In the UK there are over 10 million people living with some form of hearing loss, whether it is mild or profound. It is Deaf Awareness Week 2024 promoting the positive aspects of living with deafness, raising awareness of the isolation that deaf people can experience and the importance of social inclusion around the deaf community. Every year there is a different theme and this year’s event is all about children’s education and access to the languages of BSL and English from an early age.
The BDA (British Deaf Association) campaign is calling for action to address the critical need for early access to British Sign Language (BSL) for deaf children and their families. There are over 50,000 deaf children across the UK and the majority are born to hearing parents with limited or no knowledge of sign language. The cumulative impact of their lack of access to signing is now becoming an emergency. The BDA’s new campaign is ‘BSL In our Hands’ .
This year there’s also a new report from the RNID called ‘It does matter’ . They say :
The title of this report captures an all-too-common experience that deaf communities face on a regular basis: not catching something the first time round, then being told ‘It doesn’t matter…’. The way deaf people are valued, supported and communicated with in our society really does matter.
It matters to us too. Happy Deaf Awareness Week from everyone at Disability Sheffield
