Deaf Awareness Week
This year’s Deaf Awareness Week runs 01-07 May 2023 theme is “Access to Communication’’.
The aim of this year’s Deaf Awareness Week is to promote greater awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by the deaf community in accessing communication. The theme highlights the need for breaking down the communication barriers that prevent deaf people from fully participating in society.
The deaf community often faces significant barriers to communication, which can lead to social isolation, limited employment opportunities, and reduced access to essential services. These barriers can include a lack of access to sign language interpreters, limited captioning and subtitling in videos and online content, and a general lack of awareness of the communication needs of deaf individuals.
To address these issues, this year’s Deaf Awareness Week will focus on raising awareness of the communication needs of the deaf community and advocating for greater access to communication tools and services. It will encourage individuals, organizations, and governments to work together to create a more inclusive society where deaf individuals have the same access to communication as their hearing counterparts.
Through education, awareness-raising, and advocacy, we can break down the communication barriers that prevent deaf people from participating fully in society. Let’s work together to create a world where access to communication is a fundamental human right for everyone, regardless of their hearing ability.
Get Involved
Get involved with Deaf Awareness Week use the following hashtags on social media: #DAW2023 #DeafAwarenessWeek
My Deaf Story
Please Check out our Deaf Awareness Video that we have made to try and get more businesses to become deaf aware.
Deaf Awareness Resources
Deaf Awareness Facts
FAQs about British Sign Language
Terms used to describe deafness
Hard of hearing – people who have some level of hearing loss, are often described as hard of hearing. They may experience some difficulty in hearing speech and may no longer hear people whispering.
deafened – People who have lost their hearing are often described as deafened. This could be because of an accident, operation, or infection. They are likely to have learned to speak, read, and write before they lost their hearing.
Deaf – people who are born without hearing or lose their hearing as an infant are often described as Deaf with a capital D. They are likely to use Sign Language as their first language and have little or no access to English. They will have more severe profound deafness.
Deaf Awareness Statistics
In the UK there are 12 million adults with hearing loss. This is equivalent to around one in five adults.
It is estimated that there are 151,000 people in the UK who use British Sign Language and 87,000 of these are Deaf. There are at least 50,000 children who are deaf in the UK.
RNID estimate In the UK, more than 40% of people over 50 years old have hearing loss, rising to more than 70% of people over the age of 70.
There are 7.1 million adults in the UK living with tinnitus.
It is estimated that there are nearly 400,000 deafblind people in the UK.
What is BSL?
Many people view sign language as a means of communication for someone who has been profoundly deaf from childhood. It is important for us view BSL as a language in its own right, used by both Deaf and hearing people in the UK.
There are currently 10 million people suffering from hearing loss in the UK and more than 800,000 are either severely or profoundly deaf.
Where can I Learn BSL?
Signature has centres across the UK. To find your local Signature centre enter your postcode below:
Why choose Signature to learn BSL with?
Signature is the leading awarding body for deaf communications qualifications in the UK.
Since beginning our work to promote and teach British Sign Language (BSL), we have supported more than 430,000 people to learn the British Sign Language.
We create qualifications that provide our learners with the skills they need to build successful careers. While as a charitable organisation, we work tirelessly to improve communication, by creating learning opportunities for every stage of life.
Signature was named ‘Awarding Organisation of the Year’ at the 2019 FAB Awards. The FAB Awards are run by the Federation of Awarding Bodies.
What career paths could I follow?
Completing a Signature qualification could lead you on the path to a number of exciting careers.
Learn British Sign Language with Signature
Learn British Sign Language with Signature
If you have been inspired to learn British Sign Language with Signature, you can find a centre in your local area that currently offers our qualifications. You can find the centre search tool here.