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Many of Kilbarchan group enjoyed following Rose Ayling-Ellis on Strictly Come Dancing last year and were keen to A guest speaker from Adoption UK raise deaf awareness. We sourced a free provided us with some thought provoking one-hour session through Eventbrite, run information. by a charity called Deaf Action which Some of the key facts we learned were: is based in the east of Scotland. Some ■■ Care experienced children and young members attended their talks and fed people, along with adopted babies and back to the group. children, could be four times as likely to There were many aspects to the subject have FASD, having been pre-exposed to but for the purposes of this article we alcohol during pregnancy; wanted to focus on how we could better ■■ More children are currently living with communicate with deaf people who are oral. FASD than autism spectrum disorder The speaker, Tomas, outlined the (ASD); number of deaf or deafened (this usually ■■ FASD is the most common refers to someone who became deaf as unrecognised neuro-developmental an adult) people living in the UK. Note condition in the UK; that 10m deaf people in the UK equates ■■ Worldwide, the UK is the fourth to approximately one in seven people worst country for drinking during having some form of deafness. 1 pregnancy—a pretty sobering statistic! One useful tip is to begin your sentence ■■ There is often co-morbidity with with the subject as it helps a lipreader other neurological conditions such as to know right from the start what the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder conversation is going to be about. A great (ADHD) and ASD; deal of lipreading is down to guesswork, ■■ Someone with FASD doesn’t look any relying on body language and facial different from anyone else! expressions. So, asking: “Your holiday, There is no one characteristic that was it good?” is a big improvement on: “I makes it obvious that a young person was wondering, how did you enjoy your has FASD. There used to be a belief that holiday?” certain facial features were the only It was also pointed out how tiring factor but now the condition embraces communication for a deaf person can be. a wider spectrum of factors, including It is hoped that the “Rose effect” will be a smaller head circumference and poor long-lasting and not just temporary. concentration levels, commonly also diagnosed with ADHD. 1 https://www.statista.com/chart/7689/ the-worst-countries-for-drinking-duringOur speaker stressed that expectations of those with FASD should be adjusted to pregnancy/
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
consider their developmental age not their https://www.deafaction.org/
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Get the person’s attention before speaking Be brief Make sure the lighting on your face is good Keep good eye contact and speak directly Place yourself at a comfortable distance Use facial gestures and expressions Speak clearly Write things down if necessary
DO NOT ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■
Shout Be impatient Look down or away Lean too close Cover your mouth Be embarrassed Talk too fast Change the subject without warning Give up
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash
DO
Wendy Jefferies Ringwood NWR NWR Magazine Spring 2022
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borty on Un
Deaf awareness
I read an anecdote about a lady hunting for her lost mobile phone while using the device’s torch app, and it raised a smile, but I then began thinking of all the items made redundant, thankfully, by my phone. For example: address book, birthday book, magnifying glass, calendar, clock, diary, notebook, compass, street planner, torch, shopping lists, camera, photo album, video, audio (tape recorder), music (transistor radio/Walkman/ boom box), films (portable DVD players), thesaurus, encyclopaedia, calculator, magazine, book… And the many new opportunities it has opened for me: worldwide contact on the go via instant messaging, social media, the editing and sharing of photographs, video, audio, data and files. Face to face virtual contact, fitness and health monitoring, space station orbit tracking. Plant, bird, planet and aircraft identification, language translation, satnav and route planning. Access to skills tutorials from unblocking a drain, servicing a guitar, making jewellery to setting up a home sound system. Banking, shopping, remote control of home electronic devices from entertainment systems to heating. Podcasts, personal security alarm, word processing. PLUS this phenomenal device also allows me to make and receive telephone calls! Thankfully network black spots are fast diminishing. All I need to do in this relationship? Ensure I charge and take it with me! To call this modern miracle a mobile phone would seem to be a gross understatement. Any re-naming suggestions? Alethiometer, Man Friday or maybe mobile life hub?
splash
The mobile phone: one of life’s misnomers?
hul Chakra
Susan Baird of Kilbarchan NWR sheds some light on two hidden disabilities.
chronological age, and it is important we don’t miss the strengths and understand the challenges of an individual with this condition. These children and young people are often very gifted physically, with excellent verbal communication skills—so it wasn’t all doom and gloom!
Photo by Ra
Disability awareness
