Sign help for families of deaf

Free online British Sign Language classes are being offered to families across England to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week. The videos will be released every Friday for 12 weeks.

Topics include everything from colours and days of the week to communicating as a family.

The National Deaf Children’s Society is hoping to tackle loneliness and isolation during this very challenging time for many deaf children and their families.

Each class will cover a different topic, including vocabulary and conversation related to family life so parents and children can learn together.

The first video introduced the fingerspelling alphabet, while later videos will cover topics like items around the home, colours and days of the week.

All content has been produced remotely as part of the charity’s effort to provide resources and support.

Carla Rose-Hardman, Family Programmes Manager at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “These are very challenging times for families with deaf children and they can feel isolated and lonely if they’re struggling to communicate.

“These free classes aim to break through that, helping families to learn British Sign Language together in their homes and have some fun along the way.

“Many deaf children benefit from using sign language and when families learn together, it helps them to communicate and express and understand the complex feelings that are part of growing up.

“Family conversations, jokes and activities will also become much more inclusive, which boosts a deaf child’s confidence and wellbeing.

“We hope that everyone who takes part enjoys increasing their knowledge and expanding their British Sign Language vocabulary.”

There are more than 46,000 deaf children in England and more than 50,000 in the UK and five babies are bron deaf in the UK every day.

The National Deaf Children’s Society is the leading charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and their families.

Work by the charity helps youngsters thrive by providing impartial, practical and emotional support, and by challenging governments and society to meet their needs.

For further support, parents, deaf children and deaf young people can contact the charity on Helpline on 0808 800 8880 (voice and text), on InterpreterNow (interpreternow.co.uk/ndcs), by email [email protected] or visit www.ndcs.org.uk

Tune in via the charity’s youtube channel.