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SignHealth

The Deaf health charity

Archives for February 2014

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Deaf Oral Children Failed by Schools

What does ‘deaf oral’ mean? ‘Deaf oral’ are the words used to describe a deaf person that speaks instead of using sign language.
How are schools failing deaf oral children? Deaf oral children have worse reading skills than expected.

How do we know this? Two groups of school children aged 10-11 were assessed by City University London.

One group of children were deaf oral. The other group of children were hearing but had dyslexia. (Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that makes reading and spelling difficult.)

Results showed that half of the deaf oral children had reading difficulties. Their difficulties were as bad as the hearing children’s who had dyslexia.

Why has this happened? The deaf oral children were not getting regular help to support them with reading.

How will deaf oral children’s reading improve? Over two years, The Department for Education are giving £1 million to councils in England to help deaf children.

More info can be found at BBC News.

Image Credit: Elizabeth Albert

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Will Smoking in Cars be Banned?

Source:BBC News

The government are thinking about stopping people from smoking in cars.

Medical professionals have signed a letter asking MPs to stop adults from smoking if they are driving children in their car.

Doctors and medical professionals say that smoking  in small  spaces can make the effects  of cigarettes 11 times worse.

That means that smoking in a car is incredibly bad for your health, and your children’s health.

Next week, MPs meet to discuss the letter and vote whether or not to ban adults from smoking  in cars that have children inside.

Did you know? Second hand smoke (breathing in smoke from other people’s cigarettes) is a major cause of child illness.

See what our Facebook friends think of the smoking ban: Facebook.

 Image Credit: Fried Dough

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Sam & Freya Visit Longley Road

Who are Sam and Freya? Samantha is SignHealth’s Communication Researcher. Freya is SignHealth’s Communication Assistant.

What is Longley Road? A SignHealth supported living house for Deaf people with mental health issues and complex needs.

Why did they visit? Sam and Freya are new SignHealth staff. They visited the house to see how SignHealth help Deaf people.

SignHealth have 6 supported living houses across the country, in Manchester, Birmingham, London and Leeds.

Each house is a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care home.

Deaf people with mental health issues and complex needs live in the houses.

Each house is split into self-contained flats and communal areas. Each tenant has their own flat consisting of one bedroom, a living space, kitchen and bathroom.

The first language of each house is BSL. Staff are Deaf and hearing but everyone signs fluently.

Staff work with the tenants to improve their lifestyle, to help with cooking,  cleaning and budgeting. They attend college with the tenants, help them become active in the community and work with them to improve their self confidence.

Sam’s feedback: “It was great to see that each tenant has their own self contained flat.  Each flat comes equipped with a kitchen, a bathroom and a living area.  It was really comforting to see that the tenants have made these flats cosy, marking their own stamp on it by decorating the place to their personal taste!”

Freya’s feedback: “The house front door has a ‘BSL’ sign on it asking everyone to use BSL. This was great to see! I was impressed by the 24/7 support that tenants receive, and that each tenant is treated individually. Sam and I joined the staff monthly meeting. We saw how much work goes into running the house and why SignHealth’s supported living houses are considered the best.”

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New Counselling for Depressed Deaf Patients

What is ‘Breathing Space’? Counselling for Deaf people, from Deaf people, online.

Who can use the service? Scottish patients who suffer from low mood, mild depression and/or anxiety.

How much does it cost? Nothing. It’s free for all  Deaf patients.

How do you access it? Visit breathingspacescotland.co.uk.

Starting in May 2013, Deaf Scottish people suffering from mild depression and/or anxiety can access counselling in BSL.

The service, ‘Breathing Space’, allows Deaf people to receive support from a Deaf counsellor via web-cam technology.

It is operated by NHS 24 and uses SignHealth’s service InterpreterNow!.

All counsellors/advisers are fully qualified counsellors, nurses, psychologists or social workers and the service is COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland) recognised.

Breathing Space is free and 100% confidential.

 

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PIP – What is it?

What does PIP stand for? Personal Independence Payment

Who can apply for PIP? British people aged 16-64 suffering from long-term illness or disability.

Is PIP the same as DLA? PIP is gradually replacing DLA.

How much PIP can you get? Between £21 and £134.40 a week.

How do you apply for PIP? First you need to have an assessment. You are not assessed on what your condition is, but how it affects you. Visit www.gov.uk/pip/eligibility for more information.

Is there a BSL video explaining PIP? Yes. Visit youtube.com.