Speaker Evening

On Thursday, 19 October, members of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry enjoyed an extremely thought provoking and interesting talk by Avril Hepner from the British Deaf Association.  We were joined by quite a few guests who had come along to hear Avril's presentation.  Avril was born deaf to deaf parents, so her first language was British Sign Language.  Because her parents wanted her to have the best education possible, she went to a deaf school in England at the age of 11.  She first worked for Scottish Power as a computer programmer, but changed jobs 12 years ago and started to work for the British Deaf Association.  Explaining her need to change jobs, Avril said that she was very aware of the problems and needs facing deaf people, and so that, plus the fact that she wanted to give something back to the deaf community was the reason for the change. In her current position, she manages existing projects and establishes projects to meet new needs as they arise. She also looks for funding.  

Avril works closely with the Scottish Government in support of deaf people and October 24, saw the launch of a national plan to enable deaf people engage more with society, following on from the British Sign Language Act (Scotland) 2015.  The National Plan makes it incumbent on local authorities to make services more accessible to deaf people.  Each authority will create its own plan.  It is hoped the BSL will be included in the school curriculum as part of the 2 + 1 initiative.  

There is a great need for more support in education for profoundly deaf or hard of hearing children and Deaf Roots and Pride (started in Northern Ireland) aims to provide role models in primary and secondary education, to show what can be achieved and to show that they 'don't need to settle for second best'. 95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents.  BSL Officers help families by having sign days or going into their homes to help with signing and telling them which are the schools which offer most support. Deaf children who don't have the support or encouragement they need, often have mental health problems.    Deaf Roots and Pride provides role models and mentors to help motivate young people, boost their confidence and develop new skills.  It also provides information about support services available in an educational environment to hearing parents, as well as providing interpreters for college and university.  It is also involved in anti-bullying workshops.  

The Dementia Project was started to help deaf people affected by dementia. Usually staff in facilities for dementia offer music or war stories for example, to help people with dementia but of course, this is no good for deaf people, so other methods must be found with people fluent in BSL.  

When using sign language, people have to lip speak as well in order to add more information. Signing can also be an indication of where someone is from, just as there are different accents in the hearing world, there are different gestures in the deaf world.

Now, new born babies are screened for hearing under the BSL Act which allows deafness to be identified and diagnosed very early.

97% of deaf children are in main stream schools, some cope well - it depends on the support they receive but some do not and there can be bullying - it depends on whether they have a peer group.   However often they have nothing in common with their hearing peers and this can lead to mental health problems.  

Avril also told us that if you meet a deaf person, they will not be offended if you offer them a pen and paper, and that a warm friendly attitude goes a long way in communication.  Profoundly deaf people use sign language as their first language.  Deafened or hard of hearing people communicate through English as their first language.  

Avril was accompanied by her interpreter Janice Murdoch, Avril signed and Janice interpreted for us.

The vote of thanks was given by Liz McKenzie who thanked Avril for her informative and interesting presentation and added that the nursery school her grandson attends, is teaching the children one sign a week.

For more information on the BDA in Scotland please visit

https://bda.org.uk/glasgow-office/

Business

Visitor, Assistant Governor Ken Robertson congratulated us on our very successful abseil which raised over £171,000 this year. He added that we (the Rotary Club of South Queensferry) are what Rotary is all about.  

As Santa's sleigh is currently being prepared for his annual run, Richard Brown asked for 18 boxes wrapped in Christmas paper to be put on the back of the sleigh.

A reminder about our St Andrew's Evening on 23 November was given by Robbie Brechin.  This will be a partner evening to be held in the Priory Church Hall.  The cost is £16 and is a BYOB affair.  Early booking is recommended!