counting the ways full details

Face Front Inclusive Theatre present, 'Counting the Ways' by Edward Albee.

A company of disabled and non-disabled performers are bringing a fantastic production to Harrow Arts Centre on the 18th May (1.30pm and 7.30pm).

'This is the first time I have seen a play of this kind. Very enjoyable and enlightening.'

'Counting the Ways' is a simple story of a couple questioning their love, we observe the intimacies and complexities of their relationship and witness their separate concerns for the future growing old together...or not!

After so many years together, when you thought you knew everything about each other, do you really want to know the answer to the ultimate question DO YOU LOVE ME?

In turns funny, surreal and poignant this production adds another layer by telling the story in two languages by two couples.

Performed in British Sign Language and Spoken English with audio description interwoven into the action.

IS IT ABSURD OR JUST REAL LIFE?

Director: Jeni Draper
Designer: Jo Paul
Lighting Design: Ian Scott
Sound Design: Matt Tarbuck

Cast: Jean St Clair, Ilan Dwek, Catrin Thomas, Jon French, Wayne 'Pickles' Norman.

Running time - 1hour 5mins no interval.

'Access for both hearing impaired and visually impaired audiences is still a developing art and I strongly felt that at your show I had seen genuinely new and inspiring methods used.' Tim Gebbels Disability Artist.

IF you would like a lively presentation to tempt you to come and see the show please contact Tracey or Annie on 020 350 3461 or info@facefront.org and artists can come and visit your group.

Tickets:
Harrow Arts Centre :
£7 or £6 concessions for all performances.

Counting the Ways Theatre production

Face Front Inclusive Theatre present "Counting the Ways" by Edward Albee.
A company of disabled and non-disabled performers are bringing a fantastic production to Harrow Arts Centre on the 18th May 2010


See our website www.silent-sounds.co.uk for full details, booking information and ticket prices.

Deaf Awareness Week

Deaf Awareness Week this year is 28th June - 4th July 2010
Please check www.silent-sounds.co.uk for details on events that we will be organising.

New website now live

Silent Sounds UK Ltd. Silent Sounds new website is now live!! Check out www.silent-sounds.co.uk/blog.php for info on British Sign Language / BSL and deaf issues

Herriott Watt Univ

According to Herriott Watt Univ, 90,000 people in the UK use BSL as their primary means of communication. www.silent-sounds.co.uk/blog.php

Letter to LSP's re Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

15th March 2010
To all Language Service Professionals,
Dear all,

Ref: Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)
From July 2010 you can apply to be registered under the new Independent Safeguarding Authority scheme.
If you work or want to work with children or vulnerable adults from November 2010, you will need to apply to be registered with the ISA. If you are self-employed – as an Interpreter, for example – you will need to apply yourself. You will be able to do this through the ISA website http://www.isa-gov.org.uk/ as the ISA vetting service is phased in.
If you are already employed to work with children or vulnerable adults and have had a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, you will need to apply for ISA registration in due course. Details of how and when you should apply will become available on the above site.
To register, you will need to pay a small one-off fee. Once you have paid for registration, you will be issued with a personal ISA Registration Number and you remain on the ISA database even if you change employers.
ISA registration does not mean that your details will be made available to the general public. Only employers will be able to access your information – and only after you give them your ISA Registration Number. Employers will only be able to check that you are in fact ISA-registered. Only ISA case workers and the police will have access to information that is held about you.
If you have not been registered by the time the new legislation takes effect in October 2010, then we will not be able to use you in any situations where there is a child or vulnerable adult involved.

I hope that this information is useful to you. Please ensure that you are registered well ahead of deadline, to ensure that we can continue to use your services.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require and further information.


Thanks and best regards


Richard Durrant

Business Development Manager
Silent Sounds UK Ltd
36a Bilton Road
Perivale
Middlesex UB6 7DS

Tel: 020 8998 5008
Fax: 020 8998 5009
Website: www.silent-sounds.co.uk

Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

From November this year there will be a need for any British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA)

This government agency has been set up to provide a register of people working in areas where they will come into contact with children or vulnerable adults. By definition, Sign language interpreters will always be working with people in a vulnerable position, so it will in effect become mandatory to register with the ISA.

If you are a Language service professional, here is a link to a letter I have prepared, detailing the requirements and the action that needs to be taken to ensure you are compliant.

The registration is open from July 2010, and it would be advisable to register as soon as possible after then to ensure that you may continue to work.

If you have any questions or would like further information regarding this or any other matter, please get in touch with me through www.silent-sounds.co.uk

Hints on using a British Sign Language interpreter

Click on the following link to find some really helpful tips on working with British Sign Language interpreters http://www.silent-sounds.co.uk/interpreting/helpful-hints.php

Booking a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter

Booking a British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreter

Anybody who has ever had to provide British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters will have noticed how difficult it is to have a large bank of interpreters to draw from, and yet still fulfil all of the bookings you receive.

As there are so few qualified British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters available in this country, there will always be a number of bookings that cannot be met. The trick is to be able to fulfil all of these bookings, whilst still giving your entire bank of interpreters enough regular work to keep them busy and involved.

This is indeed a balancing act.

How to solve this problem?

Asking for a longer lead time from our clients in order to guarantee bookings will help to solve this problem. All British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters like to have their diaries filled up for months ahead, and advance booking would give us more chance of assigning the interpreter.

So if you are a Local authority, an NHS Trust, or another type of organisation that needs to book British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, please do try and give as much notice as possible.
Ideally 2-3 weeks would be the optimum advance notice in order to guarantee a booking.

In the real world though, we know that this cannot always be the case.
So for emergency bookings or short notice requests, we will always pull out all the stops and do what we can to ensure that the deaf client has the necessary representation.

Visit our website www.silent-sounds.co.uk for more information on working with British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.

Silent Sounds new website

Silent Sounds new website up & running. Please check out www.silent-sounds.co.uk for info on British Sign Language / BSL and deaf issues.

Update: BSL not equal to other languages, says Government

Deaf childrens compaigner, Ian Noon recently blogged about how the Children, Schools and Families Bill might discourge primary schools from the option of teaching British Sign Language if they want to.
Here is his update on the situation.

The NDCS has been exchanging a lot of emails with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to try and get to the bottom of this.

The good news is that DCSF officials have been willing to engage with us and respond to our questions, which is much appreciated. The bad news is that I completely disagree with pretty much everything they’ve said on this issue.

Going through the arguments, they’ve used…

DCSF say: BSL is not a “modern foreign language”.

I say: The definition in the Bill of language as a “modern foreign language” is arbitrary. BSL is as ‘foreign’ to the English language as is Welsh, which officials have confirmed would be permissible as a modern foreign language.

DCSF say: They want to exclude ‘dead’ languages, like Latin,

I say: Why not just use the definition “modern languages” then?

DCSF say: The proposed programme of study is to require students to “speak” and “listen” in another language

I say: This is a narrow and arbitrary definition of what learning a language involves. BSL is still a language even though it does not involve speaking or listening. BSL does, however, require students to demonstrate productive and receptive skills – that should be regarded as equally important as ‘speaking’ and ‘listening’. Besides, you don’t need to physically speak or listen to a language to understand it. I got a pretty good grade in my French GCSE and I’m as deaf as a dodo.

DCSF say: The proposed programme of study aims to enable children to develop understanding of everyday life, traditions and cultures in other countries.

I say: Aaaarrrghh! Clearly, DCSF have missed the memo about there being such a thing as a deaf community, with its own everyday life, traditions and cultures. Besides, aren’t there other benefits to BSL being more mainstream, like creating a more inclusive and welcoming society that values disabled people, that are as valuable and as important and learning a new foreign language?

DCSF say: A school can still teach BSL, just not as a modern foreign language.

I say: Schools will have to disapply the curriculum or find extra time within the curriculum to teach it in addition to a modern foreign language. I don’t think primary schools have oodles of time. Besides, we’re missing the key point of principle: that BSL should have the same status as other languages.

The Children, Schools and Families Bill has moved to the Lords, where we’re hoping to get this issue raised there. NDCS has just updated their briefing on this issue – which you can download from their website. And watch this space for more info.

Painkillers and deafness, full story

LONDON - Popping painkillers such as paracetamol on a regular basis can increase the danger of going deaf, new research has revealed.

Taking paracetamol at least twice a week doubles the risk of mild to severe deafness before the age of 50. Other painkillers, including aspirin and ibuprofen, are also linked to hearing loss, the American researchers found.

Led by scientists at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the US, the study, over a period of 24 years, involved a total of 26,000 men, reports The Daily Express.

The results are due to be published in the March edition of the American Journal of Medicine. The study also involved researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Sharon Curhan, of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said: “Regular use of analgesics, specifically aspirin, NSAIDs, and acetaminophen (paracetamol) might increase the risk of adult hearing loss, particularly in younger individuals.

“Given the high prevalence of regular analgesic use and the health and social implications of hearing impairment, this represents an important public health issue.”

Crystal Rolfe, the Royal National Institute for the Deaf’s Audiology Specialist, said: “Hearing loss can have a big impact on communication and many people are not aware of the effect it can have on their lives.

“If you are worried that the medication you are taking could be affecting your hearing, you should consult your doctor who will discuss your concerns with you.”

She added: “If you have any concerns about your hearing for whatever reason, you should ask for a hearing test - and the quicker you take action on the matter, the better.” (ANI)

Painkillers and deafness

LONDON - Popping painkillers such as paracetamol on a regular basis can increase the danger of going deaf, new research has revealed.

Taking paracetamol at least twice a week doubles the risk of mild to severe deafness before the age of 50.

For full story, and other articles on deaf issues, visit our blog page on www.silent-sounds.co.uk