Damn it's that Deaf Week agin' !

Hints, tips and other things to raise the ultimate in deaf awareness... (Or we could just all get CI's).... Deafness can be isolating – so can living in a cave on Mount Everest, but I digress.

Tip (1) Don’t avoid conversation with deaf people (OK some deserve avoiding especially if they have deafhood but).... try tap dancing, juggling, pulling funny faces, but remember, access IS NOT an audition for X Factor, overdo it the deafie will prefer isolation, and will take offence to be mistaken for Simon whatever his face is.... (deaf have enough problems already).

Tip (2) Repeat yourself or rephrase until you are understood. Don't shout unless you want a punch in the face, accompanying it with spirited versions of Charades will not endear you much either. Deaf cannot lip-read 'Syllable'

Tip (3) Don’t mumble. Speak clearly and at normal speed. (Try not to appear like Wily Coyote on speed, or look like you are auditioning for Godfather 20)...

Tip (4) Look at the person you are speaking to, it really does help. (Don't stare it's rude, and don't look at the back of their head).

Tip (5) Talk directly to a deaf person, not through a third party. (Assume they don't sign, and the third party may well be Romanian or Serbian, which won't help you much).

Tip (6) Be patient, especially if you are serving in a restaurant or pub. (Absolutely do NOT sign or attempt animated discourse, while serving drink or serving food, you will soak the deafie, or cover him/her with taramasalata or chips).

Tip (7) Check that your business has a working induction loop. (Do point out the staff need a mic as well or you are wasting your time, ditto tell the deafie to (T)une in, and to be wary of wi-fi, the deafie doesn't want to tune into your facebook and Porno pages...

Tip (8) Never make joking asides, e.g. "'ere did you hear the one about the dyslexic chicken and the one-eyed gerbil ?",when talking about filling in state allowance forms. Stick to the conversation, and do not deviate from it without fair warning, deafies do not do spontaneous, and may inadvertently claim for gerbil support.... This will make the deafie look foolish, especially as there is no inclusion of Gerbil support in most forms, not even as assistance gerbils....

Tip (9) Deafies do not always want to be talked to, they have private lives as well, (I know Alan does ! do you know what he was doing in that closet last night, with the velveted loofah?) and they won't welcome even the most ardent sign user, barging in showing their signing prowess, and in-depth knowledge about Milan, while having a quiet meal with their friends.

Tip (10) Deaf want common sense applied, look we don't hear,geddit ? dispense with the theatricals...

Are deaf unethical ?

Access has always been an issue for deaf people, but have we forgotten in the pursuit of that access, they way deaf language is used, and for what purpose ? Should we care how e.g. sign language is used so long as it is ? A recent blog from the US of A (Where else !), gave us all a high-five, and the 'have a nice day y'all', because sign language was used in the promotion of MacDonald's, let's not suggest they do this simply for access sake...

Regardless if you support the view or not, many feel a number of well-loved fast food outlets promote obesity and worse. Should anti-view deaf have suggested MacDonalds also include a warning about health and excess in sign too ? Do deaf feel that is OK to have their language linked to that ? Does it suggest deaf support fast food obesity being promoted in their name ? Would we all be happy to see Sign language used to promote Al Queda ? it is still access for sign isn't it ? Where does the deaf community draw the line about language being ethically and morally used and abused ?

We saw at one point deaf wannabees promoting self harm via sign language that got them taken out, not for signing abuse, for plugging self-harm. What areas would you say "No I don't want deaf people and culture/language linked to that ?" are there no, no-go areas so long as it access ? How about e.g. sign being used to advertise:

(1) Seal culls.
(2) Smoking.
(3) Alcohol.
(4) Child exploitation in medias.
(5) Areas that poke fun at people.

Free speech and that inalienable American right means all is fair game doesn't it ? No-one tells us what we can and cannot do..... in reality the medias already operate a ban on deaf language being used to suggest or promote issues the state has already decreed as unsuitable... so we are accepting the state can do it, but we cannot approve of that ?

RNID abuse of Deaf week.

We are in the deaf awareness week starting today, and supporters of the RNID (The Brit A G Bell), are doing awareness via deaf children, always guaranteed to evoke sympathy and thus cash for their dubious charitable causes, and blatantly suggesting the RNID support the 'Social Model' of deafness, do they ? watch their CEO on Brit TV state completely otherwise, so why do we allow them to use deaf children and sign language to promote the MEDICAL model ? This isn't deaf awareness, this is RNID awareness two totally different things. Meanwhile the RNID has backed out of helping the deaf into employment, why is the NDCS allowing deaf children to be used this way ? A group that will desert them once they grow up.

Does ANYONE really believe showing a few hearing people some sign language is real deaf awareness ? or, that deaf awareness has worked since its inception ? RNID deaf awareness 2010 read their site advertising it via "Help us and other deafness organisations.." (CHARITIES surely ?), not DEAF organisations, we know that, they dropped out of that 10 years ago..... when will the D go ? when it no longer pulls in cash ? As we see in the Vid, the RNID still feels the deaf 'cannot do' things.... who says ? a Deaf charity that cannot empower deaf workers ? won't hire them ? won't train them ? Obviously leading contenders in raising deaf awareness....

Perhaps reverse psychology, how NOT to raise deaf awareness...

The 'Silence' star speaks...

Born deaf, the actress Genevieve Barr makes her debut in the BBC drama The Silence, alongside Gina McKee, Douglas Henshall and Hugh Bonneville Link Barr was born deaf.

When she was a toddler her mother would sing nursery rhymes to her while she was in the bath. Barr would watch her mother’s lips intently and mouth the words back to her, silently. At four years old, she was fitted with her first hearing aids, so was able to match the mouth patterns she had seen to the sounds she now heard, and slowly started to speak out loud. Barr still wears hearing aids, but as she can’t hear all the details of sound she relies on lip-reading to complete the picture.

'I was always happy in the hearing world,’ she says, 'and felt accepted in it for just being me, so it was quite a challenge to play the part of a deaf person who seems to prefer the silent world.’ Barr plays Amelia Edwards, an 18-year-old girl who has recently been fitted with a cochlear implant, enabling her to hear. Amelia is uneasy with being hurled into the hearing world and her relationship with her mother (McKee) becomes fraught.

She goes to stay with her uncle Jim (Henshall), a police detective, and her party-loving cousins, and quickly becomes part of the family. But everything is upturned when she witnesses the murder of a policewoman. Her uncle is assigned to the case, and when Amelia identifies another police officer as one of the killers, her life is suddenly in danger. Like Amelia, Barr grew up in a hearing family; she has a sister two years younger and twin teenage siblings. Unlike her character, Barr attended regular schools, so never mixed with other deaf children and never fully learnt to use sign language.

'I tried to learn it a few times, partly because I felt ashamed for not being able to communicate with deaf people who signed, and because I wanted to explore my deaf identity,’ she says. 'But there’s just so much to learn.’ Barr learnt to sign properly for the role. 'I had to come across like I was fluent and had been signing my whole life.’ In Barr’s company, you realise quickly that she is not accustomed to failure. At 15 she played rounders for England; at 16 she was a high-board diving champion in her hometown of Harrogate; at 19 she was the captain of the Edinburgh University lacrosse team, and went on to play for Scotland. She was a straight-A student and graduated from Edinburgh two years ago with a 2.1 in English and history.

She says that she wanted to be an actress when she was growing up, but never really expected to make a career out of it. 'I did a lot of drama as a child, and was always very confident, a real attention-seeker,’ she says. 'But I never got any of the lead roles in the school plays. I always thought that it was because my voice wasn’t coherent enough for an audience and for a while I was bitter about it, though I learnt to accept it.’

The silence is due to be aired Sometime in September, it was deferred because of the World Cup football coverage.

Deaf Awareness Week ? I'll give it a miss...

As probably one of only a dozen deaf who have come upon, tripped over, or stumbled across this deaf week in the UK being mentioned, give me a break, time I think to wind it all up, I don't want awareness any more. The almost total lack of caring whether we hold such a week or not and disenchantment with the charities that use it to plug themsleves and tout for work while denying deaf any representation, just makes me sick basically. It's like the queen's birthday, it comes every year and is ignored, but still some people insist it has a point. At time of writing Wales had nothing going on in regards to 'Deaf awareness' this week, or any other week mostly.

A few years ago we had a split, there was the 'official' deaf week where charities blew their own medically-oriented vuvulzelas to drown out representations and the fact deaf were an endangered species, and the cultural deaf awareness week that was set up as some attempt to balance the awareness books, and insist deaf are not only alive but still around, by showing lots of people signing for a week, and giving the odd ABC of BSL to the disinterested masses, or to school kids, usually taught by hearing people. British deaf don't care about deaf awareness, we realised early on it was a farce.

Charities for the deaf (Usually the only deaf you see is in the charity title), run such weeks (Usually with no deaf around !), to show the latest and greatest in amplified telephones or 'support' systems, latest hearing aids whatever, and usually the only time you see lip-reading mentioned publicly, which are anathema to the deaf, and aimed at the HoH majority where the funding is these days, deaf don't 'Do' charity anyway, we rejected dependency and patronisation years ago, now it's for HI to understand. We realised years ago Deaf Awareness was a non-starter, was run by vested interests who didn't push empowerment but dependence, and that horse had been flogged to the bone and was pointless and irritating to deaf people. rather than row endlessly with these do-gooders, we left.

We were relieved when CI people were starting to be wheeled out, and pointed at, because it gave us a rest.

Support systems to most in the UK almost totally revolves around non-deaf these days, since we had the outright nerve to speak for ourselves, and wanted to run our own lives charity couldn't hack it, this is NOT the pitiful and helpless image that draws in funding. So they concentrate on vulnerable people losing hearing and who are scared witless they may end up having to sign or something, and live in hope they can become Borg or someone will cure the hell out them. There are a list of deaf charity losers we SHOULD be made aware of. These are the people who will be flogging our image to death this week (Or not)...

Number one is obviously the RNID an hearing oriented charity that had the dubious 'honour' of sacking a signing CEO because hard of hearing members and hearing executives didn't like the fact he was 'different', and rabbited on about deaf culture, and have in the last 7 years changed their remit 5 times to lessen any emphasis on the deaf and are planning yet another radical change of name, to celebrate their centenary by finally burying the 'deaf' title via 're-branding'. We expect 'NO SIGNING PLEASE' to be part of that re-brand. It had the dubious record of having only a single deaf person in an executive or management position, from 1100 staff. Keen to state hearing are deaf, and now want a global Plc image too. Which is great for us, it means the Yanks are going to get an A G Bell set up that has a distinct and perfectly English twang to it.

Number Two, the UKCOD, which is not actually a group at all as such but acts as an umbrella group to others, a sort of 'quango' with no people in it or something, supporting either those groups too small to make waves, and to assist and centralise those too poor to publicise and represent themselves. The UKCoD declared "We are so glad we have the RNID on board, or the UKCOD would have no function at all, because really only they count." The illogic of setting up the group seemed totally lost on them, and is mostly staffed by people hoping the RNID will hire them, or some hype will allow them reflected glory.

They then blew it, but setting up regular meetings the smaller groups could not afford to attend in London. For UKCoD, read RNID wannabees. Basically the RNID only participates to see what opposition they can erase, or filch ideas from anyway. It's what they do.

Number three, the BDA, an grass root based signing deaf group who were deserted by their own membership to go online and to the pubs, and who suffered major losses when more access enabled deaf people with them, with the means to go elsewhere. Had many decent and well-meaning people, but none with the means to counter corporate charities... and unable to counter the apathy of grass root deaf, the BDA is living hand to mouth. They simply caved against superior corporate professionalism and hype.

Number four, the NADP one of the few groups that actually portend to represent those with acquire deafness in the UK, but haven't launched a campaign in living memory, nobody knows who they are, and cannot encourage AD's to get involved. Will not stand up for acquired or deafened people's rights, in case hearing or 'Deaf' go for them, totally useless and has no leadership or direction. In short ... what ??!?!?

Number five, Hearing Concern, or whatever 'brand' it now calls itself, which is a strange set up to most, it appeals to bored middle-class housewives who were involved in weekly Tupperware things, and coffee mornings, had hearing aids, nobody could see, and didn't help them, and purred over amplified phones and flashing doorbells as if they were the only people who knew about them, most who ran the meetings worked for the manufacturers, or asked the RNID to do 'shows' for them... they didn't like deafness in their face, because the deaf talked too much, were noisy, and weren't grateful enough to them, it was a puzzle, as no deaf ever joined but....?

This is the 'Deaf Awareness' we will probably not really see, nor the fact there has been no campaign for equality and access since 2001 and that was by deaf people and none of the above supportive charities, who just go online and support whatever.... when they aren't faffing about on facebook or twitter. In most part they ONLY exist online. One day there will be an outage or something, and charity will cease to exist... Deaf awareness usually means never having anything to do with these people. Who curiously still insist they speak for every single one of the 9 million UK with a loss, this 'neglected minority', minority ? how can 9 million people be a minority ? Probably because the supportive charitable systems of alleged representation prefers to keep it that way. The real money is in portraying them as in dire need mostly.

Minorities get sympathy, cash, and clout, a majority wouldn't ! Deaf week ? who cares, I don't, deaf awareness ? what IS that ? in 20years all I've read is waffle, and self interest, and the almost total lack of involvement by the people it is for....

To be PC or not to be PC ?

Is that the question ? and who cares anyway ? Until people say what they are really thinking you won't get anywhere. Deaf started this PC nonsense with the disabled, and supported by the system for a quiet life, a good idea at the time that is now a new form of personalised and patronised abuse used by us. What puzzles me is why they haven't replaced the PC term with a deaf version.... If they have, I don't want to know. I feel quite fed up reading the system outpouring via support sectors as they pontificate and repeat like a gaggle of mindless echoes the credo of the deaf/Deaf/deafened/HoH/HI deafhooded disciples. Tick your own box, I'm sure Pete Seegar had a song for it, (not like this I suspect, sorry Pete):

Little sectors in their ghettos
All obsessed with terminology
Little sectors, minor sectors
And they all think the same

There's a Deaf one and a deaf one
And a deafened, and Hi-hard of hearing one
There are CI's and the Oralists
Left out in the rain...

All the Deaf went to their deaf clubs
And attend deaf school or Gally Varsity
Now there's studies about deafness
All academic and urbane

And the deaf boys marry deaf girls and they all raise deaf families
to go to deaf clubs and to Varsities
So they end up the same...


Deaf communities, Deaf are this, deaf are that, deaf are cultural If, and not if they are THAT, so damned boring and irritating, makes you want to be hearing to get away from it all.....and we have a new sector of deaf and disabled making a living of telling mainstream/hearing how to act when they are in our proximitty so as not to cause offence. Deaf etitquette makes the Royal Family look amateurs... D before d except when they are HI.. what ?

Google threw up a staggering 23 MILLION references to how 'Deaf' are different to 'deaf'. It's all in the capitals or something.... and nothing to do with not hearing. Official websites of local authorities/charities/deaf groups all carry on with Deaf are this, deaf are that, it's all rubbish really. They all had an ID before suddenly it's the wrong one. We don't need to worry about mainstream/hearing, the real problem is us and our almost total obsession with the right way to describe things. Any wonder younger deaf people have deserted clubs/rallies and cultural aspects ? It bores the hell out of me let alone someone a lot younger.

At the start this politically correct nonsense, it was to force the system to recognise us as people, and not issues and problems to be addressed, now highlighting how many problems we have, and described with the appropriate terms is de rigour. Now it is a Deaf/deaf/disabled/cultural system to isolate/divide/separate/create castes/cults, and us from everyone else, and a never-ending search for that elusive ID we never had in the first place, or wasn't deaf-oriented enough, or somone has carelessly lost somewhere whilst talking total crap to boost personal ego, and have moved to planet PC where every step and look has to have a meaning and a purpose not to be seen as offensive. Are some deaf people stupid and silly ? yes some really are ! Deafness does not make us immune from the slings and arrows of outrageous self-centralism.

What is offensive is most of the current deaf awareness. Much bears no relation to actual circumstances on the ground at all, I read these things and ask "Who are they talking about ?" Meanwhile back at the deaf ranch, we are insulting and attacking each other with a venom and deliberate drive to cause maximum hurt, few outright hearing discriminators would dare attempt. Someone then read a book written by a deaf person, (Which was a novelty apparently), and all of a sudden a new wave of discriminations has raised its head, for god's sake Paddy do NOT write anything else, or at least clearly label it as fiction.

Will deaf say no to signed TV in the UK ?

Since the 2003 Act came in to force making it a legal requirement to provide albeit a limited amount of sign language access to TV programs, there have been increasing comments, it is not working, and increasingly not wanted any more by deaf people who prefer, and are happy with subtitling.

Particular gripes are in-vision captions, and obstruction of the program visuals by over emphasis on the signed access. SEE HEAR the Brits premier deaf program, took the ridiculous step of putting the interpreter visual to directly compete with the program, by taking up to 50% of the screen coverage. Most assumptions are that the deaf can, as they do with subtitles, watch a signed TV program with little concerns about conflict between two visual communication mediums on the screen. This has not proven to be the reality, and now it is the deaf complaining the sign is in the way. It only works if sign is part of the screen action and content. Even then deaf demand subtitling access as well.

Another problem is because the UK still is determined to go its own way with regional signing, huge areas of deaf UK then cannot follow the allocated 'standard' signed access they are getting, because they steadfastly reject any norm. Age groups over 30 are definitely not happy with 'modern' BSL, either by way of what they get as access today, or as it is being taught, so Brit deaf are also in transition regarding what 'type' of BSL is being portrayed. There is I believe, a groundswell of signing deaf who no longer want the signed access being provided, especially at the BBC 'Sign Zone'.

This 'sign zone' is nothing more than the same programs they watched earlier in the day with subtitles, being shown after midnight (12pm), when most have gone to bed but the with signed acces alone or, with sign AND subtitles attached, making the screen barely viewable. Dual access gets worse according to the screen content, you just don't throw everything in as access to fulfil a law, you determine if it is viable. You do also, pay attention to the fact no two deaf take in that access the same way. We've even seen signed access to deaf output with signers on screen..

Anyone who has watched SKY TV News with subtitles will know what I mean ! It got too much with SKY who also had signed access, titles, moving banners, and on-screen text all over the screen, which promted massive protests by hearing AND deaf viewers the news was no longer watchable at all. It was information overkill. SKY removed signed access to much main news... to placate an incensed hearing majority.

Obviously the other assumption is that the deaf can still record that and watch it at their leisure at a more acceptable viewing hour, that is, one not inhabited by insomniacs. They could do this with iplayer too, but don't, and don't even subtitle a lot of that output either, which is where many deaf are urging the access to come forward, few if any asking at all for signed access. We have a situation where signed access on iplayer far exceeded titled access on it. Despite very low viewing figures for signed TV. This week the sole 'Deaf' program SEE HEAR goes on holiday for a few months, so no deaf program apart from BSL TV which still struggles to get regular viewers in, and probably would not get them without subitling either. Few if any cultural areas would dare to totally remove subtitling from output and expect deaf to put up with it. The backlash would see sign opposed openly. It is happening anyway.

Is the signed access campaign no longer supported in medias ? Are they just going through the motions of supporting BSL access because they dare not be seen rejecting it ? It doesn't work as deaf awareness because of the sidelining of sign access to the net or to ungodly viewing hours or the recent wheeze of dumping sign to 'community TV' viewing which is taking it out of mainstream altogether really. BSL TV was opposed at one point because deaf saw that doing this while providing a deaf-centric area to watch, took deaf awareness and deaf people OUT of the mainstream viewing area, an own goal.. Now they complain there are no deaf people being seen as included, they all went to deaf TV ? Don't buy it..

'READ HEAR' a long standing text feedback page for the deaf via the CSV access group, has been ongoing for many years and highly respected where it counts, many of its editors are/were leading lights in the Brit community, including Chas Donaldson/J Dodds and others. Contributors were the leading campaigners for change over the years. They came from every leading group of deaf and HI there is. It's influence shaped much of what happened in recent years.

The last few weeks we saw again anger at signed TV output and calls for subtitling instead there. "We cannot understand the sign on it", " why have sign language when deaf prefer captions instead ?", "Why show two mediums at the same time that just obscure and confuse ?", "Why repeat programs already seen, and with titles anyway ?", "Who is going to stay awake after midnight to watch inaccessble TV ?". Just a cross section of a few views put forward. Another comment was "I have many deaf signing friends, and from the deaf schools, and they don't watch the BSL sign zone, they prefer subtitles too.."

Looks like the BSL-only minority is getting even more of a minority, and certainly lost the access war at day one, defeated by their own sector personal preferences, that whilst still cultural, did not see sign as the viable medium in medias.... A cursory glance at deaf TV output would show that Brits no longer cover cultural things much at all, but simply provide access to the usual hearing-mainstream programs. Deaf culture is in transitional state to HD (Hearing-Deaf) mode... and the pen has indeed proven mightier than the hand.....

Cameron versus Youth...

Students ignore British Prime Minister's dire warnings on noise....

Black and White Dog

Louise Stern at the BBC, on her book and experiences as a deaf person, and how she escaped the deaf ghetto...


"The family joke was that the dog could smell hearing
people, because whenever a hearing person came to
the house – a door-to-door salesman, or a Jehovah’s
Witness in a painfully neat suit, or one of the few
people they knew in the neighbourhood – the dog
would get caught up in an almost ecstatic frenzy of
barking, her body jerking and twisting. When deaf
people came to the house the dog would only bark a
few times and then settle down to her usual graceful
trot around the house

For a long time Beth believed that the dog actually could
smell hearing people, that they had a strange scent all their own.
It made sense when she thought about it.
Deaf people communicated with their bodies.
Their language was physical. They stood differently,
more heavily - or maybe it was more firmly. Most
hearing people felt flighty and nervous to her. So why
shouldn’t they smell different? She thought they probably
smelled a bit acid, although she’d never got close
enough to a hearing person to really smell them.
Later she realized that it was just the unfamiliar sound of
hearing people’s voices that the dog was reacting to."


Full transcript on page 2 of this blog.

Deaf Mugging for the absolute beginner..

A new use for Interpreters ?

Politics versus Choice, the final frontier.

Thank you for the comments re the last blog, assuming it becomes the rule that parents of deaf children should recieve all and any information and told of options, does the NAD have the unbiased means to give it ? or the Audiologists ? Should they consider that the deaf world is so polarised over this, perhaps an independent body should be elected instead ? Holistic approaches is what it is all about (Not Barry !), even the NAD admits it via a request to be involved. Should Audiologists provide the information ? Clearly there is little love lost between them and a number of cultural and deaf areas like the NAD, who would challenge the type and dissemination of information, even if the Audiologists decided to provide it, some do not feel non-medical approaches are part of their job descriptions. The NAD could always find something to object to, including the fact they ARE Audiologists.

Audiologists are now 'awareness' areas ? Focus on the politics of deafness on deaf cultures ? A minefiled surely ? Should we not focus on what is best for the deaf CHILD and forget the often and very divisive arguing and set views that emanate mostly online. It's not about culture, it's not about the CI Program, certainly nothing to do with deafhood, and to a degree not all about parents either, since they can get condemned whatever choice they might opt for, by sectors that expect an new-born child to not only excersize its own, or perversely, have that choice STILL taken away from them by the lobby sector that is against CI's and mainstreaming. Deaf children will always lose the choice lottery.

Choice is something the deaf child at day one is never going to have, the law empowers the parent for obvious reasons.

If you have a deaf child, ANY child new born and diagnosed with deafness, considering a serious operation on the head is no light matter to be considered, I still cannot believe these parents are as unaware as they made out, should they not have immediately sought out what alternatives were available first ? Maybe they were dissolutioned instant and normal hearing was not resumed, and the NAD stepped in to use them for political expediency, not entirely given over to free choice. I am also surprised at the total trust given over to consultants as well.

Maybe they didn't really listen to the explanations at day one, in that no CI can replace hearing as we know it, or guarantee any operation will never have some risk with it. Which is old news to everyone else. If you have a deaf child, you do not take even a mild interest in the deaf ?

NAD unconvincing...

Having watched the video of the two parents, the question I would have asked is why THEY didn't seek out further areas of support for their deaf son ? If you have a child born with issues (I did too), then the very first thing I did was explore avenues of support and interactions and education aspects for the future, in fact, I did it BEFORE my child was born. Most parents when expecting a new child think about things like that, and if a child is born with an issue then you look into aspects of that too. Just because an Dr offers a CI doesn't mean you have to take it... perhaps it's different in America ?

What I didn't do was sit with an medical professional and get told to pursue this or that option, I was certainly offered no advice other than the medical one. I can think for myself.

"I wish I had been told about and introduced to deaf people who know all about being deaf.." (do they ?) ASL/BSL users know all about that yes.... know all about CI implantees, we've seen scant evidence of that so far, we have seen a lot of opposition. Unbiased ? erm.. don 't buy that ! and why could they not have heard about deaf people before or had never seen them ? (We tend to be very elusive don't we !). Americans live very sheltered lives obviously.

All we read was cultural deaf OPPOSING audiologists and the medical profession offering up cultural/sign advice. The problem mainly is the American system of medical support, much different from the UK. In the UK the money factor is less apparent. AN audiologist can advise on an CI because that is a medical procedure, we do not expect them to advise on cultural awareness of deaf people. If we take this awareness to logical conclusions do they show parents the realities of being deaf on the street ? the issues they will still have ?

If they are going to suggest alternatives let's see them all. It's only fair then, the parents can balance the good against the plain awful. Why not an CI wearer who is successful too ? there are numerous that are. I can well understand a parents concerns with a disabled/deaf child, but ultimately THEY are responsible for seeking out options, not taking medical ones and then blaming them because culture offered a better deal.

My area ENT is a typical of most (Ear, nose and Throat diagnosis), on the wall there are addresses of deaf clubs, posters about sign language etc, you couldn't miss them if you tried. Do not audiologists in America have anything like that ? Surely amongst the leaflets and pamphlets and flyers they have, sign is there somewhere ? If not then the NAD should be more pro-active in that. They could too try to bring audiologists onside, since attacking them will just mean non-cooperation, then parents really will not get aware. Those that are unable to look for themselves...

World Cup Football to be signed...

Not that I'm a footy fan, but they say there are a few out there, those deaf may be interested in this news, how is your International Sign these days ? Or will captions do ?

For the first time, FIFA.com will be broadcasting reports from the month long soccer tournament in International Sign (IS). The Federation Internationale de Football Association will be holding the 2010 FIFA World Cup of South Africa which will run from June 11th through July 11th. This will be the first time that the FIFA World Cup is held on African soil, which is a great source of pride for the continent..

Football, the international name for what Americans call soccer, has the largest global following of any sport. Given the worldwide fan base of football, FIFA will provide reports on all 64 matches during the month long games. "Football is a universal sport and it must be accessible to everyone. We are therefore delighted to be offering this service for people with hearing impairments and the deaf," said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. "By producing these video reports with International Sign, FIFA is serving the needs of over 70 million people."

A potted History of Marion House Cardiff...

The New Club...(Circa 2007).

A potted History of a club for the deaf in my area, made all the more relative now that the Newport and Cardiff deaf clubs are under such pressures to survive at this time, and of course noting the inter-relationships of the south welsh deaf community with the deaf missioners that still continues to this day. Although this specific item relatives to 30-40 years ago,the deaf missioners have been here over a 100 years... there is now a pressing need for those with the memories to record them before it is too late... I submit no pretentions to catholicism myself, it is part of the welsh deaf history nevertheless.

"A Catholic Deaf Service has been in operation in South East Wales under various titles since the late seventies. Canon Hollywood, a priest of the Salford Diocese, with the help of Sr. Anthony D.C. (Daughter of Charity), was the first to establish a Service in Cardiff. This became a part of the CDA (Catholic Deaf Association) from which it received support and fellowship. A number of Diocesan priests celebrated the Mass on a regular basis, which was interpreted.

There was no fixed venue at this time. In the early eighties Sr. Denise Gardiner D.C. and Sr. Kathleen Fothergill D.C. were appointed to work full time. This was built up and expanded to include the rest of Wales, the South West of England and Cornwall. A regular Mass was celebrated. After having offices in several locations, the sisters moved to Talbot Street and rented a house (Marian House) belonging to the Benedictines of St Mary’s, Canton. During this time the charity ‘Catholic Care of the Deaf’ was set up in 1991 to manage the growing Service.

This was a separate charity to the Archdiocese. A separate service for the dioceses of S.W. England and Cornwall was set up, which enabled Srs. Denise and Kathleen to focus their mission in Wales. Fr. Anthony Hodges became involved in the Service during his seminary training and was appointed as chaplain after ordination in 1991. In 1996 Sr. Mary Chisholm D.C. and Sr. Maria Lanigan D.C. took over the running of the Service. Fr. Kevin Paine worked with the Service while at seminary and after ordination became part of the team as an additional chaplain.

A Mission Statement was developed, enabling Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Deafened people to fulfil their role as laity in the Church through pastoral and spiritual support and training in all ministries. This development led to the decision to establish the Service under the Archdiocesan structure. As well as the Catholic Deaf Service coming under the Archdiocese, it was also felt that Deaf people themselves would benefit more by integrating into the parish structure. This would give them the same access to the sacramental and pastoral life of the Church and enable them to more easily contribute to Catholic life in the Archdiocese.

St Philip Evans was chosen as the most suitable venue because of its circular shape which offers an environment conducive to Deaf worship. It is easily accessed with good parking facilities. It was decided to sell the Catholic Care of the Deaf offices (Marian House) and monies from the sale used to build premises to provide an office and meeting room within the church grounds. The sale took place in August 2004 and the charity took up temporary residence in St Philip Evans Church Hall.

The Deaf Community who used Marian House became parishioners of St Philip Evans. The move from Talbot St. was an emotional as well as a physical one, as many of us have fond memories of our time spent in there. Marian House had served us well but our premises were unsuitable for disabled access and our chapel became too small for the number of worshippers attending. As the service grew we became more aware of the need to access the physical and spiritual resources provided by the Archdiocese. The Deaf Community has now been integrated into the Archdiocesan structure and is fully involved in parish life.

The work of the charity ‘Catholic Care of the Deaf’ has now become part of the Archdiocese of Cardiff Pastoral Service. Under the umbrella of the Archdiocese we will continue to provide for the Spiritual and Pastoral needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Deafened people throughout Wales. The new Centre was officially opened by Archbishop Smith on Thursday 27 September 2007. The new facilities provide the Service with an office, counselling area, storage cupboards toilets and a large meeting room with tea bar. As it was a completely New Build we have been able to install equipment to enable Deaf people to manage the Service.

As you can imagine equipping the Centre has not been cheap. Anything useful from Marian House has been brought to the new building but we still needed to fund equipment such as a computer for the office, fridge for the tea bar and tables for the meeting room. In light of this we were absolutely delighted to receive a cheque for £3000.00 from the Bishop’s Conference of Wales and England to help us in our work. We must acknowledge the role that Archbishop Peter Smith has played in enabling us to continue this valuable work both in Cardiff and the rest of Wales. We would like to thank him for his nomination which led to our receiving this sum of money.

We were one of the groups that benefited from the special collection for ‘The Day for Life’ to which the Parishes in Wales and England contributed to recently. With our new Centre, we look forward to serving the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deafened people in Wales for many years to come. During the service in Church, Archbishop Smith, with Fr Tony Hodges and Sr Mary went into the Centre. Archbishop Smith said a special prayer and blessed the new Centre. Everything was filmed live, it was relayed and projected onto a huge screen in Church so that everybody was able to follow what was happening."

DEAFOPOLY

They signed... But they said...

What was signed, but turn on the speech to text set up... why ? it was captioned anyway...

Where have the deaf gone...?

'Long time ... passing..." ? I was talking to an elderly deaf man this week, he is 78, his wife died a few years ago, his family has moved away, he is in a one bed box passing itself off as a warden supervised home... he wanders the streets daily, sometimes starting at 6:30am in the morning, before some shops are even open..... he usually stays out about 3 to 5 hours, comes home, does his dinner, sleeps all afternoon, wakes for tea, watches TV... but stays awake most of the night...mostly to stop loneliness destroying him. All his neighbours are hearing, and he has difficulties communicating to them...the writing is in his own words....

"Where have all the deaf gone ? I used to be able to go to clubs, friends homes, or sports meets, most days of the week, and we would talk and socialise for hours, I was never lonely.. now there is no-one to talk with and nowhere to go, the club is once a week, they are elderly too but less of them attend every week, I spend most of my time alone..."

"My friends, (those still alive), are either sick or infirm, when they cannot manage, the SS moves them many miles away to hearing homes which makes them give up, because they are isolated there too... I cannot travel as far I used to, and am now getting frightened going distances on my own, I got all dizzy the other day, and thought I would pass out....... I'd decided as the sun was out, I would go to the city and see some of the sights, maybe meet another deaf person, on my own as usual, everywhere I go I am looking at people's hands to see if they are deaf, but I'd got lost and couldn't find anyone to tell me where I was.... and people have no patience with me when I try to start a conversation, which in itself is difficult enough for me with hearing...I dread having health issues...

Some of my elderly deaf friends were sent 100s of miles away, to die mostly... there is no attempt to keep us deaf people within range of each other so we can still talk and socialise, we don't all want or have computers... My wife's anniversay was this week, she has been dead 12 years now, I walked many miles in the sun, and again was very frightened going outdoors, this never happened before.... I was worried I wouldn't make it back home.... I'm too old to start with computers now... I like people, I don't want to sit in my home alone looking at a screen, my eyes are not what they used to be... it all looks very difficult to use...sometimes these days, I just do not want to get out of bed at all, which is not me, as I love meeting people and socialising...

The island that I stand upon
Gets smaller every day
I'm stranded on that Island
I can not swim across the growing bay
To the shore and civilization
For fear I will be drowned
Pulled under by the currents
Maybe never to be found.

(Jessica C)...

"I was offered a mentor/carer, which was a young woman who was hearing but can sign, she was fine, but... she wasn't deaf, she had no idea what deaf were interested in, all she would do is ask can she phone for me, pick up my shopping, things like that.... I don't have a phone, I can shop for myself, there is no-one to answer a phone, even if I had one... I wanted her to take me to deaf clubs further afield, but she said she couldn't do that....I can only have her help for 'essential' support, is not me talking to other people essential ? where have the deaf gone ? anyone know ?"

Sadly I was unable to advise.....

Audism is Discrimination.. (Sort of).

It's a conflict in discrimination laws we can do without. There are sex/gender/gay/disabled/colour/religion covered, if you are deaf AND part of those other stated areas, then you would have considerable difficulty proving specific deaf hate. No case has ever been bought in the UK, we've had a 'disability hate crime' law for years... I doubt the deaf have ANY Idea how to bring a case, and I KNOW the police have no idea what actually constitutes the crime, their Home Office publication of advice had no deaf access on it.

Police almost always assumed deaf had 'Misunderstood' too, you are made to doubt yourself, and your ability to understand other's communication, even theirs. The usual modus for recording instances of hate crime daily carried for nothing, it was all put down to breaking other laws... One policeman said he'd need a bruise/blood or something before he could proceed. This meant he ignored harassment as viable enough, and difficult to prove.

Most of what we see on deaf.read is cultural abuse of their own 'term', they use it to attack those that disagree with them, it's all I've read so far a term used AT other deaf.. It is the ongoing pre-occupation with inventing the deaf as an academic aside, now that culture is wilting visibly as self evident elsewhere. UK law does not recognise deaf hate, or blind hate, or a LOT of disability hate at all, besides it being on the statute as 'disability hate'.

We've seen Autistics and their parents committing suicide by constant harassment, and the police not acting on even the harassment side of it, a woman who killed her disabled daughter and herself because children and neighbours gave them 8 years of personal abuse, deaf here forced to move out of areas because they couldn't walk down the road to shop without running a barrage of personal (Or was it deaf ?), abuse, most caused by CHILDREN and YOUTHS.

Deaf.read commentators like Carl Schroeder ? has he EVER experienced hate crime really ? On a daily basis ? I don't mean him overlooked for a job, or reading about someone else getting that, someone saying deaf are stupid, I mean PERSONALLY ? HAS he been hit ? in court ? sustained years of it (I don't mean the boring oral thing which is a huge grey area anyway). Deaf hate is just another 'layer' to add to a law that already is not working and extremely difficult to define. How is deaf hate to be categorised ?

By culture ? by mode ? (As it is seems to be defined at present!), e.g. do Hard of Hearing/CI implantees/deaf-blind get covered ? Do we have a hierarchy of those who can suffer hate crime ? It's heading that way. The thing with audism at present is that it defined as culturally specific, mainly because only they support the term. It's not helped they apply it to us for not agreeing we need another term for it. As for entering it officially, what will that do exactly ? Show that e.g. deaf people who get their homes broken into, had that done to them because they were deaf ? You would never prove that, I had food posted through the door, urine, lighted cigarettes thrown through open windows, pushed into the road with my child by youths, the police said it was 'bad behaviour/vandalism/anti-social behaviour'.

George the blind deaf man I Posted about last year, they lit fires against his front door... That's crime, was it DEAF crime ? the people were caught/punished, deaf never came in to it, we know George had years of abuse because he was deaf prior to that.. I think what matters to us all cultural or otherwise is that the crime perpetrator gets justice served. If you are Gay/Black that's your best bet if it happens.... you play on those aspects, not that you are deaf too.

Deaf in the UK couldn't tell you what audism meant. Educating people that deaf are not from Mars and Hearing are not from Venus cannot be done with a new word, or why deaf-Deaf are at each others throats still..... I have some empathy with the mainstream in that they are already in terminological overload, sure as hell WE are. Audism will be in the dictionary anyway as a colloquial term, academics are not what we are interested in, but the discriminations get addressed. I suggest the reasoning is that if the term is recognised, so is the hate crime, if only that meant a conviction....

The correct spelling would help too.

AUDISM should be spelt...............................D.I.S.C.R.I.M.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.

A-Mazing....

Who could fail to be moved by this video ?

Why the deaf and disabled are not working.

I'd like to publish a response I made to a recent disabled commentator at a charity site who said "Disabled do not really want equality", and they want too many 'advantages' others don't expect, so that is why employers don't take them on. This merited at least from me some sort of response ! Here it is...

"The issue starts at day one. Educationally they lack proper support, which makes it harder when they leave school and start looking for work. They then are faced with work 'advisers' who have no idea what they are doing, and already know what the employer answer is likely to be anyway. So, no impetus. The RNID (one group mentioned here), simply said no they wouldn't support their own sector (The deaf), to find work, because there were no funds to make it possible,the state expected charity to pick up the tab, by offering the begging bowl around.

They DON'T do that with able-bodied workers, it's discrimination in action, without work advisor's, hearing and able bodied don't experience, so disabled have to do everything to look for work with no help, hearing DO get. Why not just say "Disabled ? Deaf ?No Thanks ! "

Then there is the barrier of 'work experience' or 'Interns', which is a farce really, and few disabled ever get it, hardly ever get offered any job at all, mostly they are put in a corner and left there, when they do. Today on the BBC News, they ID'd employers as using interns and work experience as cheap labour, or without paying them.... often in defiance of the law, rotating 'trainees' for work experience to get a steady stream of free labour.... Blackmail is then used in that if the state comes down on them, they will then refuse work experience. There are cases where unemployed had to foot their own travel, food and other costs whilst working 9-5, 5 days a week, there is no way they could exploit disabled or deaf like that.

There is ample proof of:

(1) Inept directions from the state,
(2) Sham access laws..
(3) Rank amateurs in Charity.
(4) Real neglect in education,
(5) Wholesale institutional discriminations being practised at many levels in the job area.
(6) An unwillingness by employers to give the deaf or disabled fair play.
(7) The state targeting very unfairly and cruelly, the disabled and their allowances and calling them lazy and work-shy too.

All this 'justifies' employers to say, "Disabled ? no thanks.... too much trouble.". What really is NOT The icing on the cake, is the deaf/disabled get called names afterwards, and you mentioned "Disabled are not really after equality'' NOT ? It is their primary aim. The sad part is even those disabled that DO manage to get adequate qualification etc have 2 MORE hurdles to overcome,

(1) They are pitched against able-bodied directly and unfairly, with only one outcome, and
(2) A glass ceiling exists to prevent disabled ever becoming corporate or other bosses...

The government recently declared, it wants 50% of employers/bosses to be women, OK gender/ethnic/black rights, just not disabled ones ? Been there, done that, with 'hate crime'... there has never been any determination to even get disabled into ANY work, then suggest they are lazy and would rather watch TV.

The reason work training is pointless, is because employers will simply not recognise any training disabled do.. (Or non-disabled training for that matter !), and anyway there are thousands of migrants who can already do the job, are trained, and, NOT disabled either. Our inglorious migrant policy also extends to "No disabled please..." So at least deaf and disabled are not pitched against each other !!

It's not having a go at migrants, but it is yet another hurdle for disabled to overcome, perhaps the primary sector with a real desire to work amongst the unemployed, yet they have to 3 times as good to stand still, and mostly ignored. You said "Employers are not social policy makers.." Indeed then whose responsibility IS it to support disabled as employees ? It has to be a concerted effort by the state and by employers themselves, all employers want to see are people who are NOT deaf or disabled,and cheap, this means discrimination in my book, NOT, us asking for more advantages than others. May I point you at the Disability Discrimination Act ? Access to work is a right, as is the means to do that work, it is not our fault the state and the employers are arguing who pays.

The real issues are even if the means are there the will simply isn't. Why blame us ? What do we have to do first ? HEAR ? sorry. can't oblige...

Deaf Asylum Errata....

Dianez asked re a link between the old Kent Deaf school and Martha's vineyard. I am assuming the Weald includes the old Kent Road areas, Previous deaf 'school' was in Bermondsey late 18thc, (this link takes you to the memoirs of Reverend Townsend), and the basis of the 'new' Kent road asylum, foundation stone laid in 1807 by the Duke of Gloucester, which one I am not sure as one Duke died the same year.



Boundaries have changed a number of times since, some further references may be of interest to you regarding the deaf at that time.

This is the link to charities that covered deaf

Deaf and Dumb, Association for the Oral Instruction of the, School for Children and a Training College for Teachers; 1870; 11, Fitzroy Square, W.; To instruct the deaf and so-called dumb by speaking and lip-reading only; and to train teachers for the deaf on this method.

Deaf and Dumb - Charitable and Provident Society for Aged and Infirm; 1836; 419, Oxford St., W.; To grant small pensions, from £6 to £12 a year, to poor deaf and dumb persons who are above 60, until 70 years of age, or so infirm as to be unable to earn their living.

Deaf. - Royal School for Deaf and Dumb Children (founded in Old Kent Road, London); 1792; Margate. Office, 93, Cannon Street, E.C.; For the support and education of deaf and dumb children.

Deaf and Dumb Females, British Asylum for; 1851; Lower Clapton. Office, 179, Lower Clapton Road, N.E.; To educate, mentally, technically, and manually deaf and dumb females, above 10 years of age, and provide religious instruction. It is also a Home for the aged and homeless infirm.

Deaf and Dumb and Blind Children's Home (Dr. Barnardo's Homes); 1900; Chester House, Downs Park Rd., Hackney, N.E. Head Offices, 18-26, Stepney Causeway, London, E.; To train deaf and dumb boys and girls in house duties, art weaving, needlework, tailoring, baking, boot-making, mat-making, woodwork, and other trades. Inmates attend L.C.C. schools.

[-84-]

Deaf and Dumb, Royal Association in Aid of; 1840; St. Saviour's Church, 419, Oxford St., W.; To provide religious instruction and employment for, and to instruct, visit and relieve pecuniarily, the deaf and dumb of the metropolis.

On the Asylum Road

Theirs is the house whose windows---every pane---
Are made of darkly stained or clouded glass:
Sometimes you come upon them in the lane,
The saddest crowd that you will ever pass.

But still we merry town or village folk
Throw to their scattered stare a kindly grin,
And think no shame to stop and crack a joke
With the incarnate wages of man's sin.

None but ourselves in our long gallery we meet,
The moor-hen stepping from her reeds with dainty feet,
The hare-bell bowing on its stem,
Dance not with us; their pulses beat
To fainter music; nor do we to them
Make their life sweet.

The gayest crowd that they will ever pass
Are we to brother-shadows in the lane:
Our windows, too, are clouded glass
To them, yes, every pane

for those who want further references here is a fair start...

A Short Deaf Asylum History

Old Deaf and Dumb Asylum Kent Road London.


"Nearly opposite this old hostelry stands the Deaf and Dumb Asylum. This admirable institution, the foundation-stone of which was laid by the Duke of Gloucester in 1807, is a large but plain and unpretending edifice, separated from the roadway by a grove of trees. Miss Priscilla Wakefield, in her "Perambulations," published in 1809, commences one of her "letters" as follows:—"We continued our excursions into the county of Kent, stopping on the Kent Road to view a handsome building now erecting for the Asylum for poor Deaf and Dumb Children, an unfortunate class of persons, too long overlooked, or ineffectually commiserated among us.

The applicants becoming so numerous that not one half of them could be admitted, it was resolved to extend the plan. A new subscription was set on foot for the purpose, and the present building was raised, without encroaching on the former funds of the institution." This asylum or school was the first established in England for the Deaf and Dumb, and was originally opened in 1792, in Fort Place, Bermondsey, under the auspices of the Rev. John Townsend, of Jamaica Road Chapel, and of the Rev. H. C. Mason, then curate of Bermondsey, both of whose names are perpetuated by Townsend Street and Mason Street, on either side of the Asylum. "The teacher," as Timbs tells us in his "Curiosities of London," "was Joseph Watson, LL.D., who held the situation upwards of thirty-seven years, and counted upwards of 1,000 pupils, though he commenced with six pupils only.

In 1807 the first stone of a new building was laid in the Old Kent Road, whither the establishment was removed in the year 1809; and the Society celebrated the event by a public thanksgiving at the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, the Rev. C. Crowther preaching the sermon. A memorial bust of the Rev. Mr. Townsend has been placed in the committee-room. The pupils, male and female, are such children only as are deaf and dumb, not being deficient in intellect. Other children are admitted on payment of £20 annually for board; and private pupils are also received. The term of each pupil's stay is five years; they are taught to read, write, draw, and cipher, to speak by signs, and in many instances to articulate so as to be clearly understood.

They are wholly clothed and maintained by the charity, are instructed in working trades, and in some cases apprentice-fees are given. The Asylum is amply supported by the wealthy; and besides its annual receipts from subscriptions, donations, and legacies, &c., it has some funded stock. The pupils are elected half-yearly, without reference to locality, sect, or persuasion. The importance of this Asylum is attested by the fact that in 1833, in twenty families of 159 children, ninety were deaf and dumb."

In connection with the above-mentioned institution, there is a branch establishment at Margate, which was used for the first time in August, 1876. From the report for 1876 we learn that during that year seventy-six children were admitted and sent to the branch asylum at Margate. Eighty-one children left the London asylum during the year, and thirty-five were apprenticed to various trades. As many as 4,170 children had been admitted since the foundation of the Asylum, and 1,550 apprenticed since the year 1812. The ordinary receipts in 1876, including a balance from the previous year of £1,296, amounted to upwards of £9,354, and the general expenses to £12,055, the deficit having to be met by absorbing the sum of £3,334 bequeathed as legacies instead of being funded."

Ref:

Businessman to pay deposit for deaf political candidate..

A BUSINESSMAN is offering to pay the deposit for any independent deaf candidate to stand at the next Scottish Parliament elections. Jeff McWhinney said the barriers for a deaf candidate, such as the need for interpreters for British Sign Language (BSL), prevented proper representation of issues important to 100,000 deaf Britons.

And experts said Scotland and its proportional representative list system would allow such a potential politician to break through for the first time. Mr McWhinney was chief executive of the British Deaf Association from 1995-2004. He is now managing director of Significan't, a social business which provides a video interpreting service for deaf people. He said he would happily "put my money where my mouth is" by supporting potential candidates in any UK elections or by-elections.

He said: "Deaf people have been marginalised, ignored and unheard for decades. Perhaps if there were deaf MPs, or at least deaf candidates, the parties would take notice of the issues that dominate their daily lives.



"Last week, in its programme for government, the new coalition government at Westminster said that it 'will introduce extra support for people with disabilities who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials'. I hope this includes interpreter support for deaf candidates.."

Is Facebook irrelevant to the Deaf ?

I share Sandman's view on the information processing for the deaf online. I don't however share the view facebook is relevant to promoting deaf issues. I'm a social luddite in that area and proud of it, I prefer face to face for effective social discourse. And yes 'back to the future' input is all too readily seen as we know, Sandman complained there was a discussion re an issue of 2001, maybe he forgot there are deaf here still discussing the 19thc ! I think deaf bloggers stick very much to current views and trends. I may revert to past experience to prove a point in my own case, or for background information, we all do that, but I am in the 21stc as to what is going on, or try to be, and in part try to put the case for and against, it is the facebook's and twitters that provide little impetus.

I always mooted a site like deaf.read e.g. even when the UK started the format, however British deaf failed to get it off the ground, it's lack of deaf cohesion and smallness (And inevitable cliquey approach), made it unworkable. Deaf.read did, the rest is history. Like Sandman I find it impossible to read everything, but factually few if ANY campaigns to advance the deaf lot have come from facebook or twitter. Deaf charities once the centre of access campaigning and run by deaf, are now hearing run, and more into prevention of deafness than pushing for the access of those already with it, so deaf have deserted them in droves as a result. Where to ? indeed !

They are presented as 'Social Sites' (Personally I disagree on that but...), not as 'Tools', to be used to any potential for the greater access/political good. We are all in information overkill, but it seems have stayed within deaf bounderies, in our glorious isolation, telling each other what access would be best. It takes preaching to the converted to a new and higher level. Anyone with a cursory glance outside the deaf area will note small groups of very dedicated individuals plugging away for our greater good, but often totally ignored by the deaf themselves. The vast majority HEARING people.

Technology needs to be seen as the tool it is, and not as an end in itself, with 'guess how many total strangers are my friend today", being touted as some absolute, c'mon deaf we should be above this. Full in the knowledge perhaps none would be able to sign or anything, and direct communication would present huge issues if you really met upwith them. Deaf Issues come about, deaf people at deaf.read and elsewhere in the world online, will put their 10 cents worth in, then move on to the next issue and do it again, it seems an absolute waste of technology and access to me. I still think bloggers of the deaf ilk are the only ones addressing real issues, not facebook, and certainly not twitter, which distills feedback to 30-word 'text bites' and talks a language that defies rationale and a law to itself mostly, and you wonder why we learnt to write at all when we could have mastered gibberish and left it at that.

There is an huge detail information gap going on, and a lot of trivia being expressed.... You would think as in Facebook's case with 400 MILLION on it, we would see something happening for the deaf... instead of "Did Ya watch TV last night ?" Blogger contribution to understanding deaf issues I feel must still be immense, despite those who think Blogging is dead. Facebook/Twitter suits those with nothing much to say, is what I read somewhere online... and both social sites are being swamped by advertisers/hackers/charities honing in on the deaf market...to exploit, to ridicule, to trivialise.

However deaf, are still not motiviating campaigns for advancement or, raising deaf awareness where it would really count, in MAINSTREAM. We got a disability access law passed, it's all over bar the shouting let's go out for a beer..... Deaf.read, Deaf Facebook, Deaf Twitter, Deaf-TV, can no-one see the basic illogic of this in raising real awareness ? It is socio-politial-cultural-deaf news exchange confined TO the deaf, and it's allied sectors. However impetus for campaigns do not seem to be emerging, the switch to online petitioning instead of showing your face, failed miserably in the UK, do we need to organise properly if it is not all to be just a huge talking shop ?

Do our social needs still far outweight the desire for equality ? Perhaps it does...

Socialising is obviously important to deaf, shouldn't access campaigning be there somewhere too ? A world deaf community still virtually ignored by the mainstream one ? even WITH the internet, because we sectionalised it all at day one.

So you want to be a Role Model ?

I don't, but here is an ad for those who do... how many voted deaf ? or for deaf representations ? of contacted their MP ? next to none ? I tried, not one of the major political players responded on their websites, only TWO Out of 630 provided access for the deaf to debates....huh HUH ! back to being a couch potatoe... The vid was put up 26th May, the voting finished May 6th, we really DO have to move a bit faster...

I am allergic to sounds

No, not a plug for die-hard deaf, but a recent article written about a musician who developed hyperacusis. Albeit I am not too sure it is an allergy as such, my father had it, rather strange to come from a family (On my mother's side), that had a history of going deaf early in life datingback at least to 1860 ! My Dad was hyper-sensitive not just to frequencies, but volume, he had a very very low tolerance to noise. Most relatives would tell me, they couldn't really hear the radio he always listened to, (He hated TV), the typical person who can hear a pin drop they said. My son is autistic, and he really does exhibit some of my Father's aversion to volume/noise too. I wasn't really aware until I read this article frequency had much to do with it, it always seemed a volume thing.

My Dad's mother (Grandmother), also lived in a house where silence was truly golden. Any time you visited all you would hear was a clock ticking on the wall, and she rarely spoke unless she had to as 'People's voices (especially children's) get on my nerves..' probably a sign she had it too ? She too was the very last person in her road to have a TV in the house, and that was sufferance to my Aunt, she never watched it herself. Aunt would put it on for the news report, but not watch anything else on it ! Perhaps children speak at higher frequencies ? What I didn't understand was her disappointment I had gone deaf, you would have thought BINGO ! I had made it at last but.... I gather my voice volume rose a lot which equally annoyed.

She had a saying "The less you speak, the less chance you have of looking a fool..." Was that a dig at me lol.................or she just loved the silence.

Deaf TV

Looking at TV from down under.... talking about Australian rules football I gather, not a game I can understand at all.. They kick the ball like footy (Soccer), but have rugby posts (Probably couldn't master the one game so combined the 2 lol......). Apparently the contentious issues of introducing Pizzas instead of Pies is of great concern to deaf Australia