I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading Catriona Stewart’s article on the potential life-changing impacts that the passing of Mark Griffin MSP’s British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill could bring people who are deaf (“Signs that head in right direction”, The Herald, September 18).
At Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, we hope the new legislation will begin to remove barriers so that people from Scotland’s Deaf community can participate equally and fully in Scottish society.
Although accessing vital services such as health or work opportunities can be extremely difficult – indeed, impossible – when sign language interpreters are not provided, clients who use our Moving On employment service often tell us that they are most frustrated by the lack of basic BSL known by people they meet in everyday life.
September 17, 2015 will be celebrated as special day in the history of Scotland’s deaf community, as we look forward to the Scottish Government and public bodies across the country becoming more accessible for BSL users.
But let us all reflect on what more each of us can do, as individuals, to be more inclusive. If we all learned some basic BSL and fingerspelling, it would go a long way to achieving the real, tangible change in society desired by people across Scotland who are Deaf.
Delia Henry,
Director of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, Empire House, 131 West Nile Street, Glasgow.
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