful role model for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in performing songs and music in these diverse and expressive forms. Well done Evelyn and all good wishes for your continuing development and sharing of your passion.
With the UK now on lockdown it is more important than ever that people who are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing are able to effectively communicate with others in order to access essential services and reduce feelings of isolation.
InterpreterNow is an online service that enables Deaf and hearing people to communicate with each other: https://interpreternow.co.uk/
If you’re a support worker now having to work from home, concerned about how to maintain contact with vulnerable clients at this time, this article from Action on Hearing Loss should also help you.
Freya is a 6th form student at Bournemouth School for Girls (BSG) who we had the pleasure of working with to achieve her 101 BSL qualification. She has set up her own BSL Lunch Club at the school for all year groups to practice and develop their own skills in using Sign Language, with continued support from WDDA, for those who want to pursue a qualification. She is a wonderful ambassador and role model for deaf and hearing students alike. Read her inspiring message below:
My Advice to Those like Me:
There is a quote by Frederick C. Schreiber that says “deaf people can do anything that hearing people can do…except hear”. This has always been an important reminder to me that no matter what happens to my hearing, I can still achieve what I wish to. I look at myself now, and I am Deputy Head Girl at my School, I represent Dorset on the NCS Regional Youth board, I volunteer with various groups, I passed my GCSE’s and am now onto my A levels, and not once did my hearing get in the way of that. So if anybody ever tells you that there is something you can’t do because of your hearing, my best advice would be, ignore them, push past them and prove them wrong, because they have no idea what they are talking about. Only you can decide where you want to go with your life. Your body consists of 206 bones, over 600 muscles, 11 organ systems and 37.2 trillion cells. You are made up of so much more than just your ears, so in no way will your hearing define who you are or who you want to be unless you want it to. Embrace yourself, ears and all, because there is only one version of you out there, and it is the most perfect one there is.
– Freya Pretty
Our ‘Sign for Change’ programme aims to introduce 600 children and young people in Dorset to British Sign Language (BSL) each year. On a wider level we anticipate that our work within local Nursery and Primary Schools will have a hugely positive impact on the local community as our deaf awareness training helps to break down the barriers to communication faced by pupils who are deaf or have a hearing loss and create a more inclusive environment within your educational setting. We already have a proven track record of successfully delivering deaf awareness courses and teaching BSL at secondary level at Bournemouth School for Girls and Twynham School and, more recently, at primary level at Talbot Heath School.
Equipping children and young people with the knowledge and skills to be able to communicate with deaf friends also increases self-esteem, provides a foundation for developing sign language skills in the future as they start to think about further education and career paths and, most importantly, helps to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.
To give you an idea of the costs involved to introduce the ‘Sign for Change’ programme – £160 will give 20 of your pupils access to 4 hours (delivered over 4 weeks) of deaf awareness and communication training, specifically tailored to their age group. This works out at just £8 per pupil or £2 per pupil, per week. We are able to deliver sessions flexibly to fit around your curriculum and other activities so if you would like us to deliver sessions in an alternative format please just let us know.
Upon completion of the ‘Sign for Change’ programme pupils will be able to converse with a signer they have met for the first time using a range of everyday terms and vocabulary to exchange personal details, modes of transport, family, food and drink, calendar, time, weather and clothes. They will be practiced in rules of basic grammar and structure of British Sign Language and be prepared for studies in further topics.
If you would like to find out more about how our ‘Sign for Change’ programme can form part of your school’s enrichment programme and/or to discuss the possibility of WDDA facilitating a fun, educational and inclusive after school club please contact Zoe at admin@wdda.co.uk
Congratulations to all 19 students at Bournemouth School for Girls on achieving your BSL 101 Unit after just 10 hours of study. What a fantastic achievement! Many thanks to Lynn and George for teaching the sessions and to Wendy for their valued input to the success achieved in the assessments. It’s a real testament to the students’ enthusiasm and commitment to learning a new skill, and to the skills of our valued tutors and volunteers to have another group achieve the qualification and be able to communicate in BSL with the local Deaf community and beyond.
Congratulations also to all the students at Twynham School on completing your 8 week introduction to Sign Language course with Stefy and Nigel. We are pleased to continue our long association with these two schools providing opportunities for their students to develop valuable communication skills that make a difference in their own lives and those of the Deaf Community they meet at work and socially.
We are looking to raise £5,000 to help fund our work supporting the development of a small team of Deaf and hearing BSL users to enable them to deliver Deaf Awareness & Communication training to local Nursery and Primary Schools in Dorset.
Our ‘Sign for Change’ programme aims to introduce 600 children and young people in Dorset to British Sign Language (BSL) each year. On a wider level we anticipate that our work within local Nursery and Primary Schools will have a hugely positive impact on the local community as our deaf awareness training helps to break down the barriers to communication faced by pupils who are deaf or have a hearing loss and create a more inclusive environment within your educational setting. We already have a proven track record of successfully delivering deaf awareness courses and teaching BSL at secondary level at Bournemouth School for Girls and Twynham School and, more recently, at primary level at Talbot Heath School.
Equipping children and young people with the knowledge and skills to be able to communicate with deaf friends also increases self-esteem, provides a foundation for developing sign language skills in the future as they start to think about further education and career paths and, most importantly, helps to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.
To give you an idea of the costs involved to introduce the ‘Sign for Change’ programme – £160 will give 20 of your pupils access to 4 hours (delivered over 4 weeks) of deaf awareness and communication training, specifically tailored to their age group. This works out at just £8 per pupil or £2 per pupil, per week. We are able to deliver sessions flexibly to fit around your curriculum and other activities so if you would like us to deliver sessions in an alternative format please just let us know.
Upon completion of the ‘Sign for Change’ programme pupils will be able to converse with a signer they have met for the first time using a range of everyday terms and vocabulary to exchange personal details, modes of transport, family, food and drink, calendar, time, weather and clothes. They will be practiced in rules of basic grammar and structure of British Sign Language and be prepared for studies in further topics.
If you would like to find out more about how our ‘Sign for Change’ programme can form part of your school’s enrichment programme and/or to discuss the possibility of WDDA facilitating a fun, educational and inclusive after school club please contact Zoe at admin@wdda.co.uk
Last month Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association Trustees, George and Donna, along with WDDA Tutor Lynn, had the pleasure of delivering a bespoke deaf awareness and communication tactics training day for the nuclear medicine team at Poole Hospital. Feedback from the staff who participated in the training course that was tailored to meet the needs of their specific department within the hospital and its patients has been fantastic with staff describing the day as “engaging, interactive and exceedingly interesting”.
The department’s enthusiasm and commitment to making Nuclear Medicine deaf friendly is something to be applauded. George was invited to visit the department, only a week or so after the training day, to give feedback on the practical changes put in to place within the department to help make it more deaf friendly and was impressed to learn that staff had already had the opportunity to put their newly learnt skills in to practise.
“The trainers managed to make it relevant to our clinical work, so if you need to know sign-language for ‘radioactive injection’ just ask one of our team. The learning from this day has already helped us communicate not only with our patients, but also with our colleagues and family members who are hard of hearing. We thoroughly recommend that other teams take the time to learn these skills.” – Kat Dixon, Head of Nuclear Medicine.
Would you like your staff to have a basic knowledge of sign language for meeting and greeting your customers, clients or service users?
WDDA offers bespoke BSL training packages for local organisations, businesses and workplaces. Our Bite Sized Introduction to BSL Communication Skills course can be tailored for your specific needs and delivered at your workplace, ensuring good uptake and minimising pressure on valuable staff time and resources. Upon completion of your training, you will be presented with a certificate to display so you can show the Deaf community and the community at large that you care. Your organisation/business will also be listed as a Deaf Friendly business on our website with a link to your website.
Interested? Simply complete and return our Workplace BSL Training Needs Questionnaire to admin@wdda.co.uk. With this information we will be able to suggest a course of suitable content, duration and cost.
BH Coastal Lottery is an exciting weekly lottery that raises money for good causes in Bournemouth. All good causes supported by the lottery will benefit Bournemouth and its residents.
Play the lottery, support Bournemouth – it’s that simple! To date, Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association has already received in the region of £100 thanks to the generosity of our supporters.
Tickets for the lottery cost just £1 per week. Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £25,000! That’s a better chance of winning than the National Lottery or the Health Lottery!
Each ticket will consist of 6 numbers and each number will be between 0 and 9. There will be a draw every Saturday night when a 6 digit winning combination will be picked. Prizes will be given to players with tickets that match the first or last 2-6 numbers from the winning combination. Match all 6 and you win the JACKPOT!
To support Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association all you have to do is to join the BH Coastal Lottery using the WDDA BH Coastal Lottery page. WDDA collect 50% of all ticket sales made.
Sunday 23 June 2019 saw WDDA tutors, trustees and supporters take our ‘Sign for Change’ campaign out in to the community as we hosted our second family fun day in Boscombe Chine Gardens. The aim of the event was to help bring hearing and Deaf children and families together and to help breakdown some of the barriers to communication by introducing families to BSL and I think it’s safe to say that we did just that! Our very own award winning Signature Sign Choir took centre stage performing a repertoire of songs, entertaining the crowds and engaging passers by and members of our Junior Sign Choir made a real impact with their first ever public performance. We had face painting, arts and crafts, a bric a brac stall, a Teddy Tombola, a fabulously entertaining magic show performed by local magician Andy Walker and a whole lot of cake (thank you to those who kindly donated homemade cakes on the day).
We are currently fundraising to support our work teaching Deaf parents of young pupils to deliver to Deaf Awareness & Communication training to local Nursery and Primary Schools in Dorset. Thanks to all who joined us on Sunday and kindly donated, helping us to raise £184.11 Our target is £5,000 – over the course of the past 12 months we have raised a whopping £2,976.26 with grants from AFCB Cherries Community Fund & South West Foundation, donations from Asda Green Token Charity Scheme, BH Coastal Lottery and PayPal Giving Fund and through our own fundraising events and the generosity of our supporters. THANK YOU!
Thank you to: Signature Sign Choir, WDDA Junior Sign Choir, Andy the Magician, Kate from Rainbow Face Painting and Body Art, Bournemouth Deaf Club, Friends of Boscombe Chine Gardens and all the WDDA trustees, tutors and supporters for donating their time and energy to support the event and an extra special thank you to all the children and families who came together to make the event such a success.
As well as our Deaf Communication Cards for Deaf BSL users we are pleased to announce the launch of our WDDA Hard of Hearing Cards.
These cards are available, free of charge, to those who have become deaf through illness or age.
Our Communication Cards offer a clear and concise list of prompts to help aid communication.
Please get in touch if you would like one. If you are an agency working with people who are hard of hearing and would be interested in holding a supply of cards to give to your service users please email admin@wdda.co.uk
