British Sign Language – it’s not an ‘ology’

Debbie Harris 
Jan 2025  •  3 min read

British Sign Language – it’s not an ‘ology’

I read a News article last year about plans to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL).  I would have loved to have had this as a choice when I was selecting my options some decades (*ahem!) ago … what a brilliant idea.

Signing isn’t only used by deaf folk; it has also been a tool for communication for sufferers of autism for many years as well as for people with speech impairments and/or learning difficulties.  Obviously it is also used by the carers of these members of our community and by anyone playing a supportive role in their health and wellbeing.

The British Deaf Association estimates that over 150,000 people in the UK use BSL with ‘only’ 87,000 of them being actually deaf.

I have struggled with significant hearing loss for the last 20 years and so this is a subject close to my heart.  I benefit from the advancement of hearing aid technologies and am able to manage my partial deafness very well … but I know that I’m lucky.

This new GCSE is a great step towards equality for the deaf and seeks to improve inclusivity and reduce isolation for deaf and hard of hearing children in our Nation’s schools.

I am always in favour of practical exams in useful subjects that can be meaningfully used in adult life and frankly think BSL could and should be taught in our schools earlier than age 14-16, but we have to take the wins when we can.

I have a heart for education and I am always on the lookout to learn new things … perhaps I may even do a GCSE in BSL (likely to be far more interesting than most of the learning opportunities that tend to land in my inbox … being mainly around the financial services industry of course!)

We often talk here about how little ‘financial education’ our young people receive in our schools – many leave the education system without understanding what income tax is; what a pension is; how to budget etc – many of them are going straight into paid work (so have an immediate need to have some decent financial awareness/knowledge) and many of them head off to University (to live on their own for the first time, with no real idea about balancing a budget; or even how much things cost – utilities, council tax, household insurance etc) so it seems to me there’s a gap in the system here for this too; a need to be met.

Many schools attempt to cover some of the priority information in PSHCE sessions but if you have any other suggestions for how we can help our school-leavers; we’d love to hear them.  If you have children or grandchildren in this age group, do you think a ‘workshop’ style event would be useful or even just a ‘workbook’ – both of which would potentially have the objective of arming your young people with some of the financial basics?

British Sign Language – it’s not an ‘ology’2025-01-30T13:10:32+00:00

Is it time to give up driving Miss Daisy?

Dominic Thomas
July 2023  •  8 min read

Is it time to give up driving Miss Daisy?

Amongst the showers that interrupted the tennis, I spotted a piece on the BBC news site. The clickbait that caught my eye “People should plan retirement from driving”. The article is about families challenging the older generation with a question about their ability to drive. Pause on that for a moment. I once heard a joke that basically said that the two things you cannot criticize anyone for are their sexual prowess and their driving. In fact, the offence to challenge either appears almost equally and deeply hurtful.

The latest attempt by the regulator to ensure the right things are being done, (without being too obviously a new lick of paint such as FSA to FCA) is called “Consumer Duty”. A large element of this is about vulnerability. In short, are you more likely to misunderstand advice or be “taken advantage of” because you are either temporarily or permanently “vulnerable”. The term is of course open to interpretation, the intention though is very well meaning.

However, such discussions are rarely easy. Imagine being told that you are no longer fit to drive. So many of us cherish our independence, which is what our ability to drive represents. Indeed if you live in a rural area, your car may be your practical connection to wider society. Yet getting this wrong (which likely means a serious accident happened) will have devastating impact. There is a huge risk of causing offence, appearing patronising or controlling, yet this is “for your own good”.

So how will you know when it is time?

I have been struck by the wisdom of several of our older clients. Two incidents stand out. The first had the foresight to not simply visit local care homes, but she booked herself in for a week or so to see what the level of care was like. She wasn’t impressed and made other arrangements. The second possesses a grasp of self-awareness and a wisdom that I hope I achieve. He knew that at some point he wouldn’t know what he didn’t know. If that sounds a little Donald Rumsfeld, its intended. In short, he wanted me to take over the reigns so that his affairs remain in top notch condition.

Most of us are reluctant to become reliant on others. We generally place very high value on our own ability to make our own choices, we also have a tendency for overconfidence in our own abilities. Ask a room of people to raise their hand if they consider themselves a “better than average driver” the majority will raise their hand, which of course statistically doesn’t hold with logic. The majority cannot be above average.

So in our planning for you, we will increasingly be faced with ever more difficult conversations as we all age about how we protect ourselves from ourselves. Our role is to speak truth and consider your future in the context of all we understand. The BBC article is a sobering reminder that we cannot ignore things simply because it may offend.

Currently your driving license expires when you reach age 70. You retain the right to renew. I remember a short film by David Ackerman starring John Cleese called “Taking the Wheel” (2002) which is an amusing take on why his 90-year-old-mother refused to give up driving.

Is it time to give up driving Miss Daisy?2025-01-23T10:54:22+00:00
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