BSL clip - Tips on making a complaint to the NHS in England

It is hoped that further positive changes are taking place in the NHS as a result of the NDCS My Life My Health campaign. However if someone does need to make a complaint to the NHS in England  the Parliamentary Ombudsman  has created the following advice and support video.













Who are the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman?

Disability Matters - New e-learning resource

Disability Matters has just been launched. It is co-developed with disabled young people and parent carers. It is a free e learning resource designed to support organisations and workers to engage confidently with disabled children and young people.

Deaf Communication matters is one of many e-learning modules created by disability matters for the UK workforce.   The deaf communication module uses material from the NDCS My life, My health campaign .

Hearing Hands - Samsung

Samsung Turkey created the video “Hearing Hands”, to promote their video call center for people with hearing loss. Watch Muharrem's reaction as strangers around him use sign language to communicate with him and make his day inclusive.

Deaf friendly British Cycling affiliated Go-ride cycling club

Thorpe Ventures Cycling Club has worked closely with the PDDCS over the last year.  They have just become a British Cycling affiliated Go-ride cycling club. Their sessions are deaf friendly.

To make further enquires contact Steve at tvcyclingclub@thorpe-ventures.com.

NDCS: My Life, My Health

ndcs.org.uk/mylifemyhealth

The PDDCS is supporting a new health campaign this week to help encourage GPs and surgeries become more deaf aware.

The National Deaf Children’s Society launched My life, My health on 4 February to help ensure deaf teenagers get the health support they need and deserve. The campaign has been developed with the help of the charity’s Young People’s Advisory Board – a group of 17 deaf young people from around the UK.

Supported by the Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health, it is the first health campaign of its kind led by deaf young people. More than 200 deaf children and young people from across the UK were consulted to find out about their experiences of using health services, including visiting their GP. The findings, published in a new report, suggest there is currently a worrying lack of deaf awareness in GP surgeries.

Many health care professionals do not know how to communicate with a deaf child or young person. Surgeries do not always provide deaf friendly services, such as the option to book appointments by text message or visual display screens to announce appointments. It is vital all staff communicate clearly and that sign language interpreters are available to those who need them.

The My life, My health campaign highlights three key areas that need to be addressed: better deaf awareness; improved access to information and ensuring the right communication support is in place; supporting deaf teenagers to become more independent in managing their own health care.

Nicola, Chair of the Peterborough Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Young people have the right to high quality, accessible health care services. Yet the National Deaf Children’s Society’s findings indicate this is not always the case. We hope this campaign will highlight this important issue and encourage GPs to become more deaf aware. There are 45,000 deaf children and young people in the UK so it is vital they receive the right health support from an early age, as this will also ensure they go on to become independent adults.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society and its Young People’s Advisory Board have created a range of resources for GPs, deaf teenagers and their parents, including top tips for GPs, and a wallet sized card that deaf teenagers can show their GP with details of their communication needs.

Peterborough Deaf Children’s Society will be helping disseminate these resources in Peterborough and surrounding districts  

My life, My health was launched on 4 February. More information, including a campaign video and resources, can be found at ndcs.org.uk/mylifemyhealth.

Deaf friendly cycling - free sessions

The first the deaf friendly cycling session was a brrrrrrilliant success despite the cold weather.

If anyone is still interested in taking part contact Teresa Quail tquail@jackhunt.net

DEAF FRIENDLY SWIMMING LESSONS

Deaf friendly swimming lessons for all our PDDCS children of all ages and experience.

Please let me know if you are interested in your children getting involved.

The lessons will take place at the Peterborough RegionalPool. Times and dates will be available when I know how many children are taking part.

For any other information please contact me on 07816911744 (text or call) or e mail me at amycasselden@gmail.com 

Supporting Deaf People to Play Squash

Last week Squashsite365 posted the following news:

"Deaf people will soon have more opportunities to play squash, as a new resource is launched to pave the way to make the game more accessible. 

The guide, Deaf-Friendly Squash, is the first of its kind and has been produced by England Squash &Racketball (ESR) in partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) and UK Deaf Sport (UKDS). The resource aims to show coaches how, through following simple steps, deaf people can be taught to play and enjoy squash. 

The guide is accompanied by a video which features a range of signs to help coaches support deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate. For the full article click here"

Locally in Peterborough Racxsports have delivered a series of free deaf-friendly training sessions to PDDCS members. Dan, the coach, is making great efforts to improve the deaf awareness with the organisation.

Deaf young people are welcome to join their following mainstream sessions:

Primary school aged/maybe year 7 - Saturdays from 10:30 am

Secondary school aged and above, inc. adults - 11:45 - 12:45

NDCS Listening bus

Last week the NDCS Listening Bus visited Peterborough. The unique information service was delivered to deaf children from ages 5-17; their families and hearing friends and the professionals working with them.

The children enjoyed a range of workshops alongside demonstrations of the equipment available to give deaf children and young people more independence. The demos for the flashing doorbells and vibrating alarm clocks captured the attention of the children/young people and their hearing peers.  A very enjoyable and informative day for all.

Missed this opportunity? Want to catch the Listening Bus? -  their map is located at the bottom of this post

Oh, is there someone at the door?

PDDCS member, Charlotte, checks the door. She welcomes the NDCS visitors in

A closer inspection for how the doorbell actually functions

The NDCS team show a version of the vibrating alarm clock for holidays and travelling

 

The vibrations from the alarm clock were so strong. Would wake many a sleepy teenager!!

Items can be purchased from:
Action on Hearing Loss http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/shop.aspx
Connevans http://www.connevans.com/
Sarabec http://www.sarabec.com/

bus_map_2013_2014[1] by Peterborough and District Deaf Children's Society

Take the Action on Hearing Loss lipreading challenge!

Can you work out what's being said here in these three videos? Leave your answers on the Action on Hearing Loss Facebook page. This is all part of Deaf Awareness Week. There will be more tomorrow..

National Deaf Awareness Week 6-12 May 2013

It’s National Deaf Awareness Week from 6-12 May 2013.

Remember locally the PDDCS are holding their annual 'family fun day' (11th May)

Help raise the raise the 'deaf awareness' profile by downloading and displaying these posters from the NDCS 'Look Smile Chat' campaign in your school, youth group, place of work etc

PDDCS members: teaching the University teachers

Students relaxed in their teaching role

Educational research often indicates students make the best teachers and this is quite true when it comes to the deaf awareness sessions delivered by our PDDCS members.
Earlier this month 6 young deaf students went to Cambridge University to deliver a workshop to the PGCE lecturers. The lecturers really enjoyed the fun and interactive session, planned and led solely by the students. Many commented how much it reminded them of the learning experienced daily by students in the classroom.

Hmmm, what hard spellings should I give them?.. she ponders

The PDDCS members have often supported the deaf awareness training delivered to trainee teachers in their school setting. However the confidence boost from the 'Look Smile Chat' national campaign has encouraged the students to move away from the comfort zone of school and also deliver their training sessions in Cambridge University.





Within the one hour workshop the students promote good deaf awareness tactics, increase audiology knowledge and educate the learners so that they can hold a basic conversation in BSL. The learners i.e. the teachers/lecturers question the students about their mainstream learning experiences.  

Oh no, the learners had forgotten there was an extension task. Differentiation is of course key to a successful lesson

Hopefully all these learners will reflect upon their classroom practices to develop further generations of more 'deaf-aware' teachers with deaf-friendly lessons.

Peterborough Deaf teenagers teach at Cambridge University

Over the last few years at Jack Hunt School the deaf students  have been delivering the deaf awareness sessions to the trainee teachers from Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia. Their delivery has often been described as the 'best workshop ever' experienced by the trainee teachers and lead lecturers of education.

The impact of their 'student voice' has been so powerful that the students were invited to Cambridge University to deliver deaf awareness workshops at the 'Adolescence' theme day. Yet again the students excelled in the role. 

As we departed the grounds after the long day of workshops, it brought a smile to the young people's faces to see the University students were still buzzing with their newly acquire sign knowledge and deaf awareness, sharing it with their peers who had attended other workshops.

'Watch Out! Scam Awareness in BSL’ film

Recently Lancashire Constabulary and East Lancashire Deaf Society have teamed up to create a BSL film.

The ‘Watch Out! Scam Awareness in BSL’ film contains a series of crime prevention messages to warn the deaf community to be on their guard against conmen, who may try to contact them via the internet.
 

PDDCS members support Pride Not Prejudice event

Last week the PDDCS members, young and old, supported the City College Peterborough in promoting a really exciting event which celebrated Equality & Diversity within the local community. The Pride Not Prejudice event covered a wide range of subjects including ethnic groups, cultures, Fair Trade, Trades of the World, teaching languages: Spanish and BSL, and a bit of fun too, with Owls and body painting.

Thanks to Nicki S. for co-ordinating the BSL workshops.

Five needles - deaf history

Today some students attended a presentation by Eva Clarke (a hearing lady) about her first-hand experiences of the Holocaust. The event was offered as an opportunity for mainstream students to develop their knowledge about this terrible period of human history.

The students learnt a lot from the talk but had not been aware of the experiences of deaf people during that period. So I take this opportunity to share the link to a film "Five Needles", funded by Neath Films and was supported by the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust.

Five Needles is based on the true accounts of Deaf survivors of the concentration camps during WW2. The film follows four Deaf women who, like many other Jewish Deaf people of that time, conceal their Deafness in order to try and stay alive in those brutal conditions.

Below is a trailer to the film. Click here to see the full film.

Action On Hearing Loss Isolation TV advert

Check out the AOHL TV advert, braodcast in the Northern Irish region, to raise awareness of the isolation experienced by many older people with hearing loss. Short, simply, strong message.

NDCSBuzz About your ears Videos

NDCS Buzz are welcoming deaf young people to explain different topics in their own words.

Have a look at the following video clips and tell Buzz what you think!

BSL for football

The NDCS in partnership with Communication Plus and Angelfish productions have created a ‘British Sign Language for Football’ DVD. The DVD is part of the NDCS’s Deaf-Friendly Football Club Project.

The DVD includes important football signs that cover football skills, training, the pitch, positions, kits, colours, roles and much more

The videos are also available online click here

Royal Court Theatre- deaf friendly efforts

Well done to the Royal Court Theatre who have extended their deaf awareness to include captioned and signed video clips about their theatre and forthcoming performances:

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from May - June 2012
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs May - Aug 2012

Early this year Jacob Casselden starred as Billy in TRIBES at the Royal Court Theatre.

For a full list if the theatre's facilities for deaf and hearing impaired people click here