Parents tell us about their experiences learning sign language

NDCS is meeting with the Department for Education in November to urge the Government to make family sign language courses available for any families of deaf children across England, following successful regional pilots by NDCS.

Here are some of many stories that families have told us about the importance of family sign language courses and the issues they have faced in accessing courses.

“Communication is one of life’s basic necessities, however for Belle it is virtually impossible to communicate and understand her parents and older sister unless we use sign language with her.

"I am currently studying British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 to be able to communicate with Belle. The course costs me £200, however, in order to fully support Belle’s communication needs, I will need to do more levels, which I find very expensive. I am really worried that I won’t be able to give Belle the best start in life simply because I won’t be able to afford sign language courses. Even now my husband can’t afford to attend the course with me, which is not fair as he won’t be able to communicate with Belle as well as I can.

“We would love the Government to fund sign language courses for families who choose to learn BSL so that the whole family can learn it and enable deaf children to feel included and a valued member of the society.”

“Signing has become invaluable in our life as it helps Elsie so much to express herself and be more independent at home. We use signs for the key words in books. Elsie’s favourite book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

“I attended a Family Sign Language course run by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which was a perfect introduction to BSL. The course was free and ran over a weekend and provided a crèche, which meant that both I and my husband could go.

“I have just started a course to study British Sign Language (BSL) Level 1 to be able to communicate better with my Elsie who is using a mixture of sign language and speech. The course only takes place in the evening, and my husband can’t come to it with me as we don’t have anyone available to look after Elsie and her older sister Susie, who is three. This means that my husband won’t be able to communicate with Elsie as well as I can."

“Sign language helps me and my husband to communicate with Charlotte as well as helping Charlotte to express herself and to develop her confidence.

“When Charlotte was very young, it became obvious that we as parents would need to support her to sign. I did Level 1 in British Sign Language at a local college, which cost me £450, and then Pre-level 2, which cost me £275. It was difficult to find a suitable course as there is very limited access to sign language courses in my area.

“Charlotte is able to speak and uses sign language when she finds it hard to hear like when we go to a play centre, swimming pool and park, or when there is lots of background noise. There should be more opportunities available for families who want to learn sign language.”

Inspired by these stories and want to support our campaign?

• Contact your MP now >
• Sign our petition now >

Want to share your experiences and thoughts on access to family sign language? We'd love to hear from you. Email us at campaigns@ndcs.org.uk, or leave a comment below. Alternatively, join our Facebook discussion group.

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