Miss-Delectable
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icBerkshire - Charity offers sign language lifeline for deaf children
FAMILIES with deaf children say the Government does nothing to help fund vital sign language classes.
But now a lifeline is being thrown to them by a charity body which has found the cash to lay on free courses in the Reading area.
And Kim Hodges, for the Community Council for Berkshire (CCB), said: "After becoming involved with this project, I have been amazed and appalled at the way parents of deaf children are left to fend for themselves."
The CCB has linked up with Reading Deaf Centre and Reading Deaf Children's Society to offer the only free course available to adults in this area.
The 10-week introductory training programme is aimed at parents and relatives of hearing-impaired children who otherwise have to pay for a college course.
Three-year-old Alistair Slocombe lost his hearing as a baby after contracting meningitis at eight months.
His mother, Liz, struggles every time she needs to ask him what he wants for dinner or which television programme he would like to watch.
And like every child, he depends on his mum and dad Tom to help him learn how to interact with others.
Mrs Slocombe,36, who lives in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross,said: "It is frustrating for both me and for Alistair.
"But there isn't anything in Reading to teach you sign language unless you self-fund a course, but the courses are expensive. I think for parents all the classes should be free.
"For those of us who need to sign to a child it is a basic requirement, but parents have to pay hundreds of pounds for the basic right to communicate with their child."
Thames Valley University ended its adult sign language course a couple of years ago but Newbury College is still offering level one and level two courses.
Mrs Slocombe, a nurse and chairwoman of the Reading branch of the Deaf Children's Society, received a grant from Reading Deaf Society to help her and her electronics engineer husband pay for the part-time sign language course at Newbury College.
But for the rest of the family who cannot afford to pay £173 each for a 30-week course, the free classes at Reading Deaf Centre in Cardiff Road will be a godsend.
Mr Slocombes mother, Estelle Hart, joined the programme when it was tried out in Wokingham last year.
Mrs Slocombe added: "The classes have given my mother-in-law the confidence to carry on learning and she will be babysitting for Alistair a lot more.
The CCB's Mr Hodge said: "Colleges have to run courses that include assessments and examinations, and frankly, the last thing a parent of a deaf child needs is a recognised qualification.
"We had to go to the European Social Fund for the money,because there is no support for parents of deaf children from our own Governments agencies.
"Communication between a small child and its family is essential for proper personal development, yet we appear to have no active support for encouraging it from Government policy".
* Contact Carol Green on 0118 944 1392 about classes start from 7pm next Tuesday.
FAMILIES with deaf children say the Government does nothing to help fund vital sign language classes.
But now a lifeline is being thrown to them by a charity body which has found the cash to lay on free courses in the Reading area.
And Kim Hodges, for the Community Council for Berkshire (CCB), said: "After becoming involved with this project, I have been amazed and appalled at the way parents of deaf children are left to fend for themselves."
The CCB has linked up with Reading Deaf Centre and Reading Deaf Children's Society to offer the only free course available to adults in this area.
The 10-week introductory training programme is aimed at parents and relatives of hearing-impaired children who otherwise have to pay for a college course.
Three-year-old Alistair Slocombe lost his hearing as a baby after contracting meningitis at eight months.
His mother, Liz, struggles every time she needs to ask him what he wants for dinner or which television programme he would like to watch.
And like every child, he depends on his mum and dad Tom to help him learn how to interact with others.
Mrs Slocombe,36, who lives in Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross,said: "It is frustrating for both me and for Alistair.
"But there isn't anything in Reading to teach you sign language unless you self-fund a course, but the courses are expensive. I think for parents all the classes should be free.
"For those of us who need to sign to a child it is a basic requirement, but parents have to pay hundreds of pounds for the basic right to communicate with their child."
Thames Valley University ended its adult sign language course a couple of years ago but Newbury College is still offering level one and level two courses.
Mrs Slocombe, a nurse and chairwoman of the Reading branch of the Deaf Children's Society, received a grant from Reading Deaf Society to help her and her electronics engineer husband pay for the part-time sign language course at Newbury College.
But for the rest of the family who cannot afford to pay £173 each for a 30-week course, the free classes at Reading Deaf Centre in Cardiff Road will be a godsend.
Mr Slocombes mother, Estelle Hart, joined the programme when it was tried out in Wokingham last year.
Mrs Slocombe added: "The classes have given my mother-in-law the confidence to carry on learning and she will be babysitting for Alistair a lot more.
The CCB's Mr Hodge said: "Colleges have to run courses that include assessments and examinations, and frankly, the last thing a parent of a deaf child needs is a recognised qualification.
"We had to go to the European Social Fund for the money,because there is no support for parents of deaf children from our own Governments agencies.
"Communication between a small child and its family is essential for proper personal development, yet we appear to have no active support for encouraging it from Government policy".
* Contact Carol Green on 0118 944 1392 about classes start from 7pm next Tuesday.