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Government turns their back on deaf children
One thing that has always made me feel angry is that the way that deaf people are forced to “cope”. Other disabled people are much worse off. But deafness still poses huge barriers. In a civilised...
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Did your MP turn their back on deaf children?
At the bottom of this blog is a depressingly long list of all the MPs who voted to cut benefits for deaf and other disabled children last night in the Welfare Reform Bill debate. Here is a website...
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Relief as Government protects funding for specialist support services for...
Last week was full of depressing news about cuts to welfare support for deaf and other disabled children. So it was a relief to get a government announcement towards the end of last week with a glimmer...
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What an ill chicken tells us about deaf access to universities and colleges
Sorry, I didn’t do a blog yesterday, my chicken was ill. If you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about, then clearly you haven’t yet watched the BBC3 documentary, Deaf Teens: Hearing World, nor been...
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Is the Government telling deaf people to PIP off on disability benefits?
It took me a while but I finally read through the Department for Work and Pension’s consultation on the eligibility criteria for the new benefits for disabled people, Personal Independence Payments....
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Love film but hate lack of online access for deaf people?
I got an email the other day at work about Lovefilm and the lack of subtitles for deaf people who sign up to their online film streaming service. A father of a deaf daughter was angry that she wasn’t...
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Why I spent my Sunday telling parents of deaf children all about my love life
It was the question I had been dreading: “Perhaps our visitors could tell us a bit about their experiences with girlfriends when they were younger?” I was at a National Deaf Children’s Society Family...
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Rubbish subtitles: an update
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve found myself unexpectedly in the Daily Mail, the Metro, Digital Spy and the Sun. Sadly, it wasn’t due to scandal or celebrity mayhem. Instead, with my NDCS hat on, I...
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Rita Simons and informed choice
Since everyone else is having their say on last night’s BBC documentary Rita Simons: my daughter, deafness and me I thought I would slip in my tuppence. Firstly, that I thought the whole thing really...
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Top of the blogs countdown: a retrospective
The other day, I realised that I’ve now written over 300 posts for this blog. Clearly, my ability to waffle knows no limit. So in a fit of nostalgia, I decided to have a look back and rummage through...
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What does the big special educational needs shake up mean for deaf children?
The Department for Education are now full steam ahead with the biggest shake up of the special educational needs framework in England for 30 years. It certainly feels like 30 years since they announced...
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Stop what you’re doing, sign a petition and help stop cuts to deaf children’s...
My colleague Jenny caught me talking to myself the other day. I simply reminded her about the importance of internal communications in our office. And in the best spirit of internal communication, I am...
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Social care safety nets for deaf children to be slashed?
Most of the time, I can see the logic behind a government policy, even if I don’t personally agree with it. From time to time though, I come across proposals that are just manifestly completely...
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Deaf access fail at the Department for Work and Pensions
Imagine someone telling a wheelchair user that the disabled toilets are just up the stairs. You’d think it bonkers. Well, the Department with overall responsibility on disability policy seem to be on...
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Welfare cuts targeting deaf people?
Well, it’s official. The Government thinks that deafness is just a ‘minor’ disability. A piffling little thing of no consequence or cost. Last week, the Government confirmed the arrangements for the...
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Stolen Futures campaign video and why the Government needs to step up
Image courtesy of NDCS Well, today was very exciting. The new campaign video for the National Deaf Children’s Society Stolen Futures campaign was released. It features actor Jim Carter (him off Downton...
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Is this really the right time to push ahead with special educational needs...
Sad parliamentary geeks of the world, rejoice! The long-expected Children and Families Bill has now been published, setting out, amongst other, wide-ranging proposals for reform to the special...
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Battle lost on welfare cuts for deaf people
The Department for Work and Pensions’ have succeeded in their plans to replace Disability Living Allowance with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for disabled people over 16. The...
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Being deaf and dealing with concentration fatigue
I went to a great conference today. It was riveting and I was hooked on pretty much every word. And then I got home and collapsed on the sofa. I’m not just tired, I’m shattered. I’ve had to turn my...
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Pushing the disability ministry to take disabled access seriously
A minor little campaign victory achieved at NDCS the other week: the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) accepted that deaf people should not be forced to use the phone to make a claim for the new...
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