Learning sign language during the apocalypse

[dessiato]

Can she not lip read via video?

Apparently this is very difficult for her. I don't know why. I suppose I should ask her. Perhaps it is something to do with screen size. We've never talked about it. But I will ask.

 

[two sheds]

Another thing it took me a while to remember is when talking to someone deaf if you're eating you can't just politely put your hand in front of your mouth

And if I don't trim my moustache so it grows over my lip that make lip reading difficult too.

 

[dessiato]

My deaf sister needs drugs for life threatening problems. She had to go to the pharmacy where they would take your name and repeat prescription and you waited outside. A good idea except because they were wearing masks and she is deaf she didn't know what was happening.

She explained the situation to the staff who took her prescription but forgot when it was her turn to pick up. Luckily someone else recognised her and told her.

We all need to remember and be more deaf aware now.

 

[BassJunkie]

She spent her whole childhood with stuff like watching tv but not understanding why her parents were laughing at Dad's Army etc etc etc because she couldn't hear (born without eardrums), now loves seeing it with subtitles.

I can hear pretty well but don't understand why people laugh at Dad's Army.

 

[Santino]

Yes, I did kinda notice the consonants thing. Out of interest, this is British Sign Language right - is there no international one? So i've been watching press conferences done by the leaders of France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany etc - they're all speaking their own language? And this is no criticism, but would an international version not be helpful?

Why don't hearing people speak an international language?

 

[Petcha]

Why don't hearing people speak an international language?

It just never occurred to me. No offence meant.

 

[Santino]

It just never occurred to me. No offence meant.

I was probably in the same position as you once. But then I learned something, and now I go around being rude to people who've never thought about it.

 

[Petcha]

I was probably in the same position as you once. But then I learned something, and now I go around being rude to people who've never thought about it.

Wtf?

 

[WouldBe]

Apparently this is very difficult for her. I don't know why. I suppose I should ask her. Perhaps it is something to do with screen size. We've never talked about it. But I will ask.

Didn't think about screen size. I thought it might be due to signal break up or something.

 

[two sheds]

My deaf sister needs drugs for life threatening problems. She had to go to the pharmacy where they would take your name and repeat prescription and you waited outside. A good idea except because they were wearing masks and she is deaf she didn't know what was happening.

She explained the situation to the staff who took her prescription but forgot when it was her turn to pick up. Luckily someone else recognised her and told her.

We all need to remember and be more deaf aware now.

My friend's husband always has to phone for her (logically enough). He gets through and they tell him they can't discuss it with him because of privacy issues and they need to talk to her to get her permission. The conversation often ends with "But she can't, she's deaf".

 

[dessiato]

My friend's husband always has to phone for her (logically enough). He gets through and they tell him they can't discuss it with him because of privacy issues and they need to talk to her to get her permission. The conversation often ends with "But she can't, she's deaf".

Sister has this regularly. She has on one occasion had the bank worker almost in tears with frustration at her bosses for their insisting that sister must talk on the telephone to make alterations to her account. This when the manager has been in the same room with the bank worker and my sister.

She also has a holiday caravan. The park will not deal with any issues unless it is with my sister and on the telephone.

It's a discrimination directly related to her deafness and the continuing assumption that deaf = stupid.

Once at school the Chemistry teacher shouted at her "are you deaf?" To which she replied that she was. He very angrily threw her out the class. However, when he realised she actually was, and wasn't being rude, he called the whole class back in and apologised to her in front of them.

He was an old, ex-RAF WW2 pilot. To do this speaks very highly of him. It was early/mid 1960s when this sort of thing didn't happen.

 

[Petcha]

Again it hadn't occurred to me, (sorry for my ignorance Santino) that face masks would be an issue for deaf people. I find it hard enough when someones got a mask on or even worse a huge scarf wrapped around their face. It must have been difficult enough without that.

 

[danny la rouge]

It just never occurred to me. No offence meant.

One of the misconceptions that society’s inherent oralism encourages is that BSL is English in sign form. It really isn’t. It has its own grammar and syntax and vocabulary. It’s a language in itself.

Once we get our heads around the idea that it’s a language, we realise that this means sign will behave like speech: it will evolve, it will grow differently in different places, it’ll have dialects, and therefore languages.

Many years ago I learned a certain amount of BSL (strictly speaking I was using sign supported English, because my BSL was not good enough on its own. And I’m now woefully out of practice), and deaf people from elsewhere could tell I’d learned in Glasgow because of certain traits my signing had. This opened my eyes (metaphor intended) to the fact that it really is something apart from English.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

The one thing that my teacher drums into us, is that it’s not English. It does have its own grammar, example - (English) What type of weather do you like? (BSL) Weather you like what?

 

[mrsfran]

In the middle of it again today. My mum's blood sugar is high following being taken off some medication. She emailed her surgery to ask to see a Dr. They asked her to call. She says she can't call, can Dr please text her. I call drs, they say I can't speak to Dr, Dr will text my mum. Dr texts my mum saying "you cannot text back on this facility, please get someone to call me". I call for her, and cannot get through. I email and say "this is my number, either please call me or make an appointment for my mum and let me or her know when". Reception replies that they have passed my email onto the GP. Haven't heard anything since.

I FUCKING HATE THIS SHIT AND I'VE BEEN DOING IT MY WHOLE LIFE.

 

[mrsfran]

And it's fairly likely that if she does get an appointment, and goes to the GP, everyone will be wearing masks, and she won't be able to communicate. Her blood sugar is 17 FFS.

I properly have PTSD about this, after all I went through with my dad.

 

[mrsfran]

Yep, she has an appointment but they won't take off the masks. Painstakingly writing everything down it is.

 

[Petcha]

Yep, she has an appointment but they won't take off the masks. Painstakingly writing everything down it is.

I'm really really sorry to read all this. This seems like a good place to vent.... I can't imagine the pressure you're under. I know we're not supposed to diss the NHS right now but they're not all good at their jobs.

 

[two sheds]

One think I've found good are the signed songs on youtube, do love:



Looks like there are hundreds now when I looked a while ago they were all mainly by someone called Adele so I obviously wouldn't know them.

 

[hash tag]

I have so many questions about all this. Like, leaving aside the brummie accents etc. I assume after a few drinks or lines or whatever you're into things might get a bit slurred?

Also, do you have plays on words? Any filthy words?

The discrimination thing is fucking terrible. As with all 'disabilities' the people 'suffering' with them have to work so much harder than 'normal' people. Like, a lot harder. I'm currently dealing with a broken ankle, on crutches etc and it's been an eye opener. Most people are helpful but my god there's some arseholes out there. Imagine being deaf!

You reminded me last night, when I was a teen I broke both bones clean through on my leg on the first day of a fortnight skiing holiday. I had a solid plaster on my leg from toes to groin for about 3 months. This of course means I have "shielded" before and can certainly do it again

 

[hash tag]

Didn't think about screen size. I thought it might be due to signal break up or something.

An old boss of mine was deaf and got by with lip reading. He was driving me somewhere once and holding a normal conversation. I asked how he did this and he said he was lip reading via the central mirror