Alstroemerian

Hello Dr. Whittaker. Thank you for doing this AMA. As a CoDA (also from the UK), it is really wonderful to see a member of the Deaf Community spreading positive information about the fact that people who are deaf really can do anything that a hearing person can do. Apart from hear, of course.

You mentioned we could ask questions about access issues. What kind of access issues do you face in your work and/or personal life? Is there anything you would want to highlight to hearing communities as a particular issue that you (and other deaf people face)?

Hi!

I am glad to read that you have good ATW support. It seems increasingly rare these days.

I know exactly what you mean regarding accessing other platforms for debate and discussion. Televised debates are indeed often so limited in topics and depth. One area that has been of great interest to me personally in the last couple of years have been podcasts. I listen to many different podcasts and regularly find myself wishing that there were more hours in the day for me to sit and transcribe some of the discussions and debates so I can share them with my Mother.

One frustrating thing for me over the years has been the attitude of people when it comes to watching subtitled films in the cinema. On one (very rare) occasion, Mum had the opportunity to attend a subtitled film showing. I was gobsmacked to learn that one person started complaining during the showing about the fact that the film was subtitled. The individual went out and complained to the cinema management about it. It was clearly advertised as a subtitled screening..... It's not the only occasion I've heard of where something like that has happened.

I worked for a few years in a charity providing practical support to deaf people across the UK. I met and worked with a couple of Teachers of the Deaf and was horrified to learn about the conditions they have to work under. Massive caseloads across huge areas mixed with cuts to these provisions by local authorities...... It was clear to me how demoralising it must be to have to provide such an essential service in the face of such adversity. Unfortunately my concerns about education in the UK at the moment are not just limited to provisions for deaf children. I have seen increasing numbers of stories in the news and from various other sources about the depth of cuts to education and how this is impacting on students who need extra support to follow the standard curriculum. I hope, for the sake of the current generation of school-age children, that we see major political change in the UK sooner rather than later.

My opinion is that you touched on a wider debate about differentiating between BSL and SSE re your comment about signed songs. However, what I struggle with most when it comes to signed songs is that (mostly) signers only focus on lyrics. I went through the 'usual' teenage phase of loud rock music and over time Mum learnt to identify the sounds of different instruments (e.g. guitar, drums, bass guitar) from how the vibrations felt. As far as music goes, there is so much more to communicate than just lyrics.