Combined Deaf Awareness and British Sign Language (BSL)

With one-in-seven of the adult population being deaf it is of prime importance that service providers are aware of deaf people's needs and that services are as accessible as possible as well as having the appropriate communicatio skills available to them. This course specifically focuses on basic communication tactics with deaf people and an introduction to British Sign Language (BSL).

Participants can be awarded an 'in-house' certificate that highlights the learning outcomes.

Course contents

• Terminology and statistics
• What is deafness – truths and myths
• How deafness can affect speech & language
• Hearing Aids – benefits & limitations
• Communication Tactics – ‘tool box’
• Fingerspelling
• Introduction to British Sign Language (BSL) – work based signs.

Leaning outcomes

By the end of the course participants will:

• Have a basic understanding of the social model of deafness
• Understand the affects deafness has on communication
• Be aware of the benefits & limitations of hearing aids
• Be able to identify and use appropriate communication tactics
• Be able to use fingerspelling within appropriate situations
• Express themselves in BSL sufficiently well to:
  • Address, greet and take leave of a Deaf sign language user.
  • Identify and use a range of simple, commonly used question forms.
  • Provide information appropriate to the context.
  • Use sign language clearly enough so that a sympathetic native user of the language would understand their questions and contributions.

Who’s it for and what’s it about?

This course is aimed at front-line personnel who may, in their everyday duties, come into contact with people who may be *deaf. This course is designed to provide participants with the basic ability to communicate with Deaf people in British Sign Language (BSL) about familiar, day-to-day topics and activities within the given service area/domain.

The course is delivered by a mixture of tutor-led activities, group work and practical exercises.

*The term ‘deaf people’ covers those who have a profound/sever hearing loss, deafened, hard of hearing and those who may use sign language as their preferred means to communication.