Mark McQueen is a freelance presenter and BSL tutor. Mark was accepted onto two courses at university, running parallel to each other – one where everyone used BSL, and the other where he was the only BSL user. Course differences In Mark’s first course, everyone used sign language, which allowed for easy communication without barriers to learning. This benefitted his learning, as everyone was able to support each other and contribute equally. His lecturer was fluent in BSL and could ...

Thinking about college or university? Charlotte Addison, our BSL Officer and deaf role model, has been to both and shares some helpful tips. After leaving school, Charlotte went straight to college. This was a smooth experience as they had in-house interpreters, allowing for easy access to communication support. However this meant that Charlotte was unaware of the role SAAS and DSA can play in arranging interpreters for deaf students. Charlotte went from college into childcare work, which inspired her to apply to university.  ...

Dr Robert Adam is an assistant professor at Heriot Watt University. He is a lecturer in Linguistics, Interpreting, BSL and Deaf Studies. His research of sign language covers complex language contact between Deaf people who use a distinct sign language.   Beginnings Raised in Melbourne, Australia, Robert moved to Scotland around 18 years ago. Having studied before the Equality Act, his experience differs to current ...

Mark McMillian is Deaf Action’s BSL Officer, working with colleges and universities across Scotland, helping them implement their BSL plans.   Mark’s journey His educational journey began at Donaldson’s School before graduating from Edinburgh Napier University. Following higher education, Mark became a residential care-worker at Donaldson’s School for eight years. Since joining Deaf Action, he has worked in various roles including Youth Participation Officer, Employability Advisor and now as a BSL Officer. Mark ...

Next in our series of deaf role models is Tamara Gierend, a photographer. Tamara moved from Germany to Scotland seven years ago, after being accepted onto a Higher National Diploma (HND) course in Photography at the City of Glasgow College. After completing her HND, she applied to do a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Photography. She tells us how ...

Choosing between college, university or full-time work can be a difficult decision, especially when you’re undecided on what you would like to do in the future. Over the next four weeks, we will be introducing just some of our deaf colleagues, who have inspired others throughout their careers. They will share their journey through education and support, into the career ...

2021 has been a huge year for deaf representation in films, in what we hope is a step towards normalising deafness and disabilities in mainstream media. We are excited to see various films this year featuring deaf actors, raising deaf awareness in hearing communities, and creating idols for the young deaf generation.  A Quiet Place 2 In the last month, the Quiet Place sequel gained recognition for casting ...

Communication rights for deaf people Doctors at NHS Scotland gave a deaf man a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order without his knowledge or consent. The profoundly deaf man is a resident at Deaf Action’s supported accommodation for deaf adults in Slateford Green, Edinburgh. He is in his 60s, with a good quality of life. He had no knowledge of the decision ...

Reflecting on Deaf Awareness Week 2021 Deaf Awareness Week 2021 involved increasing awareness, celebrating our community and shining a light on new accessibility issues that came with the pandemic. Face masks, subtitles and interpreters were some of the topics highly discussed throughout the week. As a deaf-led charity, this week was incredibly important to our staff to reflect on what ...

Celebrate Deaf Awareness Week 2021 This year, the theme is ‘Coming through it together’, highlighting the hardships from the past year, and looking forward to a brighter future. The pandemic has heightened communication barriers for BSL and lipreading users which is why we are challenging everyone to #SignForDeafAction.   The aim of the challenge is to increase deaf awareness and have …