Sounds of Silence- how sign language unites us
Imagine you have just arrived in a foreign country and you do not speak the language and no-one in that country speaks a word of English. How would you feel if this continued for years? That’s deafness. I am very lucky. I have great health, I speak well, I see well, I hear well. Deafness cuts you off from human interaction. I live in Scotland and according to an analysis published in 2016, around 75 children a year are born deaf in this country, 5 of whom have a severe to profound hearing loss. (Scottish Council of Deafness Statistics. http://www.scod.org.uk/faqs/statistics/ )
When I was young, children who were born deaf never learned to communicate. They were so ‘protected’ that they were kept at home, and were sometimes a disappointment or an embarrassment to their families, even if they were loved. They led a life of hiddenness and loneliness. I don’t think there was any bad intention but there was a great deal of ignorance.
A few years ago, my brother who is super sociable, was in a pub talking to his mates when he noticed a table of people who did not seem to be talking but making signs to each other. Overcome by curiosity, he went closer and found that they were having a great time, using BSL one of the many forms of sign language used by hearing impaired to communicate. Here was a group of people he could not communicate with so he went to classes to learn BSL and became very accomplished. At more or less the same time I had the same experience in another part of the UK, 500 miles away and with the same reaction. We only learned about each other’s new passion a couple of years later when we met up for a family celebration.
The deaf community goes unheard (naturally) but they must not be hidden away or ignored. Nor must we feel embarrassed in their company. They have dignity and their other senses are usually much more sensitive than those of the hearing community.
Nowadays deaf children can attend mainstream schools and hearing children in the school can learn sign language which aids integration. The hearing children see this as a great opportunity and are enabled to communicate with non-hearing children and share everything with them. It is a beautiful skill reminding us our lives are enriched insofar as we listen, even with our eyes— to those around us.
Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash