Clubber signs the lyrics to dance tune for deaf friend

Check out this short video clip of two clubbers - one signing the lyrics to a song for her deaf friend. I assume they all started jumping about when the beat kicked in! This video has been viewed over 7 million times on Facebook.

Have any of you had friends like that or sign for your friends? Via Jade Ramm

Post by Gareth Emery.

Local Granddad Barry Pullen wins learner award and is nominated for national prize

Barry pictured here winning a previous award

Barry Pullen, grandfather of one of our members, has been recognised for his efforts in learning sign language and for his outstanding contribution to volunterring by winning the Learner of the Year Award for East Anglia by sign language qualifications body Signature.

Barry will now be put forward for the national award at a glitzy award ceremony later in the year. Here is Barry's winning nomination.

Barry has been studying the Signature Level 2 Certificate in British Sign Language (BSL) at Signing Bee.

Despite initially lacking confidence in his own ability in BSL, Barry is an inspiration to his fellow students. He helps them to practise their signing and is a constant source of encouragement and support. He has taken his learning very seriously and has worked hard to pass his assessments.

Barry has a deaf grandson. Learning BSL has been invaluable to him in his work with the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), where he has been volunteering with events such as Activity Week and their Newly Identified Families Weekend. As part of this weekend, he facilitated a very emotional session which involved the parents of newly diagnosed deaf children telling the story of their journey with their child so far. His newfound skill is also very useful in his voluntary role as a guard at the local railway station.

Barry recently visited a centre for disabled youngsters in Morocco where he met with four young deaf men. Despite the fact that they used French Sign Language, he made the effort to join in, and was told that he was the first foreign visitor who had ever tried to communicate with them.

Barry has received numerous accolades for his continued and dedicated work in the voluntary sector. He received a certificate from Prince Charles and was even presented with an award from the actress Patricia Routledge, the actress who plays Hyacinth Bucket.

A well respected figure in the local deaf community, Barry plans to continue with his voluntary work and to support the NDCS.

We wish Barry all the best at the award ceremony. Thanks for everything you have done.

Sign languages around the world

As a follow up to the post about the young PDDCS German signer winning the Signature National Award for completing British Sign Level 1 in only two months, here is a map of what is thought to be the sign languages used around the world.

Source: http://www.unecartedumonde.fr/2013/05/la-carte-du-monde-des-langues-des-signes/

Peterborough Family Sign Course

NDCS Family Sign Language (FSL) course will be starting this Thursday (14th November 2013) at the PDDCS Toddler Group. The toddler group runs fortnightly.

 

Family Sign will take place from 10am-11am but toddlers opens from 9.30-11.30 as normal. On the 14th November the audiologist will still be there doing molds.

 

Current dates: 14th Nov , 28th Nov, 12th Dec then the rest to be confirmed for new year

Toddler Group is run by parent Amy Casselden. The group is aimed at pre-school children and held at the Jigsaw Centre in Orton Malborne, Peterborough.

It's a great opportunity to meet other parents who are raising young children with hearing impairments and also for the little ones to play together! Siblings are also welcome during the school holidays. There is a range of activities for the children and free refreshments for the folks, which usually means tea and biscuits.

Another bonus is that the group is regularly attended by staff from Peterborough City Hospital's Audiology team to answer questions, make sure hearing aids are working and take new ear mould impressions for those fast growing ears, saving families time in booking and attending appointments. Alongside the Audiology team, the Teacher of the Deaf and the Teaching Assistant for Early Years from Peterborough Sensory Support Services will also present to suppport any queries. School age children are also welcome to come and get new ear moulds too.

To get in touch, call or text Amy on 07816911744or email peterborough@ndcsgroup.org.uk if you would like to come along.

UCAS 'How-to guides' in BSL

http://www.ucas.tv/ucas/playlist/ZKMyl/

This month, as students enjoy the introductary weeks to University and colleges, UCAS (the UK's shared admissions service for higher education)  have announced the launch of videos to help deaf students apply to university or college.







Each video covers an individual part of the UCAS process including information for students with disabilities, how to apply, choosing a course, open days, personal statements, requesting a reference and a guide for parents.

All seven videos can be viewed as a playlist in the 'Individual needs' section of the site and also on the UCAStv website

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Campaign for BSL Act of Parliament gathers pace

A campaign to establish a BSL Act of parliament to enshrine the rights of BSL users into law is gathering pace on Facebook. Plenty of sign language contributions are being added by people to the group which has grown to over 3400 strong over the weekend.

This comes ten years after BSL was recognised as an official language in the UK but since then, people who rely on sign still feel there is much to be done to recognise their rights for access.

One of the leaders of the group is John Smith, the BSL comedian, who came to Peterborough in 2012. John and other leaders of the group are meeting with the BDA today. If you believe in BSL - join the group and join the campaign!

British Deaf Association react to the sign language census results

The BDA (British Deaf Association) today reacted to the census results that seemed to show a smaller then expected number of BSL (British Sign Language) users in the UK. Doubt has been cast on the figures for a number of reasons and now the BDA have made official their position.

BDA Chief Exec David Buxton

The BDA believes that the census gives a misleading picture of the actual number of Deaf users of BSL. It is asking local authorities and health commissioners not to cut services on the basis of inadequate data.

The census identifies 15,000 people in England and Wales who declare BSL as their first language and 7,000 saying they use another sign language. However, the Department of Health’s GP Patients survey estimates there are 122,000 BSL users - eight times as many.

BDA chief executive David Buxton said: “While we welcome the attempt to count BSL users for the first time, the census gives a wholly wrong impression of numbers. By asking the question confusingly, the census undercounted those for whom BSL is a first language. It also did not, of course, count the many tens of thousands of deaf people who use BSL alongside English.

“We are asking local authorities and health commissioners not to rely on the census when they plan services for Deaf people. It would be a tragedy if these misleading figures were used to justify cuts, resulting in Deaf people being further marginalised.

“There is already a shortage of BSL interpreters across the country and Deaf people are routinely denied access to health, education and employment.”

British Sign Language Census numbers disputed

The number of people who said they use sign language as a first language was revealed today by the Office of National Statistics for the first time at 22,000. 

buy this image from www.welovebsl.bigcartel.com

The government asked the question in the 2011 census, almost 10 years after BSL became a recognised official language in the UK. Until today there had been no official statistic for the number of sign language users in the UK and estimates had ranged from 20,000 to 100,000.

In fact, the number of people declaring BSL as a first language was as low as 15,000 with another 7,000 declaring that they use another sign language.

Over on Limping Chicken, Charlie Swinbourne makes three arguments why the figures may not necessarily be correct - it's worth a read - and here

Interestingly, here on PDDCS News, only a few weeks ago in the anonymous 'One Mother's Diary' we gained an interesting insight into how those numbers could easily be distorted when Calum, a full BSL user, described his first language as English.

‘Now,’ I sign to Calum, ‘what would you say your first language is?’
‘English.’ Calum replies.
‘No,’ I sign back to him, ‘I mean which language do you feel most comfortable using?’
‘English!’ Calum repeats with increasing exasperation.

There will be plenty of debate on the validity of numbers in the years to come and it will be interesting to see how these census influence the government in terms of decisions made about deaf people.

Monkey will teach you all about the NHS - with BSL

Monkey and the NHS Explorers find out all about Emergency & Urgent Care pathways available to them in these film clips. They also explain a bit about eating healthily too.

They are part of a Primary School Resource pack being sent to every Primary & Special School in England in March 2013 and they come with full BSL interpretation and subtitles!

You can watch them all here or on the Monkey YouTube page:

New BSL iPhone app!

Check out this new app available for iPad and iphones called Sign It Lite.

So the blurb says it's the world's first online BSL video dictionary but I'm pretty sure someone beat them to it? Maybe this is the first iPhone version.

The reviews for this app are all good and it seems that the signs in the dictionary are done by local children. Sweet!

Want to learn sign language ... the John Smith way?

Top UK deaf organisation Remark! have released a new DVD that aims to help people to learn British Sign Language with the help of legendary deaf comedian John Smith and his family.

John, who is well known for his comedy shows and appearances in BSL comedy sketches, features with his family in this new video which aims to teach the three sections of BSL Level one in a new, more interactive way.

The video, called One Step Closer, gives learners a better appreciation of some different aspects of sign language, like using expression, and also an insight into deaf culture. The DVD is set in John Smith's lovely looking home and includes a fair amount of comedy - which helps keep learning interesting. Order your copy from Remark! here for £14.99. If you or a loved one have always wanted to learn sign language but never got around to it - this could be the way to fulfill that ambition.

BSL for technical theatre jargon

With  the PDDCS youth mission to create a film for Youth Deaffest 2013, we found the following online resource called BSL for technical theatre jargon!

The video clips cover scenography, wardrobe, stage management, lighting and sound and as it's so useful, we thought we would share it with you!

So learn the signs of the theatre today!

Thanks Caroline for the link

Music and the Deaf - Signed Songs videos

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Great design meets sign language

Ever seen BSL look so good on paper? We haven't, especially since professional deaf designer Nick Beese came up with these superbly designed BSLphabet posters.

The designs cleverly integrate the letters of the alphabet with the BSL sign for the letter itself. Wickedly simple but tremendously clever, they're available in different colours and would look good in any room of the house. If you love sign language - why not treat yourself?

They're available from We Love BSL - check them out. We think these are the Beese knees! (geddit?)

Manchester City offer BSL Stadium Tours

We all know that Peterborough United are the best team in the land but some other clubs in the UK also have their strong points. Take for example Manchester City who offer BSL signed tours of their fabulous Etihad Stadium.

The stadium was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and converted into a football stadium ready for City to move in the following year. Look, I don't want to ruin it for you so I'll stop there but it's an amazing place. To book your place on the tour click here..

Shall we organise a trip?

Sign Language Christmas Songs App

Learn all the best Christmas songs with the help of this smartphone app! Check out the promo video too. And get yours here

Use BSL when contacting BT

If you use BT and BSL then here is a new service for you! You can contact any BT customer service department using BSL. To get started go to the BT website and click on the link www.bt.com/bsl and download the SignVideo plugin.

Sign Video is a company run by deaf people to provide a relay service, just like Text Relay but in sign language instead. Check out the video below for more information.



Via ATR

Guess who we bumped into at the football?

Regular readers (and over 1 million other people across the world) may recognise this little girl with her mummy and daddy. This is a Ava with her dad Nick and mum Lilli who we featured on PDDCS News back in January when a video of Ava signing at the dinner table went viral on the internet.

I (Andy) bumped into them at GB Deaf Football's match today verus Greece. Greece won 2-0 and ended GB's hopes of playing at next years Deaflympics. Shame - as GB had the majority of the ball and chances. There was a lot of unhappy and disappointed GB footballers around afterwards as the Greeks went wild.

During the match, Dad Nick, who is also a retired GB Deaf football international and is heavily involved in Fulham Deaf Football Club told me that he posted the video on his Facebook page and people just kept sharing it - until eventually it was shared over 4,000 times and the hits just kept racking up!

You'll be pleased to know that Ava is well and her sign language is even more impressive than it was in January. See the video that went round the world below..

Check out Signtific at the Science Museum in London

Aged 7 or over? Interested in Science? Well the Science Museum in London has special deaf friendly BSL events for kids with full voice over included too so its for everybody!

Check out their Facebook page for more information ..

Bee detective - London performance 31st Aug-2nd Sept

www.stagetext.org

Next week the outdoor theatre show peple have been buzzing about- Bee Detective, comes to London's Southbank Centre. Audiences will enjoy a beehive based adventure with Sophie Bee. Sophie Bee is a champion forager who turns detective to track down the honey bees when they go missing from the Queen Bee’s birthday party.


The performance is fully inclusive to all audiences; speech and sign, projected animation and captioning. Wheelchair access. There is also a vibrating floor which helps young people feel the buzz of the bees. Everyone is invited to join in the “waggle dance” that is used by bees to explain where pollen and nectar can be found in the outside world.

Dates: Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September 2012 at 11am, 1.30pm and 4pm.

The show lasts approximately one hour.

Recommended for ages 6 upwards.

Visit SouthBank Centre website for further details

Tickets are £12 for adults, £6 for children. Concessions: 50% discount.

Trailer