Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,164
- Reaction score
- 5
Belfast Telegraph
A groundbreaking Deaf Role Model Project organised by the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) will be launched next Wednesday, August 30, with an informal lunch session in the dining room at Wilton House, College Square, Belfast, from 12.30 to 1.30pm.
The aim is to recruit potential deaf role models from various backgrounds. Caroline Doherty, the recently appointed Healthy Minds officer at the Belfast branch of the society, says this is an innovative way for families of deaf children to receive a visit from deaf adults and share their experiences of life in the deaf world.
The Healthy Minds Project focuses on the personal and social education of deaf children aged five to 15 and works mainly in schools by developing and piloting complementary resource packs. The project turns the spotlight on subjects such as self-esteem, coping with emotions, mixing with others and bullying.
Since its launch last spring, Healthy Minds has met with positive feedback from schools, families and professionals.
Caroline tells me there is a real need to ensure our young deaf children receive positive support and an understanding and awareness of themselves.
"Rather than letting deafness dictate how we live, we must take charge of it and use it to our advantage", she says.
"Growing up deaf myself I am particularly excited to be leading this project which aims to ensure deaf children experience full social and emotional as well as educational inclusion.
"I am aware how deaf children can sometimes find it difficult to develop adequate language to express their emotions, or to negotiate, reason, and resolve conflict, and how this can lead to frustration.
"The project will help ensure that deaf children are equipped with appropriate tools to understand themselves and their world on a more equal footing with their hearing peers."
f you're interested in taking part in this exciting project, please contact Caroline on caroline.doherty@ndcs.org.uk or on her mobile at 07812 673422. Everyone is welcome to apply and the NDCS will pay selected role models a fee of £25 per visit plus travelling expenses.
Deaf tradesmen
When we first moved to our present home 18 years ago various jobs needed to be done about the house and garden and we had the happy advantage of being able to call on the service of the many skilled deaf workmen around then: bricklayers, joiners, painters and decorators.
Apart from a gardener who comes twice a year, it has now become rather difficult to find a deaf workman to do these jobs.
Last weekend we got badly stuck when our ham-fisted efforts to change a tap washer in the bathroom ended up with us draining all the water out of the loft tank and causing an airlock that shut everything down.
The only solution was to ring up a plumber from Yellow Pages and on a Sunday this was exorbitantly expensive.
With the advent of sign language teaching and the expanding role of deaf people in the social services, it seems that there is little incentive for deaf school-leavers to take up an apprenticeship and learn the old trades.
I don't know what the schools are doing about this, but I do know that modern plumbing and electrical work requires long and specialised training before one can be qualified and as far as I know only one young deaf man has passed all the required exams.
It would have been great to have had his help if we only we knew how to contact him!
A groundbreaking Deaf Role Model Project organised by the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) will be launched next Wednesday, August 30, with an informal lunch session in the dining room at Wilton House, College Square, Belfast, from 12.30 to 1.30pm.
The aim is to recruit potential deaf role models from various backgrounds. Caroline Doherty, the recently appointed Healthy Minds officer at the Belfast branch of the society, says this is an innovative way for families of deaf children to receive a visit from deaf adults and share their experiences of life in the deaf world.
The Healthy Minds Project focuses on the personal and social education of deaf children aged five to 15 and works mainly in schools by developing and piloting complementary resource packs. The project turns the spotlight on subjects such as self-esteem, coping with emotions, mixing with others and bullying.
Since its launch last spring, Healthy Minds has met with positive feedback from schools, families and professionals.
Caroline tells me there is a real need to ensure our young deaf children receive positive support and an understanding and awareness of themselves.
"Rather than letting deafness dictate how we live, we must take charge of it and use it to our advantage", she says.
"Growing up deaf myself I am particularly excited to be leading this project which aims to ensure deaf children experience full social and emotional as well as educational inclusion.
"I am aware how deaf children can sometimes find it difficult to develop adequate language to express their emotions, or to negotiate, reason, and resolve conflict, and how this can lead to frustration.
"The project will help ensure that deaf children are equipped with appropriate tools to understand themselves and their world on a more equal footing with their hearing peers."
f you're interested in taking part in this exciting project, please contact Caroline on caroline.doherty@ndcs.org.uk or on her mobile at 07812 673422. Everyone is welcome to apply and the NDCS will pay selected role models a fee of £25 per visit plus travelling expenses.
Deaf tradesmen
When we first moved to our present home 18 years ago various jobs needed to be done about the house and garden and we had the happy advantage of being able to call on the service of the many skilled deaf workmen around then: bricklayers, joiners, painters and decorators.
Apart from a gardener who comes twice a year, it has now become rather difficult to find a deaf workman to do these jobs.
Last weekend we got badly stuck when our ham-fisted efforts to change a tap washer in the bathroom ended up with us draining all the water out of the loft tank and causing an airlock that shut everything down.
The only solution was to ring up a plumber from Yellow Pages and on a Sunday this was exorbitantly expensive.
With the advent of sign language teaching and the expanding role of deaf people in the social services, it seems that there is little incentive for deaf school-leavers to take up an apprenticeship and learn the old trades.
I don't know what the schools are doing about this, but I do know that modern plumbing and electrical work requires long and specialised training before one can be qualified and as far as I know only one young deaf man has passed all the required exams.
It would have been great to have had his help if we only we knew how to contact him!