After a decade of having their needs neglected by telecoms providers, leaders of the UK's deaf community have written an open letter published in today's Times newspaper writes Jack Schofield for ZEDNET (11/05/12).
They are campaigning for a universally-accessible video relay service of the sort that the Americans have operated successfully for the past 10 years. This would enable British Sign Language users to make and receive calls at any time, with no pre-booking, and at no additional cost over a normal phone contract.
The revised EU Electronic Communications Framework, rubber stamped by UK Government, sets out a legal requirement to ensure that disabled end-users enjoy access to telecommunications that are functionally equivalent to those enjoyed by other end-users.
Unfortunately, the UK government appears to have done nothing substantial to meet this requirement for deaf users, simply handing off the problem to telecoms suppliers such as BT, O2, Vodafone, Three, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Everything Everywhere and BSkyB.
The deaf organisations say they talked to communications minister Ed Vaizey, and that in November, he "repeatedly called on the telecommunications industry to work with the deaf community to find solutions which meet their communications needs".
In their letter to The Times, they tell the telecoms providers: "You have failed to meet with us in open forum in response to the Minister’s request and your silence has been deeply disappointing," and that "Positive action by the industry is long overdue. You are delaying the introduction of modern relay services, and exacerbating the isolation and disadvantage which is faced by deaf people who are denied equal access to telecommunications."
The UK does have an experimental video relay service (VRS) called MyFriend, but it requires pre-booking of calls. However, this is a pilot project run from the University of Bristol with the financial backing of the EU. It may well close this summer when the EU funding runs out, and it seems extremely unlikely that the UK government would, if asked, stump up the trivial amount of money required to establish as a permanent service.
In parliament, Vaizey said, as an aside: "I have been struck by the lack of engagement from business and telecoms companies, which is unbelievably frustrating. In that respect, we would, for example, like to have video technology that enables deaf people to use sign language, and I have told all the telecoms operators, 'Please come to me with a cost-effective solution,' but they have not done that. Eventually, of course, I will have to regulate through Ofcom to make them do that, but it would be so much simpler if they came to me and did it." (17 Jan 2012 : Column 245WH)
The organisations backing the campaign include the UK Council on Deafness, TAG (Telecommunications Action Group), the British Deaf Association, the National Deaf Children’s Society, Sense, the National Association of Deafened People, and the Royal Association for Deaf People, as well as companies and individuals.
This week is Deaf Awareness Week in the UK, and it continues until Sunday, 13 May.
Showing posts with label Equal Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Equal Rights. Show all posts
Friday, 11 May 2012
Deaf Awareness Week 7-12 May
New research shows that 41% of surveyed people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first language have left a health appointment feeling confused about their medical condition, because the interpretation was not of an adequate standard.
A total of 68% said they have asked for an interpreter to be booked for a GP appointment, but did not get one.
People who are deaf have the legal right to experience the same level of service as other patients in the UK.
So, to avoid unnecessary confusion, anxiety or embarrassment, it is vital that they can access communication support best-suited to their needs.
To sign our petition calling for local health services to use only interpreters registered with the National Registers of Communications Professionals (NRCP), which shows that they meet the required standard for communicating essential medical information, please click here.
Deaf Action will be taking an information stall around Edinburgh and the Lothians to mark Deaf Awareness Week, which starts on Monday reports The Scotsman (04/05/12).
It will be at Gala Bingo, Meadowbank, on Thursday, and at the Livingston, Musselburgh and Danderhall libraries on Friday.
Staff will be handing out information and answering questions about services and hearing aids or equipment.
There will also be a British Sign Language taster session at the charity’s offices in Albany Street on Wednesday afternoon.
The East Sussex Hearing Resource Centre has a programme of events planned for this week to raise awareness of the hidden disability that is deafness reports The Sussex Express (05/05/12)
On Friday afternoon, there will be a chance to relax and listen to some poetry, a short story or perhaps an extract from a novel. A member of the Read Aloud scheme, run by the library service, will be visiting the Resource Centre to entertain everyone. A loop system will be used for the benefit of hearing aid wearers with this facility. All are welcome. The session starts at 2.30pm and should last for an hour.
For any further information contact Teresa Davis, 8 St Leonard’s Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3UH. Tel: 01323 722505 or email: teresa@eshrc.org.uk
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Gestures speak volumes
Silence was beckoning up and down the halls of a Marlborough primary school yesterday as pupils were learning to communicate without saying a word writes Ian Allen for the Marlborough Express via Stuff.co.nz (02/05/12).
Year 5 and 6 children at Rapaura School had a special class with Deaf Aotearoa tutor Hilary Foister and learned to sign their names and express their feelings.
The visit was part of New Zealand Sign Language Week, which ends on Sunday.
Teacher Hayden Van Lent said the lesson was to teach pupils awareness and an appreciation of what deaf and partially deaf people go through daily.
No verbal communication was allowed during the class from the outset, he said.
"From the very beginning, the tutor started to use sign language and the children had to respond. They really enjoyed it."
Non-verbal communication was an important part of teaching, he said.
"It goes on in the classroom anyway, particularly with behaviour management. Maybe it's a click of the fingers or a look, they are just as effective."
Patrick Neal, 9, said having a totally quiet classroom was different.
He planned to show his new language skills to his older brother after school.
Classmate Brayden Carter, 9, said his favourite sign was for "toy". He might use it on his parents.
New Zealand Sign Language Week is run by Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand and is designed to celebrate it as an official language as well as raise awareness about the deaf community.
Deaf Aotearoa acting chief executive Tony Blackett said the week was a great time for hearing New Zealanders to think about how hard it was for deaf people to do things often done instinctively, such as describing an ailment, talking to a teacher about their child's progress or asking for something at a shop.
"If more hearing New Zealanders learnt a couple of simple signs, this would greatly help to break down communication barriers. It's a fun language to learn," he said.
Through greater use of sign language and easier access to qualified interpreters and other resources, life for deaf people would be less restrictive and they could be equal members of society, Mr Blackett said.
"Every day, deaf New Zealanders are prevented from doing something that hearing New Zealanders take for granted, because of restrictions in funding or the availability of resources, like interpreters.
"It's hard work to be continually fighting for your rights."
Monday, 30 April 2012
Disabled rights campaigner Lord Ashley dies
The Labour peer Lord Ashley of Stoke, the first deaf MP, has died at the age of 89, after a short battle with pneumonia writes Laura Donnelly for The Telegraph (21/04/12).
Tributes to the peer, who as Jack Ashley was elected as MP for Stoke on Trent South in 1966, poured in as news of his death was announced.
The tributes were led by his daughter Jackie Ashley, a journalist and broadcaster, who described her father as "wonderful, brave and adored."
Her husband, BBC presenter Andrew Marr, said Lord Ashley died on Friday night after a short illness.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "I am very sad to hear of the death of Jack Ashley. He was an outstanding servant of the Labour party and an extraordinary campaigner for equal rights for people with disabilities.
"Jack Ashley turned his own tragic experience of losing his hearing into a mission of courage and determination for deaf and disabled people. He was a pioneer as the first deaf MP to sit in Parliament, but he did much more than that.
"There are many millions of men and women with disabilities who will have better lives thanks to Jack Ashley. He succeeded in changing the law and in changing attitudes.
"Anti-discrimination legislation for people with disabilities would not have happened when it did without his tenacity, his campaigning and his support.
"Jack Ashley will be missed by his family, his friends and his colleagues in the House of Lords. He led an amazing life and will be remembered with deep affection, profound respect and great admiration."
David Cameron described Lord Ashley as a "tireless" campaigner for disabled people who had a huge impact not just through his charity work, and legislation, but also in changing attitudes.
The prime minister said: "It takes characters like Jack, with his extraordinary tenacity, to push for that kind of positive change. He will be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Lord Morris of Manchester, a fellow Labour peer of Lord Ashley's, who collaborated with him when campaigning for disability rights, also paid tribute to his colleague and long-standing friend.
"Jack and I lived in close fellowship for over five decades. We campaigned and legislated together on improving the wellbeing of disabled people and others in special need," Lord Morris said.
"His passing will be mourned by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He was a very fine parliamentarian."
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He was a tireless campaigner for disabled people and had a huge impact, not just through his charity work and pushing for legislation in Parliament, but also in changing attitudes.
"It takes characters like Jack, with his extraordinary tenacity, to push for that kind of positive change. He will be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said: "Jack Ashley was a pioneer who set aside his disability and by doing so forged a path which others, including me, have been able to follow.
"By sheer tenacity and latterly the use of technology, he was able to demonstrate that not only could he work on equal terms but achieve a great deal more than most of us in politics are able to boast about."
Former-prime minister Gordon Brown added: "Jack Ashley was the greatest champion Britain's disabled have had.
"He was compassionate, direct, forceful and radical. The man who, speaking with the authority of personal experience, took the cause of disabled men and women into the chambers of Parliament and to the heart of government.
"He leaves behind a contribution in legislation and policy progress for the cause of tackling disability that will not easily be surpassed."
In his autobiography, Lord Ashley recalled that the last voice he heard was that of the late rugby commentator Eddie Waring.
He became profoundly deaf a year after his election to parliament at the age of 45 following an operation to correct mild hearing loss.
After initially fearing he would be forced to give up politics, the MP learned to lip-read.
Other politicians, including political foes such as Prime Minister Edward Heath, turned towards him during Commons debates so he could get a clear view of their mouths.
Lord Ashley also worked hard to modulate his speaking voice, which he could no longer hear.
However, his deafness never affected his combative attitude.
“Early on when I first lost my hearing, I think people were a little fearful about attacking me. But as I re-established my confidence, that soon fell away,” he said.In the years that followed, he campaigned for the rights of those with disability, in particular for the deaf and blind.
In 1986, the MP and his wife founded the charity Defeating Deafness, now known as Deafness Research UK.
Together the couple had three daughters.
After retiring from the Commons in 1992, Jack Ashley was made a life peer, Baron Ashley of Stoke.
Two years later he received a cochlear implant which restored much of his hearing.
Lord Ashley took a leading role campaigning on behalf of victims of Thalidomide, which was given to mothers to treat morning sickness during the 1950s and 1960, and against violence and rape.
In 2003 he secured changes to improve the provision of subtitles on television. In 2006, he championed a bill to strengthen the rights of the elderly and disabled.
Until his death, Lord Ashley was President of Action on Hearing Loss, formerly the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.
He was also Vice-President of the National Deaf Children’s Society with whom he worked for many years to champion the rights of deaf children.
Susan Daniels, the charity's chief executive, said: “Lord Ashley was a passionate advocate for deaf and disabled people, securing important victories for them in parliament and working tirelessly to ensure that they had a voice at the highest levels."
Lord Ashley worked in a factory after leaving school at 14, becoming a shop steward and a local councillor.
He studied at Oxford and Cambridge on scholarships, and worked as a producer for the BBC before entering parliament.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Serve deaf clients better 'or face claims'
Law firms could face unlimited discrimination claims from deaf and hard of hearing people if they continue failing to make ‘reasonable adjustments’, consumer watchdogs have warned writes Johnathan Rayner for the Law Gazette (18/04/12).
They claim that many deaf clients feel they have to ‘win a battle with their own advisers’ before they can succeed in a legal action, blaming firms’ ‘lack of preparation and consideration’ and failure to take into account their special needs. This slowness to engage with deaf clients prompted some 1,380 complaints and enquiries to the Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD) law centre between August 2007 and September 2011, with a further 429 received in the first seven months of 2011-2012.
Most queries related to employment and welfare benefits, and to discrimination in the provision of goods and services. Britain has over 10 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Mounting concerns over discrimination have led to the announcement within the last month of two initiatives to improve ‘deaf awareness’.
According to Legal Choices, Silent Process, published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Legal Services Consumer Panel and Action on Hearing Loss, deaf clients often find that legal materials are not adapted for their needs and there are barriers to communication, such as badly maintained loop systems and poorly lit rooms. Firms often fail to provide sign language interpreters when requested, and there is confusion over who should pay for them, the report says.
The SRA says it will be issuing best-practice guidelines to address these issues, including online ‘deaf awareness’ training covering interpreting services, how the law applies, and different ways of communicating with deaf people. Case law and legal principles will be illustrated with videos, along with common points of law and its vocabulary.
RAD law centre head Rob Wilks told the Gazette that RAD is also to launch an initiative to ‘educate the legal profession as to the needs of the deaf community’. He said: ‘In addition to CPD-accredited training and workshops, we will be establishing a charter to which law firms committed to providing a service to deaf people can aspire to sign up to. It is intended that this will become the definitive UK benchmark for law firms and other providers to deaf people.’
Friday, 9 March 2012
NZ first Deaf MP welcomes decision to fund notetaker
Deaf MP Mojo Mathers is welcoming a decision to provide her with fully funded support in the House as a "significant step forward for the disability community in New Zealand" reports TVNZ (09/03/12).
Speaker Lockwood Smith this morning announced he had directed Parliamentary Services, which funds support for all MPs to do their jobs, to provide the legal authority to fund electronic note-takers for Mathers.
"This support will be in addition to that to which she is already entitled, to ensure she may fulfil her role as a member of Parliament," Smith said.
"The cost of these services will be met from the Parliamentary Service's baseline and is additional to the funding provided to support all members."
"The cost of these services will be met from the Parliamentary Service's baseline and is additional to the funding provided to support all members."
The decision appears to be a victory for Mathers, who had previously claimed that Smith had asked her to find funding for note-takers out of her Green Party's existing allowances.
"This decision means that aspiring MPs with a disability or hearing impairment will be able to run for parliament confident that they will get the support they need," Mathers said.
"It means that parties don't have to put people with disabilities low on their list or on unelectable positions for fear that they will have to cover the full cost of their participation."
The Greens obtained a legal opinion from Chapman Tripp which suggested the additional funding could be legally provided by a new allocation from Parliamentary Services, rather than taken out of existing allowances for individual members.
The Greens obtained a legal opinion from Chapman Tripp which suggested the additional funding could be legally provided by a new allocation from Parliamentary Services, rather than taken out of existing allowances for individual members.
The advice was taken to a meeting of the Parliamentary Service Commission, which met on Wednesday night.
Smith said the commission had proposed a mechanism whereby the Speaker would have "the flexibility" to fund "the needs of any disabled or impaired members" out of the allocation he had to support all MPs.
"I am disappointed that we have not been able to find a solution that gave me that flexibility," he said.
After finding no resolution on Wednesday night, Smith had decided to find a way for Parliamentary Services to legally provide funding.
Smith said his office had been funding support for Mathers in the interim, but that could not continue. The new funding from Parliamentary Services would provide the permanent solution.
Separately, Smith said he wanted to develop a captioning service to make proceedings of the House more accessible to the hearing-impaired.
"I intend working with the Office of the Clerk to develop this service and will raise this with the Standing Orders Committee which deals with such matters," he said.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Rare reprieve for Haiti's disabled slated to end
When doctors amputated her right arm that was crushed by jagged rubble during Haiti's 2010 earthquake, Marjorie Benoit joined the ranks of Haiti's outcasts: the blind, the deaf and those missing limbs writes Trenton Daniels for Associated Press (05/03/12).
But then something unexpected happened for the 33-year-old mother of four as she faced personal and economic devastation. She found a welcoming home.
While the 1.3 million people displaced by the quake ended up in post-apocalyptic-like tent cities, a sliver of the homeless disabled population, including Benoit, landed in the closest thing to a model community. They moved into neat plywood shelters along tidy gravel lanes in a settlement designed to house them. They formed a close-knit colony of sorts with ramps for their wheelchairs made out of discarded pool furniture and solar-powered lights to help the deaf communicate with sign language.
The rare respite for the estimated 500-plus people living here, however, will soon end as the government moves to reclaim the land, and, like Haiti's piecemeal reconstruction effort, there isn't much of a plan to house them once they leave — maybe some money for rent and a little extra cash. An alternative site for some of the settlement's deaf residents is not yet completed.
"I have strength by living with other people who are handicapped," said Benoit, who said she's still learning how to use her left hand so she can resume work as a street merchant. "I want everyone to move together wherever we go."
Life has never been easy for the disabled in one of the world's poorest countries. The blind and deaf and amputated have long shouldered a social stigma, their disabilities dismissed as the product of a hex, and few have access to physical therapy or social services. It's no accident that Haiti's disabled make up the poorest part of its population.
Inside the settlement's enclosing chain-linked fence, the residents say they no longer endure the long stares for losing their vision, hearing or a limb.
Claudius Joseph, a blind 25-year-old student, says his teachers believe he can't learn because he can't see. Children, he says, are afraid to touch him.
"I feel normal here because there are other people who are handicapped just like me," Joseph said one evening as his cane tapped the gravel in front of him.
The camp, near Port-au-Prince's international airport, is called "La Piste" because of an abandoned military airstrip across the street. It was set up by the International Federation for the Red Cross, which built 368 shelters for the hearing and speech impaired and others with disabilities. The first families moved in Jan. 7, 2011, days before the anniversary of the earthquake, and each received $150 to help settle in.
Its current residents are a mix of people disabled by traumas or infections caused by the quake and those whose conditions preceded it.
The Red Cross says it signed an agreement with the previous administration of President Rene Preval to use the land until January 2013. Officials with President Michel Martelly's government say they want the land back and the residents need to leave.
"The land is not theirs and the owner wants it back," said Gerald Oriol Jr., Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities. He declined to say who owned the land and referred questions to a foreign charity worker helping the deaf residents. "Within six to nine months they should move out."
When two Associated Press journalists spoke to roughly a dozen La Piste residents about what they would do if they were forced to leave the settlement, some had not heard the news and a few began to shriek.Alix Baptiste, a slender 37-year-old mute man, pulled the lone sign interpreter by the arm and approached the reporters.
He had the interpreter say: "We'll protest because we have no place else to go."
Two U.S. religious groups are building a new site about 18 miles (30 kilometers) northwest Port-au-Prince to house some of La Piste's residents, but a good portion will be left behind and many don't want to leave the camp.
Mission of Hope of Fort Myers, Florida, and 410 Bridge, Inc., of Alpharetta, Georgia, are building 500 houses over the next two years in the town of Leveque. A hundred and sixty of those homes are reserved for deaf families in La Piste, said Austin Holmes of Mission of Hope Haiti. Fifty families have already moved in.
But the fate of those left behind remains uncertain.
"That is the big question mark," said Kyle Reschke, Haiti's project director for 410 Bridge. "We're trying our best to take away that question mark."
And even for those at La Piste who have housing promised them, many ask where will they go if they are evicted in the coming months before their new homes are completed?
Some at La Piste, like 58-year-old Fecilia Joseph, will "go with the wind" if it takes them to Leveque.
But others don't want to leave. That's because they sew clothes in a factory down the street or take classes in downtown Port-au-Prince. Their social networks are in Haiti's capital.
Red Cross shelter coordinator James Bellamy said that if the government seizes the land before January the residents would be eligible for a rental subsidy for $500 for one year and another $500 to help out. They can also enroll in courses to learn skills in carpentry, sewing and masonry.
"We'll be talking to the government and households down there to see if we can advocate for any long-term solutions," Bellamy said. "There's no plan for them to go anywhere."
The Martelly administration and foreign aid groups have cleared out several camps in recent months and moved the residents into homes by paying their rent for a year. But that's only 5 percent of the half million people stuck in the gloomy, flood-prone camps.
On a recent afternoon at La Piste, quake amputees on crutches kicked around a soccer ball on a dusty field.
Residents say they're grateful for the site despite fears that it will close.
"Thank God we live well; we're not fighting," said Mason Egene, a 63-year-old who's paralyzed in the right leg. "We have all kinds of problems but we don't get wet in the rain."
But then something unexpected happened for the 33-year-old mother of four as she faced personal and economic devastation. She found a welcoming home.
While the 1.3 million people displaced by the quake ended up in post-apocalyptic-like tent cities, a sliver of the homeless disabled population, including Benoit, landed in the closest thing to a model community. They moved into neat plywood shelters along tidy gravel lanes in a settlement designed to house them. They formed a close-knit colony of sorts with ramps for their wheelchairs made out of discarded pool furniture and solar-powered lights to help the deaf communicate with sign language.
The rare respite for the estimated 500-plus people living here, however, will soon end as the government moves to reclaim the land, and, like Haiti's piecemeal reconstruction effort, there isn't much of a plan to house them once they leave — maybe some money for rent and a little extra cash. An alternative site for some of the settlement's deaf residents is not yet completed.
"I have strength by living with other people who are handicapped," said Benoit, who said she's still learning how to use her left hand so she can resume work as a street merchant. "I want everyone to move together wherever we go."
Life has never been easy for the disabled in one of the world's poorest countries. The blind and deaf and amputated have long shouldered a social stigma, their disabilities dismissed as the product of a hex, and few have access to physical therapy or social services. It's no accident that Haiti's disabled make up the poorest part of its population.
Inside the settlement's enclosing chain-linked fence, the residents say they no longer endure the long stares for losing their vision, hearing or a limb.
Claudius Joseph, a blind 25-year-old student, says his teachers believe he can't learn because he can't see. Children, he says, are afraid to touch him.
"I feel normal here because there are other people who are handicapped just like me," Joseph said one evening as his cane tapped the gravel in front of him.
The camp, near Port-au-Prince's international airport, is called "La Piste" because of an abandoned military airstrip across the street. It was set up by the International Federation for the Red Cross, which built 368 shelters for the hearing and speech impaired and others with disabilities. The first families moved in Jan. 7, 2011, days before the anniversary of the earthquake, and each received $150 to help settle in.
Its current residents are a mix of people disabled by traumas or infections caused by the quake and those whose conditions preceded it.
The Red Cross says it signed an agreement with the previous administration of President Rene Preval to use the land until January 2013. Officials with President Michel Martelly's government say they want the land back and the residents need to leave.
"The land is not theirs and the owner wants it back," said Gerald Oriol Jr., Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities. He declined to say who owned the land and referred questions to a foreign charity worker helping the deaf residents. "Within six to nine months they should move out."
When two Associated Press journalists spoke to roughly a dozen La Piste residents about what they would do if they were forced to leave the settlement, some had not heard the news and a few began to shriek.Alix Baptiste, a slender 37-year-old mute man, pulled the lone sign interpreter by the arm and approached the reporters.
He had the interpreter say: "We'll protest because we have no place else to go."
Two U.S. religious groups are building a new site about 18 miles (30 kilometers) northwest Port-au-Prince to house some of La Piste's residents, but a good portion will be left behind and many don't want to leave the camp.
Mission of Hope of Fort Myers, Florida, and 410 Bridge, Inc., of Alpharetta, Georgia, are building 500 houses over the next two years in the town of Leveque. A hundred and sixty of those homes are reserved for deaf families in La Piste, said Austin Holmes of Mission of Hope Haiti. Fifty families have already moved in.
But the fate of those left behind remains uncertain.
"That is the big question mark," said Kyle Reschke, Haiti's project director for 410 Bridge. "We're trying our best to take away that question mark."
And even for those at La Piste who have housing promised them, many ask where will they go if they are evicted in the coming months before their new homes are completed?
Some at La Piste, like 58-year-old Fecilia Joseph, will "go with the wind" if it takes them to Leveque.
But others don't want to leave. That's because they sew clothes in a factory down the street or take classes in downtown Port-au-Prince. Their social networks are in Haiti's capital.
Red Cross shelter coordinator James Bellamy said that if the government seizes the land before January the residents would be eligible for a rental subsidy for $500 for one year and another $500 to help out. They can also enroll in courses to learn skills in carpentry, sewing and masonry.
"We'll be talking to the government and households down there to see if we can advocate for any long-term solutions," Bellamy said. "There's no plan for them to go anywhere."
The Martelly administration and foreign aid groups have cleared out several camps in recent months and moved the residents into homes by paying their rent for a year. But that's only 5 percent of the half million people stuck in the gloomy, flood-prone camps.
On a recent afternoon at La Piste, quake amputees on crutches kicked around a soccer ball on a dusty field.
Residents say they're grateful for the site despite fears that it will close.
"Thank God we live well; we're not fighting," said Mason Egene, a 63-year-old who's paralyzed in the right leg. "We have all kinds of problems but we don't get wet in the rain."
"Tribes" opens Off-Broadway
Nina Raine's strong drama about being a deaf outsider in a hearing family opens writes Joe Dziemianowicz for New York Daily News (05/03/12)
Toward the end of “Tribes,” Sylvia, a young woman who works for a charity, admits: “I love being ironic.”
So does Nina Raine, the London author of this spirited and provocative drama about a British family of big thinkers and bigger talkers obsessed with self-expression who’ve made it hard for one member to communicate.
Ironic, no? So it goes for twentysomething Billy (Russell Harvard), who was born deaf and lip-reads as his noisy clan clucks about their work. His mom and dad, Beth and Christopher (Mare Winningham and Jeff Perry), are authors, brother Daniel (Will Brill) is wrestling with his thesis about language, and sister Ruth (Gayle Rankin) is an aspiring opera singer. Billy has never had a job.
Then he meets Sylvia (Susan Pourfar), who’s slowly losing her hearing. He finds love and employment and learns sign language, something dismissed — almost unbelievably — by his bohemian family as conventional. Signing scenes are woven throughout the play with the use of supertitles.
In short order, Billy delivers an ultimatum to a family that has been deaf to his needs.
“Tribes” covers many themes, from the wonders and failings of families to notions of identity to the hierarchy within the deaf world. Frankly, there are so many explicit allusions to language that “Tribes” comes off too packaged for its own good.
But ample compensations are Raine’s smarts and wit. The intimacy of the story plays to the strengths of director David Cromer, whose sterling take on “Our Town” ran a couple years ago in the same venue.
Cromer’s staging clicks, as does the entire cast. Winningham oozes empathy, and Pourfar is especially lovely conveying Sylvia’s fear and anger about losing a part of herself.
In the key role of Billy, Harvard, who was born deaf, creates a moving portrait of a man torn between worlds. Words can't do justice to his portrayal, and there is nothing ironic in that statement.
Venue: Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St NEW YORK. Price: $75 Phone: (212) 868-4444
Toward the end of “Tribes,” Sylvia, a young woman who works for a charity, admits: “I love being ironic.”
So does Nina Raine, the London author of this spirited and provocative drama about a British family of big thinkers and bigger talkers obsessed with self-expression who’ve made it hard for one member to communicate.
Ironic, no? So it goes for twentysomething Billy (Russell Harvard), who was born deaf and lip-reads as his noisy clan clucks about their work. His mom and dad, Beth and Christopher (Mare Winningham and Jeff Perry), are authors, brother Daniel (Will Brill) is wrestling with his thesis about language, and sister Ruth (Gayle Rankin) is an aspiring opera singer. Billy has never had a job.
Then he meets Sylvia (Susan Pourfar), who’s slowly losing her hearing. He finds love and employment and learns sign language, something dismissed — almost unbelievably — by his bohemian family as conventional. Signing scenes are woven throughout the play with the use of supertitles.
In short order, Billy delivers an ultimatum to a family that has been deaf to his needs.
“Tribes” covers many themes, from the wonders and failings of families to notions of identity to the hierarchy within the deaf world. Frankly, there are so many explicit allusions to language that “Tribes” comes off too packaged for its own good.
But ample compensations are Raine’s smarts and wit. The intimacy of the story plays to the strengths of director David Cromer, whose sterling take on “Our Town” ran a couple years ago in the same venue.
Cromer’s staging clicks, as does the entire cast. Winningham oozes empathy, and Pourfar is especially lovely conveying Sylvia’s fear and anger about losing a part of herself.
In the key role of Billy, Harvard, who was born deaf, creates a moving portrait of a man torn between worlds. Words can't do justice to his portrayal, and there is nothing ironic in that statement.
Venue: Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St NEW YORK. Price: $75 Phone: (212) 868-4444
Friday, 24 February 2012
Some banks ‘failing’ deaf customers
Banks and building societies are leaving people with hearing loss feeling “financially excluded”, campaigners have said reports the Shropshire Star (24/02/12).
Deaf customers are not receiving equal access to services and lenders’ increased reliance on technology such as telephone banking means they have an even tougher time, Action on Hearing Loss argued.
Campaigners said that half of those with hearing problems surveyed are unhappy with the communication methods they have with their bank or building society.
The charity found from its 6,000 members that some three quarters visit their branch in person, although less than half would prefer to communicate in this way. One third of respondents had experienced difficulties relating to hearing loss or deafness when communicating with their bank or building society.
Roger Wicks, a director of the charity, said: “Some banks are failing people, which can leave them frustrated and isolated, and can lead to them feeling financially excluded. We strongly believe that people with a hearing loss should have equal access to their banking services.”
The study argued that staff do not always understand the “text relay” system for phone communication, which allows customers to type a message which is relayed through an operator.
Action on Hearing Loss, formerly known as the RNID, surveyed 152 bank and building society branches and found that in more than half (52%) there was no induction loop or the loop was not available, switched on or working.
The charity said one anonymous customer had told them about the problems in branch, saying: “(They) try to speak with me through a glass screen. They have counter loop sign but staff don’t know what it is or how it works. There is no deaf awareness.”
A spokeswoman for the Building Societies Association said: “Building societies are very conscious of the various needs of their customers and work hard to deliver their services in a way that is accessible to each individual. This includes induction loops in branches, web secure messaging and documentation and websites available in larger font sizes.
“That said, any consumer problems are of concern and we would like to understand the detail of this survey conducted by Action on Hearing Loss.”
Campaigners said that half of those with hearing problems surveyed are unhappy with the communication methods they have with their bank or building society.
The charity found from its 6,000 members that some three quarters visit their branch in person, although less than half would prefer to communicate in this way. One third of respondents had experienced difficulties relating to hearing loss or deafness when communicating with their bank or building society.
Roger Wicks, a director of the charity, said: “Some banks are failing people, which can leave them frustrated and isolated, and can lead to them feeling financially excluded. We strongly believe that people with a hearing loss should have equal access to their banking services.”
The study argued that staff do not always understand the “text relay” system for phone communication, which allows customers to type a message which is relayed through an operator.
Action on Hearing Loss, formerly known as the RNID, surveyed 152 bank and building society branches and found that in more than half (52%) there was no induction loop or the loop was not available, switched on or working.
The charity said one anonymous customer had told them about the problems in branch, saying: “(They) try to speak with me through a glass screen. They have counter loop sign but staff don’t know what it is or how it works. There is no deaf awareness.”
A spokeswoman for the Building Societies Association said: “Building societies are very conscious of the various needs of their customers and work hard to deliver their services in a way that is accessible to each individual. This includes induction loops in branches, web secure messaging and documentation and websites available in larger font sizes.
“That said, any consumer problems are of concern and we would like to understand the detail of this survey conducted by Action on Hearing Loss.”
Friday, 17 February 2012
Deaf & hard of hearing callers will be able to text message 911
Trial program will open emergency services to hearing or speech impaired writes Gillian Shaw for the Vancouver Sun (17/02/12).
When James Henderson called 911 he was desperate to get help for his wife Nancy, who was choking. But Henderson is deaf and when he wasn’t able to communicate the details of the emergency on the call, it took more than 40 minutes for help to arrive.
The incident had a happy ending when the pill that had blocked Nancy’s throat dislodged and she was able to recover on her own. But it underscored the difficulties that people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment face when they are trying to reach 911.
It helped to spur the launch of a three-month trial announced Thursday that will allow people who can’t communicate with 911 operators over voice calls to text from their cellphones instead.
The trial, announced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, involves participants in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and the Peel Region. It’s aimed at testing the system and gathering data for a report on the feasibility of rolling out the program nationwide.
“It’s a huge safety issue for someone to be able to get hold of 911 services in a timely manner,” said Mandy Conlon, provincial accessibility coordinator for the Canadian Hearing Society’s 911 improvement project. “There are definitely people who have not been able to get a timely answer to their 911 calls specifically because of this issue, they don’t have access to 911 the way a hearing person does.”
Conlon said in the case of the Hendersons, who live in Brantford, Ont. and are both deaf, the husband left the phone off the hook and went to help his wife, believing that his call would result in emergency services being dispatched immediately.
However, with 911 call centres getting misdialled through pocket and prank calls, people who are deaf or can’t communicate with the operator for another reason aren’t able to rely on simply leaving the phone off the hook to get emergency services to their door.
The trial, in which registered participants will make test texts to 911 is expected to have at least 120 participants, about 40 in each region, said Conlon. She said the technology works with newer-model cellphones, regardless of whether they are Android, Apple or some other operating system.
Telus, which provides the back-end technology for 911 services in British Columbia and Alberta and works with E-Comm in Vancouver, is participating in the trial through its 911 work and as a wireless carrier.
Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said this is the first time texts will be able to be combined with voice calls to 911 operators. The 911 system already helps operators locate people who are calling from cellphones, relying on either GPS or the triangulation of cellphone towers.
“What this texting service does is it essentially bolts that location technology onto text messaging functionality so someone who is deaf, or who has a speech impairment and can’t talk to the 911 operator, can text the relevant information,” said Hall.
“It’s important that it works this way because it combines the powerful aspects of a voice call, particularly that location functionality with texting, and if you are unable to speak, you will be able to text information — such as ‘there’s a fire,’ ‘my spouse has had a heart attack.’
“This will help bring the best possible 911 services to someone who is deaf or who has a speech disability.”
When James Henderson called 911 he was desperate to get help for his wife Nancy, who was choking. But Henderson is deaf and when he wasn’t able to communicate the details of the emergency on the call, it took more than 40 minutes for help to arrive.
The incident had a happy ending when the pill that had blocked Nancy’s throat dislodged and she was able to recover on her own. But it underscored the difficulties that people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment face when they are trying to reach 911.
It helped to spur the launch of a three-month trial announced Thursday that will allow people who can’t communicate with 911 operators over voice calls to text from their cellphones instead.
The trial, announced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, involves participants in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and the Peel Region. It’s aimed at testing the system and gathering data for a report on the feasibility of rolling out the program nationwide.
“It’s a huge safety issue for someone to be able to get hold of 911 services in a timely manner,” said Mandy Conlon, provincial accessibility coordinator for the Canadian Hearing Society’s 911 improvement project. “There are definitely people who have not been able to get a timely answer to their 911 calls specifically because of this issue, they don’t have access to 911 the way a hearing person does.”
Conlon said in the case of the Hendersons, who live in Brantford, Ont. and are both deaf, the husband left the phone off the hook and went to help his wife, believing that his call would result in emergency services being dispatched immediately.
However, with 911 call centres getting misdialled through pocket and prank calls, people who are deaf or can’t communicate with the operator for another reason aren’t able to rely on simply leaving the phone off the hook to get emergency services to their door.
The trial, in which registered participants will make test texts to 911 is expected to have at least 120 participants, about 40 in each region, said Conlon. She said the technology works with newer-model cellphones, regardless of whether they are Android, Apple or some other operating system.
Telus, which provides the back-end technology for 911 services in British Columbia and Alberta and works with E-Comm in Vancouver, is participating in the trial through its 911 work and as a wireless carrier.
Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said this is the first time texts will be able to be combined with voice calls to 911 operators. The 911 system already helps operators locate people who are calling from cellphones, relying on either GPS or the triangulation of cellphone towers.
“What this texting service does is it essentially bolts that location technology onto text messaging functionality so someone who is deaf, or who has a speech impairment and can’t talk to the 911 operator, can text the relevant information,” said Hall.
“It’s important that it works this way because it combines the powerful aspects of a voice call, particularly that location functionality with texting, and if you are unable to speak, you will be able to text information — such as ‘there’s a fire,’ ‘my spouse has had a heart attack.’
“This will help bring the best possible 911 services to someone who is deaf or who has a speech disability.”
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Deaf man cleared of G20 charges
The Crown has withdrawn criminal charges against Emomotimi Azorbo, the deaf man who says his Charter rights were violated when he was arrested at a G20 protest and then denied access to an adequate interpreter writes Jennifer Yang for The Star (07/02/12).
The Crown has withdrawn criminal charges against Emomotimi Azorbo, the deaf man who says his Charter rights were violated when he was arrested at a G20 protest and then denied access to an adequate interpreter.
Azorbo, now 32, was watching a G20 protest near Yonge and College Sts. on June 25, 2010 when he failed to hear police commands and got in a physical confrontation with officers.
He was arrested and taken to the G20 temporary detention centre, where Azorbo says he was denied access to a professionally-trained interpreter — even though the Canadian Hearing Society had offered their services free of charge to Toronto police over the G20 weekend.
Azorbo was charged with assaulting police officers and resisting arrest and was scheduled to begin trial this week. But at the Finch Ave. courthouse Monday morning, Crown attorney Jason Miller withdrew all the charges.
“Pursuing a conviction of Mr. Azorbo for the assaults is, in the Crown’s opinion, unnecessary,” he said.
Azorbo signed a peace bond, agreeing to keep the peace for six months.
Miller told the court Azorbo was not involved in the protest and could not hear police instructions, nor could he effectively communicate to officers that he was deaf.
But Miller added he wanted to correct the “public record” created by the media’s portrayal of Azorbo as a blameless party when he was actually “confrontational” with police. He played two YouTube videos for the courtroom; one that captures Azorbo walking towards police and being struck and pushed away, only to re-approach the officers. What happens next is mostly obscured by the crowd.
“Despite being given a couple chances by police to calm down and walk away, Mr. Azorbo persisted in pushing police officers and finally shoved an officer aside who was blocking his progress,” Miller said. “Mr. Azorbo appeared at that time to be making a beeline at a specific officer he had his initial confrontation with. This caused police to place Mr. Azorbo under arrest.”
But Azorbo maintains that what police interpreted as aggression and “pushing” was merely his frustrated attempts at communicating with officers and defending himself.
“I was trying to explain that I was deaf,” Azorbo said Monday, speaking to the Starthrough an interpretation team that includes an American sign language interpreter and a deaf interpreter. “And then I was being pushed and all of a sudden I was taken down.”
Azorbo’s lawyer, Howard Morton, has also filed a Charter motion alleging his client was denied his constitutional rights, including his right to the assistance of an interpreter during legal proceedings.
Azorbo said that when he arrived at the detention centre, police failed to provide him with a professionally-trained interpreter. He was instead offered police officers who could only finger spell or had a minimal knowledge of American Sign Language, which Azorbo himself is still learning, having grown up in Nigeria using Nigerian Sign Language.
“I just kept saying, ‘I don’t want this to happen, I need an interpreter that I can understand and can understand me,’” he said. “I didn’t want to be misquoted. I didn’t want this police officer – who doesn’t understand sign language – being the one communicating for me because she wasn’t going to do me justice.”
Morton said his client was further denied access to interpreters at two of his subsequent court dates, when interpreters ordered by the judge failed to show up.
Gary Malkowski, with the Canadian Hearing Society, said his organization offered to provide Toronto police with interpreting services during the G20 weekend, paying thousands of dollars to keep qualified interpreters on standby. But when they offered interpretation services for Azorbo, they were denied, Malkowski said.
“There was not only a denial of rights, but an intentional denial of rights,” he said.
At the time of his arrest, Azorbo did not fully understand what his rights were.
He knows them now, however. And he thinks police should know them too.
“I assumed that the police would do right by me and have an interpreter,” he said. “I assumed that they would be aware of my rights and make sure I was protected. But they weren’t.”
Friday, 20 January 2012
Access to music venues for deaf and disabled people
Matthew Hancock MP calls on the government to do all it can to break down the barriers that make live music inaccessible to all writes Matthew Hancock for Politics Home (17/01/12).
For most people, watching live music is a thrill, a joy, and a great way to escape from the day to day. For some it’s a passion. For many disabled people, live music can be all the more important. But it's also that much harder to access.
In the recent past, a new generation of music venues have shown that creative, thoughtful disabled access to venues not only helps the lives of those with disabilities, but is good business too. Research shows that disabled attendance is rising sharply - this is a growth market.
But not all venues are up to scratch. I know well, from personal experience of taking a disabled friend to the theatre and gigs, what a difference is made by putting some thought into access.
It's not just about wheelchair access, but loos and hearing aid loops.
I am the patron of Attitude is Everything - a charity that exists to improve access for disabled music-lovers to see the bands they love. At the end of last year, they released the first comprehensive report into the state of access to Britain's live venues.
The report used the findings of 100 deaf and disabled ‘mystery shoppers’ who visited venues across the country and rated them on their accessibility. Their findings form the basis of their proposals:
First to improve enforcement of existing rules that say that reasonable steps should be taken to improve access, by making access a condition of license.
But perhaps more important, to promote best practice, and sign venues up to the Attitude is Everything Charter that is used by some of the top venues and festivals like Glastonbury and Latitude in Suffolk.
Most of us can enjoy live music just by turning up. We must do what we can to break down the barriers that make live music inaccessible to all.
Matthew Hancock had been Conservative MP for West Suffolk since 2010.
For most people, watching live music is a thrill, a joy, and a great way to escape from the day to day. For some it’s a passion. For many disabled people, live music can be all the more important. But it's also that much harder to access.
In the recent past, a new generation of music venues have shown that creative, thoughtful disabled access to venues not only helps the lives of those with disabilities, but is good business too. Research shows that disabled attendance is rising sharply - this is a growth market.
But not all venues are up to scratch. I know well, from personal experience of taking a disabled friend to the theatre and gigs, what a difference is made by putting some thought into access.
It's not just about wheelchair access, but loos and hearing aid loops.
I am the patron of Attitude is Everything - a charity that exists to improve access for disabled music-lovers to see the bands they love. At the end of last year, they released the first comprehensive report into the state of access to Britain's live venues.
The report used the findings of 100 deaf and disabled ‘mystery shoppers’ who visited venues across the country and rated them on their accessibility. Their findings form the basis of their proposals:
First to improve enforcement of existing rules that say that reasonable steps should be taken to improve access, by making access a condition of license.
But perhaps more important, to promote best practice, and sign venues up to the Attitude is Everything Charter that is used by some of the top venues and festivals like Glastonbury and Latitude in Suffolk.
Most of us can enjoy live music just by turning up. We must do what we can to break down the barriers that make live music inaccessible to all.
Matthew Hancock had been Conservative MP for West Suffolk since 2010.
Deaf not being heard, activists tell MPs
APPROXIMATELY 93 percent of deaf South Africans are out of work writes Deon de Lange for Cape Argos (18/01/12).
This came to light yesterday during a parliamentary hearing into the proposed SA Languages Bill. The bill aims to give effect to language rights provided for in the constitution, as according to the National Institute for the Deaf (NID), Deaf people suffer three times the average unemployment rate.
While the constitution requires the government to “promote and create conditions for the development and use” of sign language – as with the Khoi, Nama and San languages – it stops short of recognising it as an official language.
This was despite the fact that users of sign language constituted the fifth-largest language group in SA, surpassing the number of people who spoke official languages such as Ndebele, Venda and Tsonga, according to NID director Ernest Kleinschmidt.
NID executive director Deon de Villiers said on the sidelines of the discussion that there were about 4 million hearing-impaired South Africans, of whom about 1.5 million were “profoundly deaf”.
He complained that last year’s census failed to collect information on the number of deaf people, hampering efforts to improve policies which affect the deaf and hearing-impaired community.
De Villiers said 47 schools for deaf children produced just 17 matriculants last year because most of them could accommodate only primary school pupils. This left deaf and hearing-impaired pupils with the daunting prospect of entering regular high schools which could not meet their needs.
De Villiers said many deaf pupils simply “gave up”, falling out of the education system long before Grade 12.
Kleinschmidt made an impassioned plea for “the oldest language in the world” to be granted its rightful place among the country’s many languages, pointing out that sign language was “not a luxury for those who use it”.
Deaf pupils give AMs an insight into the need for better acoustics
ASSEMBLY MEMBERS were given an insight into the challenges facing deaf children in a classroom with poor acoustics writes Gareth Evans for Wales Online (19/1/12).
Two pupils from Cardiff visited the Senedd on Tuesday to talk about how noisy, echoing rooms make it difficult for youngsters with hearing loss to learn.
Politicians were played audio simulations showing what it can sound like for a deaf child in a classroom with substandard acoustics.
It follows a campaign by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Cymru to make schools more accessible to children with hearing loss.
Pupil Daniyaal Munir, 15, said: “I struggle to hear well and can’t concentrate in noisy and echoing classrooms. I can concentrate better when there is no background noise, and it is a lot easier to hear my teachers and friends.”
“Deaf children are not stupid,” said Kurtis Olding, 15, “they just don’t hear so well and if they are given the right support, then they could get more qualifications and better jobs in turn.”
Research published by NDCS Cymru reveals that acoustic regulations in new school buildings are often ignored, leaving children across Wales struggling to learn in noisy and echoing classrooms. Less than a third of schools built in Wales between 2003 and 2010 received any input from an acoustic expert and just 11% of schools built were tested to check they met acoustic standards.
In last week’s Education Questions, AM for Vale of Clwyd Ann Jones asked what the Welsh Government were doing to ensure schools have the appropriate acoustics for children with hearing impairments. She welcomed a requirement to incorporate provision into all 21st Century School projects and asked Education Minister Leighton Andrews whether he had plans to roll-out acoustics into nurseries and colleges.
Responding, Mr Andrews said: “Obviously, we took the step of incorporating guidance on this into the 21st Century Schools programme and that work continues. We will continue to provide support for that programme and we will also look at the implications of that for buildings in other parts of the education sector.”
Russell George, Tory AM for Montgomeryshire, said the Welsh Government should use its newly-acquired extra powers to ensure building regulations were robust. “We should not allow poor acoustics in the classroom to be a barrier preventing deaf pupils from achieving their potential," he said.
Mr Andrews said capital cuts imposed by the Westminster Government were restricting what the Welsh administration could do. He added: “I think that we provide significant guidance to local authorities to undertake this [acoustics] programme. Clearly, we do not have all the capital that we require to provide local authorities with the support that they need to undertake this programme on a rigorous basis, but at the end of the day we are doing what we can from our resources.”
Jayne Dulson, director of NDCS Cymru, said she was delighted so many AMs had signed up to support their campaign.
Two pupils from Cardiff visited the Senedd on Tuesday to talk about how noisy, echoing rooms make it difficult for youngsters with hearing loss to learn.
Politicians were played audio simulations showing what it can sound like for a deaf child in a classroom with substandard acoustics.
It follows a campaign by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Cymru to make schools more accessible to children with hearing loss.
The charity has so far enlisted the support of 29 AMs who have signed a “New Year’s resolution” to improve provision in new school, college and nursery buildings. It is hoping to encourage more members to sign up.
Pupil Daniyaal Munir, 15, said: “I struggle to hear well and can’t concentrate in noisy and echoing classrooms. I can concentrate better when there is no background noise, and it is a lot easier to hear my teachers and friends.”
“Deaf children are not stupid,” said Kurtis Olding, 15, “they just don’t hear so well and if they are given the right support, then they could get more qualifications and better jobs in turn.”
Research published by NDCS Cymru reveals that acoustic regulations in new school buildings are often ignored, leaving children across Wales struggling to learn in noisy and echoing classrooms. Less than a third of schools built in Wales between 2003 and 2010 received any input from an acoustic expert and just 11% of schools built were tested to check they met acoustic standards.
In last week’s Education Questions, AM for Vale of Clwyd Ann Jones asked what the Welsh Government were doing to ensure schools have the appropriate acoustics for children with hearing impairments. She welcomed a requirement to incorporate provision into all 21st Century School projects and asked Education Minister Leighton Andrews whether he had plans to roll-out acoustics into nurseries and colleges.
Responding, Mr Andrews said: “Obviously, we took the step of incorporating guidance on this into the 21st Century Schools programme and that work continues. We will continue to provide support for that programme and we will also look at the implications of that for buildings in other parts of the education sector.”
Russell George, Tory AM for Montgomeryshire, said the Welsh Government should use its newly-acquired extra powers to ensure building regulations were robust. “We should not allow poor acoustics in the classroom to be a barrier preventing deaf pupils from achieving their potential," he said.
Mr Andrews said capital cuts imposed by the Westminster Government were restricting what the Welsh administration could do. He added: “I think that we provide significant guidance to local authorities to undertake this [acoustics] programme. Clearly, we do not have all the capital that we require to provide local authorities with the support that they need to undertake this programme on a rigorous basis, but at the end of the day we are doing what we can from our resources.”
Jayne Dulson, director of NDCS Cymru, said she was delighted so many AMs had signed up to support their campaign.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
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.”
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.”
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Warning over disability living allowance shake-up
Ministers must "learn the lessons" of past welfare changes or risk their proposed shake-up of disability support leaving many in poverty, it is claimed.
Plans to replace the disability living allowance (DLA) could lead to 85% of claimants cutting back on basics like food and transport, a charity warned. The Papworth Trust said there was also anxiety over the reassessment process reports the BBC (31/08/11).
The government says DLA is complex, inconsistent and that changes are "overdue", but stresses cash payments will remain.
The coalition is planning to replace the allowance, introduced in 1992 to help disabled people cope with the extra costs they face in their daily lives, with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment.
Disability Living Allowance is paid to 3.2 million people
Mobility concernAll 3.2 million people receiving DLA at the moment, both those in work and out, will be reassessed.
It is expected mobility allowances for those in care homes and the care component of the allowance paid to 650,000 people will be ended, while most recipients will receive fixed-term rather than indefinite payments in future.
Disability rights campaigners are seeking a judicial review of the proposals, part of the government's welfare reform bill, saying ministers have not properly assessed their negative impact.
The Papworth Trust said it had spoken to 2,000 people likely to be affected and that eight out of ten believed they would have less to spend on basic items like food, fuel and transport as a result.
Although the government is still consulting on its plans, the charity said the changes risked leaving already vulnerable people "further disadvantaged" - threatening their mobility and peace of mind.
"Disabled people's daily costs are typically 25% higher than those of non-disabled people," its chief executive Adrian Bagg said.
"For example, not all public transport is accessible. This means some people have to use accessible taxis to be able to leave their home, which cost significantly more than non-accessible taxis."
The charity said it accepted that all sections of society were facing cutbacks, but that a 20% reduction in spending on PLP, compared to DLA, would leave very few recipients unaffected.
Campaigners are also urging ministers to take on board problems experienced in their shake-up of incapacity benefit when it comes to assessing people's eligibility for the new benefit.
'Keeping pace'Fitness-for work tests for those on incapacity benefit - known as the work capability assessment - have been heavily criticised for failing to differentiate between those with different conditions, and for not preparing claimants for the ordeal.
Mr Bagg said DLA claimants - particularly those with mental health problems - were "particularly anxious" about the reassessment process and how it would be conducted.
"We urge the government to learn the lessons of the work capability assessment and ensure that if they make this change, the assessment will be fair and the implications clearly explained."
Ministers say DLA has essentially remained the same for 20 years and has failed to "keep pace" with the ever-growing role played by disabled people in society and their rising aspirations.
While remaining a non means-tested cash payment, ministers say PLP will be simpler to apply for and administer and focused on helping fulfil people's desire to live independent lives.
Responding to a public consultation earlier this year, Minister for Disabled People Maria Miller said change was "long overdue" and PLP would be a "truly personalised benefit that evolves over time".
The government says spending on DLA has risen by 30% in the past eight years and, even after the changes, projected spending in 2015-2016 would be equivalent to levels in 2009-2010.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
