Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 18 May 2024 at 13:54
Its #Signlanguageweek and Darren (CallEEAST Supervisor) tells us his story in learning sign language and how this has opened and allowed him to be a part of a fantastic community.
I first learned sign language in 1990 while working as a welfare assistant at a local school. We had a student with autism who used Makaton as their communication method. After learning a few Makaton signs, I decided that I wanted to learn British Sign Language (BSL). I completed and passed level 1 BSL that year and finished Level 2 the following year.
Soon after completing level 2, I worked as a BSL communication support worker in and around the Norwich area, mainly supporting deaf people within education. I then also started work at Rotary House, a purpose-built Norwich complex that accommodates people with hearing impairments.
In the summer of 2000, I started work at Medicom, now CallEEAST, at East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, still continuing to support the deaf community and In 2012 I went on to study BSL at degree level and received and NVQ level 6 in British Sign Language. Later this year, I hope to further my education and achieve a diploma in sign language interpreting.
Learning sign language has enabled me to be a part of a whole other community I would otherwise not have been a part of. I have made some true lifelong friends and met some incredible, talented people throughout my journey, both hearing and deaf, and I am honoured to be a part of the community.
In a time where we promote, advocate, and celebrate inclusivity for everyone, I would actively encourage everyone to learn sign language. BSL truly is a beautiful and rich visual-spatial language. It has its own grammar and syntax and is a fully recognised language in its own right. Just like spoken language, it has its own regional variations and colloquialisms, and just like spoken English, uses idioms, metaphors, and similes.
Published 16th March 2023