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Thistle Pub Company III

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Deafblind Scotland have been working in partnership with leading Scottish leisure group, Thistle Pub Company III in order for them to improve accessibility to their seven locations throughout Scotland.

Thistle Pub Company III embarked on Deafblind Scotland’s Workplace Assessment scheme and have also received guidance from PAMIS and Perth and Kinross Council. They have announced a £250,000 investment programme to make the pubs more accessible for the wider community.

A launch at The Wheel Inn in Scone on 25th February 2016 unveiled new bathroom and changing facilities for quadriplegic customers and a sensory therapy room for both adults and children. The changes to be made across other sites include the installation of lower bar areas for wheelchair access, larger lettering on signage and side lights on walkways for partially sighted guests and the provision of specialist training for all managers and assistant managers from Deafblind Scotland.

We look forward to continuing our work with Thistle Pub Company III in the future.

Scottish Sensory Awards

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The inaugural Scottish Sensory Awards were held on 15th February in Stirling Court Hotel.

The Scottish Sensory Awards were created to recognise the extent of the range of work with hearing impaired, visually impaired and dual sensory impaired people.

The event was a fabulous celebration of  good work being acknowledged in the field of sensory impairments.

Adam Ford and The Montgomerie Arms Team won the award for Unsung Heroes. Adam was nominated for learning deafblind manual to communicate with one of his customers and to include him in social activity at the pub.

Deafblind Scotland’s Training Officer Stephen Joyce was a runner up in the Personal and Workforce Development category. He was nominated by his colleagues for going above and beyond in teaching and promoting the work of Deafblind Scotland.

Counterweight with Deafblind Scotland was a runner up in Promoting Partnership Working Across All Services for People With Sensory Loss.  This partnership programme allowed the promotion of healthy eating and healthy living to be accessible to people who were dual sensory impaired and had a variety of communication needs. The programme was a fantastic success and all the members involved  reported positive changes. Counterweight with Deafblind Scotland was sponsored by Network Rail and we are grateful for all their support on the project.

 

Congratulations to all winners and runners up.

 

Deafblind National Advisory Group Applications

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The closing date for application to the Deafblind National Advisory Group (DBNAG) and to be DBNAG ‘champions’ is Monday 15th February.

To support interested applicants we have interpreters booked on various dates in February in the training room at Deafblind Scotland Lenzie office.

To find out more then click here.

 

Youth National Advisory Group

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Deaf Sector Partnership (DSP) announces Youth National Advisory Group (YNAG) Information Day for young Deaf people ages between 10-18 years old living in Scotland – Saturday 20 February 2016

Scottish Government, Deaf Action and National Deaf Children’s Society Scotland (NDCS Scotland) have been working together to set up a Youth National Advisory Group (YNAG), where they would like the group to have around 12-15 members of young Deaf people from Scotland, aged between 10-18 (21 for those involved in care), and they can choose two people to be their representatives and attend the BSL NAG meetings on their behalf. They want everyone involved on the YNAG to raise issues that are important to them as young Deaf people, and how the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 should be helping them with issues like Education, Health, Transport, Employment, access to sports or clubs in their community.

Deaf Sector Partnership is hosting a Youth National Advisory Group ‘Information Day’ on Saturday 20 February 2016 at 10.00am-3.00pm, at Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh where all young Deaf people in Scotland are welcome to attend. The event will be all about providing information on what the YNAG is about, how to be a member, how to vote for the two representatives, and most important of all, get to know each other. At the event, young Deaf people can sign up for YNAG.

DSP website – BSL NAG page:

www.deafsectorpartnership.net/nag and look for YNAG information.

DSP website – Training / Events page:

www.deafsectorpartnership.net/training

 

BSL National Advisory Group

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The Scottish Government has announced plans to recruit ten Deaf BSL users to the British Sign Language (BSL) National Advisory Group (NAG), which will advise Scottish Ministers on what should be included in the first BSL National Plan. Two places on the group will be reserved for Deafblind people who use BSL, and two will be for young Deaf people who use BSL. An eleventh place will go to the hearing parent of a Deaf child, and nine places will be taken by public bodies who are subject to the new legislation. The closing date for applications is Thursday 28 January 2016 at 11.59pm.

For further information please conact us:

Email: dsp@deafblindscotland.org.uk

SMS: 07584 078494

Field Of Dreams

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We recently received the good news that “Field of Dreams” will benefit from a £100,000 contribution from the Henry Smith Charity.3D Views

We now have raised or had pledged more than £1,245,000 of the currently predicted build cost figure of £1,481,000.  Assuming the remaining funds can be identified in 2015, and that build costs don’t rise too much in the meantime, we can look forward to building commencing in 2016 and completing within the year.  Potential contractors have been interviewed and it is anticipated the approved contractor may well be in place before the end of 2015. Exciting times indeed!

BSL Bill

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BSL Bill -Written Evidence from Deafblind Scotland

Deafblind Scotland represents Scotland Deaf citizens who have lost their sight to the extent that they meet the criteria of the Department of Health (1995) definition of deafblindness which states: “A person is regarded as deafblind if their combined sight and hearing loss causes difficulties with communication, access to information and mobility”. And as the Nordic definition further states  “It limits activities of a person and restricts full participation in society to such a degree that society is required to facilitate specific services, environmental alterations and/or technology”

Deafblind Scotland supports the BSL Bill with all the opportunities it will hopefully provide for improving the lived experiences of Deaf people. We are in agreement with much of the evidence given within the SCOD submission but would add the following comments which are specific to deafblind people: Deafblind people have concerns that authorities will assume if they have met the requirements for Deaf people the needs of deafblind people are also automatically met, and this is not the case.

Deafblind people only rarely fully benefit from measures implemented for Deaf people. This is due solely to the fact that they are registered blind and no longer able to access their own beautiful, visual language, which is based on the use of sight.  If the Scottish Government wants Deafblind people to be able to benefit from the BSL Bill then they must make special arrangements to ensure this small group is able to benefit. (reference the Nordic definition)

Language not disability

In addition to the distress that Deaf people experience when they seek information and language support to make informed choices, give informed consent and to be active citizens, deafblind people suffer the ignominy of being considered to be in need, not of language support, but of care. And due to their language support being funded from the Social Care budget they are the only group of people in Scotland who are liable to have to pay for language support.

The vast majority of Deafblind people do not receive Care, merely support with language, yet must undergo a lengthy detailed financial assessment and thereafter contribute to the costs of that language support if they are considered to be financially able to do so.  Many local authorities provide free interpretation in all spoken languages and in British Sign Language.   This is a discrimination which must be addressed.

A Unique Condition

Deafblindness is a unique condition which means that the individual cannot access their environment without  being guided, and without receiving language support. Both are essential. In reality this means they need to receive the services of a skilled individual be it a family member, friend or guide/communicator in order to participate in society. This need is not formally recognised meaning this is a support individuals have to fight for, and – currently – to pay for. It is not on the “critical” list of support ( as identified by some Local Authorities) needs as deafblind people can and do survive,  and live through the isolation, loneliness and deprivation of information which this condition imposes on them.  The BSL Bill should be an opportunity to address this, both in the Bill and particularly in the National Plan.  While deafblind representation on the BSL Group is to be welcomed, it is not enough, the need to make special arrangements to meet individual language and access needs has to be embedded in the Bill somehow, somewhere.   The above measures should be addressed in some detail in the National Plan. We have a unique opportunity in the plan to begin to address the issues for this small group of few hundred Scottish citizens who suffer unintended discrimination every single day.

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