Deaf man held without Interpreter sues Police

Adams County (USA) sued by a deaf man held for 25 days without access to an Interpreter reports Monte Whaley for the Denver Post (28/11/11).

When Adams County sheriff's deputies knocked down the motel-room door of a deaf couple, slammed the man to the ground and locked him in jail for 25 days without providing a sign-language interpreter, they violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal lawsuit says.

Lawyers for Timothy Siaki claim the man was not provided an interpreter until he went to court on domestic assault charges last year. Siaki eventually was cleared of the charges, said Kevin Williams, an attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Siaki and his fiancee, Kimberlee Moore.

"There were 25 days of his life that he had access to nothing — no information on why he was being held, no information about his case or what was going to happen to him," Williams said.

The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition advocacy group is also a plaintiff in the suit. Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr is named as the defendant.

An Adams County Sheriff's Office spokesman on Friday did not have any comment on the lawsuit, saying officials needed to review it first.

The suit asks for damages for Siaki and Moore and to find that Adams County is violating the ADA by not providing an interpreter nor auxiliary aids for deaf suspects during their arrest and booking process.

The suit claims Adams County also does not provide aids and services to deaf inmates to communicate with people outside the jail while the same privileges are provided for those with normal hearing.

"They need policies and procedures for folks who are deaf," Williams said. "People just assume that a deaf person understands what they are saying."

Williams said the coalition recently settled a similar case against the Lakewood Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The settlements require very specific policies for compliance with the ADA to ensure deaf people can communicate with police officers and jail deputies.

According to the lawsuit, Siaki and Moore were staying at a Super 8 Motel at 5888 Broadway on May 14, 2010, when they began arguing.
Both communicate by American Sign Language, as Siaki does not speak, read or write English. He also does not read lips. Moore has a limited ability to speak, read and write in English and can occasionally read lips, the suit said.

Like many deaf people, Siaki and Moore both "verbalize sounds which, to a person who is not deaf or who is unfamiliar, may sound like the deaf person is speaking loudly or abruptly," according to the suit.

Their fight resulted in a noise complaint. Two Adams County deputies broke down the motel room door, entered with their guns drawn and ordered Siaki to the floor, the suit said.
Both deputies learned after their arrival that Siaki was deaf. But since he was unable to understand the deputies' commands, one of the deputies grabbed Siaki's left arm and forced him to the floor.

The deputy also said Siaki refused to write down his version of the events. Moore, meanwhile, tried to tell the deputies that Siaki did not hurt her but could not because she was not provided an interpreter or any aids.

The two were separated, and Siaki was evaluated by medical intake personnel at the jail. Still, he was not provided a sign-language interpreter.

Siaki stayed in jail from May 15 until June 10, unable to comprehend jail policies and procedures, the suit said.

He was eventually assigned a public defender, and he was cleared in the criminal case, Williams said.

"To this day," he said, "we don't know why he was held for 25 days."

Plea to save the Middlesbrough Deaf Centre

THE closure of a deaf centre in Middlesbrough would have a devastating effect on the lives of its users, it has been claimed writes Linsay Bruce for the Gazette (21/11/11).

Middlesbrough Deaf Centre has been earmarked for closure as part of the council’s wide-ranging cost-cutting plan. More than 80 people attended a highly-charged public meeting at the centre in Park Road South yesterday to discuss the proposal.

Dave Walker, a user of the facilities, speaking through signing, said: “I was born and bred in Boro - for over 65 years and what people need to realise is that there are two worlds.
“There’s the hearing world and the deaf world. Moving us out of our world and just telling us to get around in the hearing world is not simple. It’s not helpful and it’s not what we want.
“Splitting us up would be like you moving to Nepal and just when you started feeling part of the only English speaking club, finding out the club could close or move to another part of the country - and without any language skills you have to find your own way there.”

Brenda Moore, whose 93-year-old aunt, Marjorie Johnson, uses the centre, said: “Shutting this centre will shut people out of the only world they know.”

Last month Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon unveiled a package of 78 proposed cuts. They aimed to contribute £10m of the £13.8m of cuts the council has to make in its budget next year. The proposed cuts range from the closure of council buildings to staffing and management restructures and increased charges.

The public meeting was attended by service users, their families and centre staff.
Pauline Stevenson, strategy and delivery manager for adult care at Middlesbrough Council, pledged that the authority remained committed to providing services to the deaf community.
She said “I must stress that at this stage it is only a proposal to close the Middlesbrough Deaf Centre building.”

A meeting of the full Middlesbrough Council will be held next month when the Mayor, Ray Mallon, will present final proposals for making the required savings.
He will also make a further statement regarding the remaining £3.5m that has to be found.

Deaf charity’s Cumbria contract

A NATIONAL deaf charity has been awarded a contract to provide mental health services for people with hearing problems in Cumbria writes Pamela McGowan for the News & Star (21/11/11).

        

SignHealth won the tender to offer the first British Sign Language ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) services for the deaf community in the north west, including Carlisle.

Steve Powell, chief executive of SignHealth, provides services across the country, said: “IAPT is a government initiative aimed at improving emotional and psychological wellbeing, and getting people into work or back into work. The service is available for the general population, including black and ethnic minority groups, but until now it has not been appropriately accessible for the deaf population.

“We will be providing the first specialist IAPT service for deaf people in England, which will be piloted in the North West, including Cumbria, and will be known under the name of ‘BSL Healthy Minds’. If successful, it is envisaged it will be extended throughout the country.”
The pilot will employ psychological wellbeing practitioners fluent in sign language to provide one-to-one support and group therapies for deaf people experiencing common mental health problems.

Mr Powell added: “Until now the communication needs of a deaf person seeking support have been managed by having an interpreter in the room or by not accessing any treatment at all. To provide an interpreter is not only costly and time consuming, but more importantly, is not effective.

“Having a third person in the room is intrusive and doesn’t encourage the relationship between the therapist and client to develop to its full potential. In many cases the client will feel closer to the interpreter and develop a trusting relationship with them rather than the therapist, which can lead to less successful treatment.”

Deaf teen stabbed 12-year-old boy

A deaf teenager has admitted repeatedly stabbing a 12-year-old boy in an attack in Ayrshire reports the BBC News (15/11/11).

Gareth Young, 16, pleaded guilty to attempted murder after the attack on the boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - in Kilwinning in June.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Young - who also comes from Kilwinning - wrote his confession on his phone and showed it to police.

Sentence was deferred until Monday 12 December.

Advocate Depute Andrew Brown QC, prosecuting, told the court that Young pounced on the victim and his friend after they had sneaked out of a house in Kilwinning just after midnight on 19 June.

As Mr Brown addressed the court, a sign language expert stood in court translating the proceedings for the benefit of Young.

Mr Brown said the boy will face lifelong psychological trauma as a consequence of being attacked.

The prosecutor said the boy had six stab wounds to his body.

One wound led to a loop of intestine extruding from his abdomen and another wound to his chest led to a collapsed lung.

Young was taken to Saltcoats Police office at 04:50 and he typed a message on to his mobile phone which he then showed to the police officers.

The officers noticed that the accused had typed the message: "I hide my knife and shoes and jacket cupboard in my house."

The police then went back to Young's house and found the weapon used in the attack.

World Deaf Futsal Championships Begin in Sweden

Sweden will host the World Deaf Futsal Championships in Orebro reports Yahoo Sports (18/11/11).

Sixteen men's teams and 11 women's teams will compete from Nov. 18 to Nov. 26 for the right to be called the best futsal nation in the world where all of the players are hearing impaired.

Sweden and Brazil are favorites to win as both countries have men's and women's teams in the mix. Futsal has world cup competitions on a regular basis, but this special competition is hosted by the Swedish Deaf Sports Federation.

Futsal is a cross between basketball and soccer. The rules are very similar to outdoor soccer except the game is played on an indoor or outdoor basketball court. There are only five players to a side including one goalkeeper on each end. The ball is smaller than a regulation soccer ball as are the goals.

There are no boards on the side. When the ball goes out of bounds there is a "kick in" instead of a throw in. There is no offside rule and no slide tackles on the hard surface. Goalies cannot throw the ball over the halfway line to start a play.

There are two 20-minute halves and the action is fast and furious. The ball quickly moves up and down the court much like basketball. Because the ball travels out of bounds frequently, the game has many more stops than regulation soccer.

FIFA governs international rules of futsal and will host the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Thailand. The history of the game is as colorful as South American soccer. When Uruguay hosted the 1930 World Cup, it started a tradition of countries gathering together to play soccer every four years. Local gym teachers wanted a mini version of the game kids could play indoors, so they invented futsal.

Brazilian teams dominate the men's game as they won the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup as hosts. It was their sixth futsal title overall which is one more than Brazil owns in regulation association football. Falcao was the legendary player at the 2008 version. Simply watching Brazil's 12-1 demolition of Japan in 2008 is a thing of wonder. The ball stops very quickly on the floor surface as opposing players fly by trying to block shots that don't happen. In the very same tournament, Brazil beat the Solomon Islands 21-0. There are no mercy rules at that level.

Futsal is fast-paced. Like soccer, it can be played indoors or outside, all you need is a basketball court and some fancy footwork.

195 deaf students complete vocational training course

One hundred and ninety-five young deaf adults recently passed a six-month vocational training course reports the International News (14/11/11).

The course, offered by the Deaf Reach Training Centres (DRTC) in association with the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP) lasted from April 2010 to October 2011.

The graduates from Karachi, Sukkur, and Hyderabad completed vocational courses in basic IT, stitching, and embroidery, English, Urdu, culinary arts, and teachers training, said a press release issued on Saturday.

The training programme has empowered young deaf adults to become knowledgeable, self-reliant, and diverse in their talents and abilities and provided them with the means to enter the job market and find gainful employment, thus improving their quality of life as well as having a positive impact on their communities.

The graduation ceremonies were held on Deaf Reach campuses in Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Karachi and were attended by the participants’ families, government officials and dignitaries from the Sindh government. Many of the attendees expressed their appreciation and admiration for the progress these deaf youths have made through this programme. It was a touching sight to see these students receive their certification amidst much applause from the attendees.

This is the second year running that Deaf Reach has collaborated with the Sindh
government’s BBSYDP programme to provide quality vocational training for young deaf adults. Previously, in 2009 – 2010, 100 deaf students graduated in the same programme and have had increasing success in finding gainful employment. Deaf Reach is one of the only two institutes for the disabled selected to participate in the BBYSDP.

Deaf Reach schools and training centres are run by FESF, a non-profit organisation operating in Pakistan since 1984 with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for all members of the community, especially those who are disadvantaged. Deaf Reach is the only school for the deaf in Pakistan with a branch network – having schools located in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Lahore, and a large new school upcoming in Tando Allahyar. They provide quality education to areas where education for the deaf is virtually non-existent.

Emphasis is placed on academic and vocational training, as well as assisting the older students to find gainful employment via the “Financial Inclusion and Micro-enterprise Programme.” Sign language and deaf awareness are taught on a regular basis to parents and family members of the children, as well as to hundreds of volunteers via the FESF Volunteer Training Programme.

Werrington community rallies to save local pub from Tesco development

A disabled man who claims he would have nowhere to go if his at-risk local pub closed down was at the heart of a protest to save it over the weekend writes Matthew Reville for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph (14/11/11).

Deaf-blind Alex McNeill (31) was one of 620 people who signed a petition to protect The Ploughman pub in Staniland Way, Werrington, during the protest.
They want Tesco to re-think its plans to bulldoze the pub as part of a £40 million overhaul of the Werrington Centre that would expand the supermarket.

The spirited protesters, which included Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson stood in the pub’s front garden - in direct view of Tesco staff and shoppers - from noon until 5pm on Saturday.

The supermarket’s slogan is ‘Proud to be supporting our local community’, and protesters mocked up signs parodying the Tesco logo that read “Save our community local”.

Mr McNeill, who is totally blind but has some hearing, lives in Rainbow Court, Paston Ridings. He is a popular local in the pub and gets a taxi there at least twice a week to meet with friends.
He said: “If it was to close, how would I see all my friends? Where would I go to meet up with them? I would have nowhere to go.
“This pub has to be saved. Why would anyone want to replace what this pub offers just to get a bigger Tesco.
“The Tesco is already big enough. Nobody has called for Tesco to get bigger, but as people turning out today showed, everyone wants the pub to stay open.”

The Ploughman was recently named 2011 Pub of the Year by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Peterborough and District Branch.
It has also raised just under £5,000 for charities since Andy Simmonds became landlord two years ago.

Mr Simmonds said: “I was really happy with how many people joined in, it was exactly what I wanted. It was a show of local support for the local pub.
“Tesco are showcasing themselves like a peacock. They want us out of sight and out of mind. The pub is in a prominent position, and they don’t want people to see it before seeing the store.
“I would love to work with Tesco as partners in the regeneration of the Werrington Centre. I hope they talk to us about co-existing in the future.”

MP Stewart Jackson joined the protesters for an hour on Saturday after signing the petition, and plans to personally discuss the groundswell of public opinion against the proposal with Tesco bosses.

Mr Jackson said: “I will be meeting with people from Tesco in the next week and talking to them about the concerns I, and all the people here, have got.
“If they are committed to the people of Werrington they must understand it has to have a community pub. We should try to persuade Tesco to give The Ploughman and its supporters a fair hearing.
“Since Andy took over it is really flourishing as both a pub and a community centre.”

Peterborough City Councillor for Werrington North Judy Fox also joined in the protest. She said: “Me and my husband (Cllr John Fox) are regulars in the pub, we would both hate to see it go.”

Pensioner June Firas (75), from Gatenby, Werrington, said: “I come down here to play darts once a week. Where will I go if the pub closes?”

Tony Keen (50), from Canwell, Werrington, said: “How can the Werrington Centre be a community centre if there is no pub here? It’s a contradiction.”

Nobody from Tesco was available to comment.

More than 200 people have signed an online petition: www.savetheploughman.com.

Deaf alcoholic stole boy's bag to carry drink

Deaf alcoholic caught on CCTV writes Andrew Phelan for the Herald (10/11/11).

A DEAF alcoholic burglar trespassed at a school and stole a child's bag to keep his cans of drink in, a court heard

Fergus Gannon (42) went to the changing rooms while the boy was out training and stole his bag, along with his uniform and golf shoes.

Gannon, who was drunk, had seen the door open and the student's bag was "attractive for him to put his cans into", Dublin District Court was told. A judge adjourned the case against Gannon for the production of a probation report.

The accused, with an address at Glen Aulin Road, Palmerstown, pleaded guilty to burglary at St Michael's College, Ailesbury Road, on April 1.

Garda Liam McGraynor told the court it was reported that a man had entered the grounds at 3pm and stolen a black bag with a school uniform and shoes in it.
Gannon was identified on CCTV footage and gardai searched his flat with a warrant on April 19. The bag was found, but the contents, worth €150, were not recovered.

He has 16 previous convictions for offences such as burglary, possession of weapons, breach of the peace and assault.

Gannon had "profound hearing difficulties in both ears", Shalom Binchy, defending, said.
"His deafness has been something that is very difficult for him to come to terms with.
"He has some sign language and some rudimentary ability to speak but communication has been a problem throughout his life," she told the court.

Gannon had been drinking since he was 15 and alcohol had also been a problem for him throughout his adult life. The defendant's disability had also been a stumbling block to getting help for his drink problem. He had been unable to attend AA because he would have needed a sign interpreter with him at meetings.

The court heard the changing room had been 200m away from the training area and the accused had stated at the time that he was watching a basketball game.
Judge Aingeal Ni Chonduin said Gannon had a previous conviction for a similar offence and there "has to be some form of deterrent".

She adjourned the case to January 17 for the preparation of a probation report.

Deaf woman scammed over Facebook

New Zealand Deaf Woman defrauded by Facebook scam writes Nicola Murphy for Auckland Now (10/11/11).

Roi Stephens usually ignores messages telling her she's won an international lottery draw.

But she thought information about a sweepstake from someone who appeared to be her Aunt must be genuine.

Now the hearing-impaired Henderson resident is almost $1300 out of pocket after being told she'd ''won'' $20,000.

She received a message through Facebook last month from a fraudster who had hacked into an Aunt's account and sent messages to her contacts suggesting they enter the lottery draw.

The email was written with poor spelling and grammar but Stephens didn't think anything of it because English is her Aunt's second language.

She entered the draw and was notified she had ''won'' but was required to send money for supposed fees for a man to travel from Nigeria to deliver her winnings.

The man called, texted and emailed Stephens regularly to make sure she was sending the money.

She had already sent him $1280 when she read an article about online scammers and the penny dropped.

''I just thought 'oh my God, what am I going to do?''' she says.

Stephens had sent the man money she had been saving for a new hearing aid.

The mother-of-three says the situation has been difficult and emotional for her and her family.

''I feel bad but it's been a learning curve.''

When Stephens went to a dairy to transfer the money via Western Union, the owner warned her it was a scam.

He comes across such cases like Stephens' at least once a month.

''I try not to enter into customers' business but if they are regulars I know them well, I ask them if they know the person they're sending the money to.''

Stephens recommends social media users keep their sites private so only approved parties can see their profiles.

Henderson community constable Debi Leahy says the people behind the scams are getting more creative.

''With the deaf community, if you look at what's on their Facebook pages and you read their conversations, it's obvious that they're deaf.''

She says the scammers take advantage of this, as they do with older people or those on dating sites who they perceive as lonely and therefore easily drawn in.

Leahy says money transferred through Western Union is impossible to trace and recommends people only transfer send money to those they know.

She receives at least one call a week about scams, both before and after money has been sent.

''It's nothing to be ashamed of,'' Leahy says.

''Sometimes you're just caught at the wrong moment and you've got a load of bills to pay or you're feeling the recession and you're not thinking rationally,'' she says.

Tough times for Caithness deaf charity

A CAITHNESS charity which helps people with hearing problems is facing “worrying times” because of budget cutbacks and reduced staff hours reports the John O'Groat Journal & Caithness Courier (10/11/11).

But Deirdre Aitken, the co-ordinator for Caithness Deaf Care, yesterday said she hopes the present funding difficulties will be overcome in the next few years.
She explained that about half of the organisation’s core costs – salaries, heating, lighting and rent – are met by the Highland Council and NHS Highland.
In the past the remaining funding of between £16,000 and £20,000 has been provided mostly from trusts but they, too, are having to make cuts as a result of the current economic downturn.
Mrs Aitken told the Caithness Courier the cutbacks are happening at a time when the charity’s workload is increasing. She pointed out that there are over 1000 people in the Far North registered with the organisation and said around a fifth of them are under 60 years of age.
“We are seeing more people now in the their forties and fifties whereas in 2000 most of the people we dealt with would be retired,” she said.
“They still account for about 80 per cent of our workload but around 20 per cent are people of working age.”
Speaking personally, Mrs Aitken thought that could be a result of people working noisy machinery in the past and not wearing proper ear protection or listening to loud music through headphones over a long period of time.
“Our workload is increasing as our budget has been cut but we are managing to keep going by utilising our volunteers. They have been fantastic and are very conscientious, dedicated and hard-working,” she stated.
Mrs Aitken has had her hours reduced from 21 to 15 a week while another member of staff now works 20 hours instead of 25.
“We have cut the hours and have been using our reserves to keep going but that cannot continue in the longer term,” she said. “These are worrying times but we are managing to make the service work for people. The budget cuts are not impacting too much on the public although some things may take a bit longer to get done.
“We are facing a difficult time but we are hoping the problems will be overcome in the next few years.”
Mrs Aitken explained that in Scotland one in five people are likely to experience some form of hearing loss during their lives.
The charity helps people with hearing problems and gives advice on hearing aids and specialist equipment. It also liaises with NHS audiology which is based in Inverness.
Caithness Deaf Care covers Caithness and Sutherland and has offices in Wick and Thurso.
The latter opened in 2002 with the help of funding from the National Lottery. The offices are open three days a week from 10am to 2pm.

Partner’s anger after Letchworth deaf woman attacked by dogs

THE partner of a deaf woman who was attacked by two dogs and left bleeding in a field has hit out at those responsible writes Mick Gill for the The Comet (07/11/11).

Peter Johnson, of Denby in Letchworth GC, contacted The Comet after his partner of five years Denise Gatler and her dog Lennox - who is being trained as a hearing dog - were both attacked by two other dogs while walking in fields off Quinn Way on Letchworth GC’s Jackmans Estate.

Ms Gatler, who was born deaf, was bitten as she tried to stop the dogs, who were off their leads at the time and described as Staffordshire bull terrier types, attacking Lennox, a collie cross who used to be a rescue dog.

The two owners of the dogs, a man and a woman, left the scene without attending to the 47-year-old, who was taken to Lister Hospital in Stevenage to be treated for bite wounds.
Eighteen-month-old Lennox, who has been unable to attend his hearing dog training classes since the incident, suffered a broken leg and has had 10 screws and a plate at a cost of £3,000 inserted by Cambridge Veterinary Hospital.

“She was walking the dog in the fields and a dog came towards her and appeared to be running around playing,” said Mr Johnson.
“It suddenly came towards our dog and attacked it. Denise tried to get the dog off and got bitten, and as she’s deaf she didn’t hear it but the other dog came in from behind and attacked.
“The playing fields are right next to a primary school and normally she has her five-year-old granddaughter with her so who knows what could’ve happened.
“She’s still trying to recover from it as it’s destroyed all her confidence. She’s a nervous wreck at the moment. She took me back to the field to show me where it happened and she broke down in tears.
“I was so annoyed because apparently all they did while Denise was in the field covered with blood was get the dogs on the leads and go off in different directions.”
The 62-year-old added: “I say to other dog owners to be on the alert and watch out for these guys.”

The incident, which occurred between 6.15pm and 6.45pm on Thursday, June 16, has been reported to the police with investigations on-going.
The female dog owner has been described as white, aged in her mid-20s to early 30s with brown shoulder length hair which was in a ponytail at the time.
She is around 5ft 5in tall, of slim build, and was seen wearing jeans and a white and black top.

The male dog owner was described as being around 5ft 10in tall, of medium build with short dark brown hair.
One of the dogs has been described as a short-haired brown Staffordshire bull terrier type dog with bulky shoulders and the other as a black Staffordshire bull terrier type dog with a white smudge on its chest.

A police spokesman said: “Anyone with information about this incident, or if anyone can identify the owner of the dogs described, is asked to contact PC Baker via the non-emergency number 0845 33 00 222, quoting crime reference G2/11/1294.”

Deaf People from the UK to Volunteer at Deaf School in Sri Lanka

In January 2012, a group of deaf volunteers from the UK, will be travelling to Sri Lanka to volunteer at Deaf Schools and Special Needs centres reports PR.com (03/11/11).

From November 2011, the volunteers will begin learning Sri Lankan Sign Language at the SL Volunteers office in London. The lessons are run by Sophie Allen, a BSL sign language interpreter, who has been volunteering at deaf schools in Sri Lanka since 2001, and is fluent in Sri Lankan sign language. Sophie has great love for Sri Lanka and is dedicating her time to ensure that the team are adequately trained before they arrive.

Aliya Gulamani, a recent graduate from Goldsmiths Uni will be joining the team, "Being profoundly deaf myself I am lucky to have had access to an excellent education in the UK, and I believe that everyone, deaf or hearing deserves the right to an education."

The Volunteers will be assisting staff at a Deaf school, in Colombo and the staff have specifically asked SL Volunteers to support the older children with their computing skills to increase their chances of securing employment when they leave the school.

This project follows on from the already established SL Volunteers teaching projects, that offer free-spoken English lessons to people in Sri Lanka that would otherwise not have the opportunity. Since being established in May 2010, SL Volunteers has sent over 100 volunteers from the UK, to teach English in Orphanges and Youth centres.

SL Volunteers are looking for more volunteers to join the team, both deaf or hearing people who have an interest in teaching or working with people with Special Needs. Applications for the January projects are still open.

Aliya: “This trip has a personal significance for me as I want to pass the message on. The message that, even with deafness you can be anything and you can do anything you wish for the world is yours.”

Give deaf people the chance to use video relay service

Deaf people need a video relay phone service that translates sign language into speech – but not for just half an hour a month writes Charlie Swinbourne for The Guardian (02/11/11).

In July, Ofcom published a review of relay services, proposing the introduction of a video service that would enable phone calls in sign language. Deaf people would sign into a device incorporating a video camera, with an interpreter in a remote location translating their signs into speech.

On the surface, Ofcom's consultation offers a massive improvement to deaf people's lives. In the UK, there are estimated to be between 50,000 and 70,000 people who use British Sign Language as their primary form of communication. BSL has a different structure, grammar and syntax to English, with an emphasis on body language, facial expressions, and gestures.

Because of this, deaf people who use sign language as their first language can find it harder to use text-relay services which depend on a high level of written English (where they type on a keyboard, with an operator voicing their words to a hearing person on the other end of the phone line). The VRS Today campaign estimates that sign language users would be able to use video relay services four times faster than text relay.

But there's one catch. While in America, deaf people (who have had the service since 2002) can make phone calls on an unrestricted basis, at any time of day, any day of the week, Ofcom has proposed that in Britain, deaf people will be given a quota allowing them to make just 30 minutes of calls a month. Worse, the service will only be available between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.

Imagine being restricted to 30 minutes a month – would that be enough time to organise your life, speak to friends and family, your work or your utility company? What if there's a call you need to make in the evening? What happens if a company puts you on hold? Or if you haven't finished your call as your time runs out? Then, even if a deaf person has a great call and finds the service really useful, they are left waiting for a month for the next chance to use it.

If there is a need for a video relay service for deaf people – and Ofcom agrees there is – then making it available in such a limited way makes little sense. It would make it hard for deaf people to get into the habit of using it, and would make using video relay a frustrating experience, which would in turn have a knock-on effect on its take-up by the deaf people it is aimed at. Thirty minutes a month amounts to a half measure, giving with one hand while taking away with the other.

Deaf organisations, including groups specifically focused on telecommunications like TAG and DAART have campaigned for years for improvements to relay services (with improvements to text relay services being high on the agenda as well as video relay). One major irony is that many deaf people (including my mother) have for years paid for packages incorporating free voice minutes on both mobile phones and landlines which, due to their deafness, they cannot use.

The UK telecommunications industry was worth £40bn in 2009, while Ofcom's proposals estimate that offering deaf people an unrestricted video relay service – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — would cost just over £40m. Ofcom's proposals were described as "outrageous and highly unacceptable" byDavid Buxton, chief executive of the British Deaf Association.

The deadline for responses to Ofcom's consultation passed last month. Just days earlier, a petition with more than 2,500 signatures, supported by nearly every major deaf charity in the UK, was delivered to Downing Street calling for unrestricted access to video relay. That same day, a roundtable meeting was held between deaf organisations, telecommunications companies and the government, including Ed Vaizey, the communications minister. Deaf people now face an anxious three-month wait before finding out whether they will have the same freedom to use the telephone as their hearing counterparts.

Ironically, in advance of Ofcom's decision, a pilot project part funded by the European Commission called myFriend is offering deaf people the chance to try out video relay services as part of a concept calledTotal Conversation. From 1 November, deaf people who take part will be able to make phone calls using a BSL interpreter for up to four hours a day. However, when the pilot ends in June 2012, deaf people face going from over 100 hours of potential use a month, to a quota of just half an hour a month if Ofcom's current proposals remain unchanged. That's a reduction of over 99.5%.

It's no exaggeration to say that introducing video relay with huge limitations would mean that a massive opportunity to transform sign language users' lives for the better could be squandered. The communications industry has seen huge technological advances in the last decade, but sign language users have been left trailing far behind. Equality should mean freedom, choice, and independence, and only offering video relay services without imposing a harsh time limit can truly offer that to deaf people.

Edinburgh MP tables early day motion in support of access for deaf and hard of hearing

The Edinburgh West MP praised the online interpreting service, which is available throughout the UK for deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users reports STV Edinburgh (01/11/11).

Deaf Action was delighted with the support in promoting the use of SignVideo. Striving for equality of access and opportunity has always been central to Deaf Action, including access to elected officials.

Mr Crockart recently became the first elected member in the UK to make SignVideo available at his constituency office in Edinburgh, and in an early day motion he has called for other MPs to do likewise. Mr Crockart is also pushing for the Government to ensure that all public information and services are accessible to everyone suffering from hearing loss.

Mr Crockart said: “As parliamentarians, we are here to represent all of our constituents in the political process. However, nine million people in the UK are being disenfranchised by the fact that they face great difficulties in accessing the information they need.

“All MPs should be working with Deaf Action and other organisations to ensure that each and every one of their constituents is able to clearly and easily understand information in their constituency offices.

“I am delighted that Deaf Action will be pioneering this new online interpreting service throughout Scotland, and to do my bit to improve information access for my constituents who suffer from hearing loss.”

Liz Scott Gibson, chief executive of Deaf Action, added: “With Mr Crockart’s early day motion we hope to encourage more MPs to think about accessibility in their constituency.
“Introducing a service such as SignVideo is a simple and cost effective way to enhance inclusion. We call on more MPs to follow Mr Crockart’s lead by signing the early day motion and making their constituency offices more welcoming to deaf people.”