Imagine being born into a world of silence. No sound of raindrops or fingers running down glass.
No sizzle of bacon in a heated pan or crunch of frost beneath your feet.
For almost nine million people in the UK this is a silence they’ve come to know. For around 500 babies born each year it’s all they’ll ever know.
But for Audrey Cameron, Scotland’s first ever female deaf doctor, it’s a silence that doesn’t have to limit your life - or your dreams.
“I had good family and the support of friends,” writes Audrey, in our written interview. “Without them I wouldn’t have had the strength to face the challenges. They made me believe that I can do things.”
Profoundly deaf since birth, Audrey, like the tens of thousands of other deaf children in our country, had to learn how to adapt and cope in a noisy world dominated by vocal interactions.
Encouraged in school to choose science subjects over writing, her love of experiments and dedication to finding out how the Universe works took her down a path of obstacles she has fought hard to overcome.
“I went to Paisley University to study chemistry in 1986,” Audrey explains. “I experienced a complete culture shock, as there was no support system for deaf students at that time.
“In those days there was no such thing as Disabled Student Allowance. After the first month, when I approached the head of department and asked for additional lecture notes, I was promptly told that was not possible and I would have to work as hard as other students.”
Audrey rose to the challenge and obtained her BSc, and later her PhD, in chemistry from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow in 1996 to become the first deaf PhD holder in Scotland.
“It was a gradual process,” adds Audrey modestly. “I’d wanted to be a teacher when I was little. I was encouraged to do my PhD by my lecturer in Paisley, but I didn’t have the confidence then. But after working for a year in the industry I realised that I wanted to do research and ended up with a doctorate.”
Audrey went on to take up a post doctorate position at Durham, but was repeatedly told that as a deaf person she would be unable to become a lecturer.
Determined to overcome this obstacle, Audrey instead applied for a teacher-training course at the University of Edinburgh and was welcomed with open arms.
While Audrey had once been deemed incapable of lecturing students, she went on to become a teacher of higher-grade chemistry in mainstream schools, using interpreters to help her with her classes.
“When I was 18 and leaving school, I would have never thought that I would achieve my doctorate or become a teacher,” admits Audrey proudly. “Of course, there were challenges but there were ways of getting through them.
“The biggest challenge is communication with hearing people. Nowadays, I have access to interpreters so I can participate in meetings as an equal.”
Now, Audrey continues her work in Edinburgh teaching science to eager learners, but she has also continued to work towards helping others like her reach the same dreams she had.
As Audrey explains: “I enjoy research and teaching but I’m also working on developing new signs for science. Developing new signs involves my chemistry research and teaching background.”
Working in the British Sign Language (BSL) Glossary Team, which is based at the Scottish Sensory Centre at the University of Edinburgh, Audrey has been assisting in developing recognised sign language signs for those wanting to study science subjects.
At the moment, understanding scientific terms through lip-reading is a big challenge for pupils. Most teachers do not know the signs for specific scientific terms so they are not able to teach and explain these in sign to deaf children.
Words like “organism” and “photosynthesis”, for example, have no single widely accepted equivalent in sign language and deaf students are left to do lots of lip-reading and guesswork to figure things out.
Over the last year, though, Audrey and the Edinburgh team have added 116 new signs for physics and engineering terms, including signs for “light-year,” (hold one hand up and spread the fingers downward for “light,” then bring both hands together in front of your chest and slowly move them apart for “year”), “mass” and “X-ray” (form an X with your index fingers, then, with the index finger on the right hand, point outward).
Audrey has also helped to organise a local event in Dunbar called SciFest to inspire children into science, a cause which she holds close to her heart.
“My parents and my deaf friends at school encouraged me at the start of my career path,” Audrey explains. “There are so many people that are inspirational and the SciFest team are wonderful because they treat me as an equal and support the idea of making the event accessible to deaf people, too.”
The festival launched in 2011 but immediately attracted 2000 people, surprising the organisers but encouraging them to keep the event running each year.
“It is an important event because it is inspiring our school children to become scientists,” insists Audrey. “We won the best community event (NSEW) award in 2012 and the outstanding contribution to NSEW award in 2013.
“My advice to anyone trying to achieve their goals in challenging circumstances? Follow your dream and don’t let things stop you.”
For more information on Audrey and her work you can pop along to the Dunbar SciFest from March 16, or check out Audrey and her fellow deaf team mate Gary Quinn in action or see below at her appearance at a Manchester science festival in support with the British Science Association, University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh and Heriott-Watt University.
