UK Council on Deafness

April 2008 Bulletin

In this Bulletin

• Deaf Awareness Week
• BSMHD Annual Conference
• Interpreting in Mental Health Settings
• New Members
• Innovation in ICT and Deafness Conference
• Transforming Audiology Services
• Hearing & Balance disorders
• NADP Conference and AGM 2008
• Deaf People calling for better telephone access

Deaf Awareness Week 5 - 11th May 2008

Deaf Awareness Week is a unique awareness campaign bringing together about 250 deaf charities and organisations. Lots of events are being organised by UK Council on Deafness member and affiliate organisations around the country during the week.
The publicity materials are now available to be downloaded from the website:

www.Look-At-Me.org.uk

The posters ask people to "Look At Me" - emphasising the need to look at someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, so that that they can see your lips and facial expression. All the models are deaf or hard of hearing and the photography was organised by REMARK! a deaf production company.

To download them, go to the "Publicity Materials" section and you can click on the images for a PDF version. The leaflet focuses on interesting facts about deafness and gives examples of ways to be more accessible to deaf people and can be downloaded by clicking on the links provided.

If you are participating in Deaf Awareness Week you are welcome to use the Deaf Awareness Week logo on your publicity material. If you would like a high resolution version sent to you please contact us.

Deaf Awareness Week offers excellent opportunities for people to publicise and create media interest in deaf issues. You can do this by organising events during the week involving the public and giving the events the maximum possible coverage by informing the media. Local newspapers, radio and television are particularly receptive to events taking place in their area.

Please let us know the details of your event so we can add them to the 2008 Events Diary on the website. For hints about gaining maximum publicity for your event, check out the "Publicity Tips" section on the website. Any local media enquires that we receive will be forwarded on to the appropriate organisation. To find out more about Deaf Awareness Week or to have your event listed on the campaign website contact Clare Long c.long@deafcouncil.org.uk

BSMHD Annual Conference

Developing Professional Mental Health Services for Deaf People at the , Thistle Hotel, Edinburgh. Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May 2008. A two day multi-disciplinary conference for all mental health professionals and those in allied professions who work with deaf people. Conference Chair: Lilian Lawson OBE, Director, Scottish Council on Deafness.

Celebrating 15 years of coordinating the development of mental health services for deaf people throughout the UK, BSMHD returns to Scotland for their biggest Annual Conference yet. Spread over two days for the first time, the conference will include a ‘State of the Sector Address’ by Rodney Clark OBE, Chair of SignHealth. There will be entertainment and exhibitions to complement the diverse programme of presentations and the conference will be a unique opportunity for all professionals working with deaf people to meet and network and contribute to the development of professional mental health services for deaf people.

For further details or to book a place go to www.bsmhd.org.uk or contact Clare Long at c.long@deafcouncil.org.uk

Interpreting in Mental Health Settings

The four day training course for Registered, Qualified BSL/English Interpreters, other LSPs and appropriately experienced relay/Deaf interpreters will be held on 26th – 29th June 2008 at the Kings House Conference Centre, Manchester. For further details or to book a place go to the British Society for Mental Health and Deafness website at www.bsmhd.org.uk or contact Clare Long at c.long@deafcouncil.org.uk

New Members

Welcome to our new member joining this month:

The Phoenix Group for Deaf Children works with deaf children, young people and their families; providing training and resources to promote independence and social inclusion.

Contact: Jane Shaw, The Phoenix Group for Deaf Children, Halfacre, Station Road, Ashwell, Baldock, Herts, SG7 5RJ.

info@phoenixgroup.org.uk
www.phoenixgroup.org.uk

Innovation in ICT and Deafness Conference

17th – 18th October 2008, Hilton Metropole, NEC, Birmingham. Deafax has been at the forefront of using innovative technology to support the needs of deaf people and those who work with them for over 22 years. This conference invites others to share their experiences and views of working within the fields of ICT, education and deafness. The conference will provide the opportunity to discuss the major themes of interest to researchers and practitioners, with thought-provoking lectures and a panel of young deaf people giving their views and providing researchers and teachers with the opportunity to share their ideas, practice and research findings.

CONFERENCE THEMES: Innovation and disability, including; an inclusive approach to technology, new technologies facilitating the lives of those with disabilities, guidelines and good practice. Deafness and IT, including; supporting independent living, innovative IT supporting deaf learners and their teachers and trainers. Education, including IT in the classroom, emerging educational theories. The future, including; cybernetics, robotics, Artificial Intelligence.

For further details contact the Events Co-ordinator at Deafax No 1 Earley Gate University of Reading PO Box 236 Reading RG6 6AT conference@deafax.org

Transforming Audiology Services

A major NHS Conference taking place on Wednesday 30 April 2008 at the Hilton Metropole, London. Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services will be launching the Paediatric Good Practice Guide and Gary Belfield, Director of Commissioning, the Commissioning Guide. Launching...A quality rating tool for audiology services; Guidance for commissioners of services; Good practice guides for paediatrics, tinnitus and balance services. These products have been developed by clinicians, commissioners and service user representatives to give audiology services the tools you need to achieve sustainable service delivery.

Opportunity for in-depth discussion in five workshop strands...Commissioning first class services; Clinical pathways and models of care; Improving service, efficiency and quality; Measurement and data; Transforming paediatric balance and tinnitus service.

This conference is for everyone involved in the delivery of audiology services - clinicians, managers, patient representatives and commissioners. THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THIS EVENT. To register contact: Lynn Webb on 0151 549 1919 or lynn@living-media.com

Hearing and balance disorders: Achieving excellence in diagnosis and management

Patients with hearing and balance disorders can wait years to be seen by an appropriate specialist, and often remain undiagnosed and inadequately managed, according to this new Royal College of Physicians report. The report recommends a reorganised multidisciplinary service model with improved medical support and an increase in the number of audiovestibular physicians and paediatricians. For more information please see the press release at: www.rcplondon.ac.uk/news/news.asp?PR_id=392

NADP Conference and AGM 2008

The National Association of Deafened People Conference and AGM will be held on Saturday May 31 2008 in Birmingham and the theme will be Audiology, plus some less formal sessions in the afternoon. The venue will be the Old Joint Stock Theatre, 4 Temple Row West, Birmingham, B2 5NY. This is a central venue opposite Birmingham Cathedral and within walking distance of New Street Station. We plan to include a soapbox session during the afternoon when anyone can raise issues of concern or call for action. If you would like to raise a topic during this session please contact NADP by post, fax or email. This is not restricted to members - all are welcome - but we need to know numbers attending on account of limited space. For further details go to www.nadp.org.uk

Deaf People calling for better telephone access

According to TAG, the Government is letting down deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens by failing to enable them to have access to modernised, fairly-priced telecom services suited to their needs. While an everyday part of hearing people’s lives since the 1960s, poor access to the telephone severely affects the lives and life chances of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. New-style services which enable deaf people to use the phone have been available for several years and are used widely in countries like America and Australia. These services have appeared in the UK, but only two remain as the others have been forced to close through a lack of funding. TAG, which represents all the UK’s main deaf and hard-of-hearing organisations concerned with electronic communications, is encouraging deaf people to take a one-off opportunity to use two telephone services adapted to their needs to lobby their MPs and call for policies that will bring deaf telecoms in Britain into the 21st Century. This marks the start of TAG’s campaign ‘Bringing Deaf Telecoms into the 21st Century’.

For further details go to www.tagcomm.org.uk

[back to top]

Please send information for the next Bulletin, by 30 April 2008, to:
UK Council on Deafness, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley, Colchester, CO6 4BS. Email info@deafcouncil.org.uk.

[Back to News Section]

UK Council on Deafness, Registered Charity Number 1038448

Your use of this site is in accordance with our Privacy Statement

© UK Council on Deafness, 2003-5.