Sandwell Deaf Community Association

Hello! Have you seen our new "Stay & Play" group poster? This group is aimed towards babies & children from ages 0-5. Hearing parents who have Deaf/HoH children or babies and Deaf/HoH parents who have hearing children are all welcome. This Stay & Play group is completely free to attend. A quick message to the parents, this is not a “drop off” play group, you will be required to stay with your baby/children. The purpose of the group is to learn how to integrate, socialise and learn communication methods, all whilst having fun! The group will be held at Tipton Family Hub, from 10am-12pm, starting on September 9th, 2024.If you would like to reserve your place or would like some more information, please contact me and I will be happy to assist you. Please see my contact details on the next slide. Thanks for watching!

Have you seen our new "Stay & Play" group poster? This group is aimed towards babies & children from ages 0-5. Hearing parents who have Deaf/HoH children or babies and Deaf/HoH parents who have hearing children are all welcome.

This Stay & Play group is completely free to attend. A quick message to the parents, this is not a “drop off” play group, you will be required to stay with your baby/children.

The purpose of the group is to learn how to integrate, socialise and learn communication methods, all whilst having fun! The group will be held at Tipton Family Hub, from 10am-12pm, starting on September 9th, 2024.

If you would like to reserve your place or would like some more information, please contact me and I will be happy to assist you. Please see my contact details on the next slide.

Thanks for watching!

Hey, We’ve created a collection of hearts with strong, powerful messages relating to the theme of ‘Love and Trust’.

It’s truly important that the Deaf community continue to work together in order to remove the barriers we face.

We’re all human with our own unique identities and it’s incredibly important to remember that we’re all equal.

Learning to love yourself and celebrating your individuality also means that we are proud of our culture and our language.

Continue to be passionate about sign language so that we can keep spreading the message to raise awareness.

Once again, a huge happy Deaf Awareness week!

Hello! This clip will give you tips on what to do when interacting with a Deaf person.

Make sure you’re facing one another so that it’s possible to lipread and maintain eye contact
Use clear lip patterns when speaking as the Deaf person will rely on this for lipreading
Use facial expressions and body language to reinforce what you’re saying whether it’s positive or negative i.e. a happy/sad face
Never cover your mouth or the area around your face so that they have a clear visual during communication
Don’t chew gum or food whilst talking as this makes it very difficult to be able to lipread!
Ensure the room you’re in is bright and clear
Don’t stand in front of a window when talking as the brightness coming from behind you will make it difficult for them to see what you’re saying

Thank you for watching!

Hello! During this clip, you will see various examples of gestures that can be used.

Hello
You alright/you ok?
Drink/you drink?
Come here
Wait
Hot
Cold
Swimming
Baby
Bye bye

Gestures are very visual and a great method of communicating with Deaf people. Give it a go!

Thank you for watching.

Hello! It’s unlikely that you’d be able to get the attention of a Deaf person by calling their name so what else could you do? Here are a few methods you can use:

A gentle tap/touch in an appropriate area

Move yourself so that you’re facing them and give a little wave

Switch the lights on and off

If you’re sat at a table and the Deaf person is resting their arms on the table you can pat the table so that they will feel the vibration and look to see where it’s coming from

Stomp on the floor so that they can feel the vibration

Call the person’s phone via video call and when they answer tell them to look at you!

Send a message to say ‘look at me!’

These are all ways that you can get a Deaf person’s attention.

Thank you for watching!

Hello and a warm welcome to this clip where we will be sharing useful tips on ways you can communicate with a Deaf person:

Use a pen and piece of paper to write messages back and forth

Simple gestures such as ‘hello’ and ‘are you ok?’

Pointing to a person/object/place or anything else in order to show what you’re referring to

Lipreading: Talk clearly and at a steady pace so that they can lipread you, if they’re able to do so

If you don’t have a pen and paper available you could use your phone to type a message and allow them to respond using the same method

Thank you for watching!