Page 3 | The Silent child

nordicflamingo · 31/03/2018 00:02

Also, I missed thaT she was a social worker and assumed she was an au pair/nanny/similar that the parents had found to help before school. It made far more sense viewing it that way!

Frusso · 31/03/2018 00:07

I agree Nordic, I wouldn't have classed her as a social worker either, more a social care worker or someone similar that they paid to work with/look after the child.
A social worker wouldn't be the one to do the role that she did.

purpleme12 · 31/03/2018 00:08

No I don't think it was very realistic in that way either

TRALALALALALALALALAAA · 31/03/2018 00:10

This thread is very informative. I don't think there's been a thread on MN about this subject infact I almost think impaired hearing should have its own section on MN for those dealing with it everyday.
There was time nay years when i wanted to enrol on BSL, it was a 3 yr course, in the end i didn't because there was no one at home to speak it with.

purpleme12 · 31/03/2018 00:15

Yes that's what I'm thinking as well. I've always been interested in learning it but people are right here you do need to practice to keep it in your head don't you and I don't have anyone to practice with either

littlemisscomper · 31/03/2018 00:20

If you enjoyed 'The Silent Child' you'll probably like the film 'The Miracle Worker' too.

TRALALALALALALALALAAA · 31/03/2018 00:20

I was hoping to use it to translate in church to the hearing impaired. I think that's one ambition that will remain unfulfilled.

ButchyRestingFace · 31/03/2018 00:22

I was hoping to use it to translate in church to the hearing impaired. I think that's one ambition that will remain unfulfilled.

Trying to interpret the readings would be hard. I know qualified interpreters who wouldn't touch church interpreting.

Childminder · 31/03/2018 00:39

I have been taking my minded children to a BSL music group for nearly 2 years: They know an amazing number of signs and are using it before speech emerges and in conjunction with speech.

The 18 month old signs, please may I leave the table, thank you for my lunch, he asks for a drink, tells me he needs changing, and names animals, colours, objects and so on, he has been going to class since September.

I had done a level 1&2 Makaton course, just an added skill to offer, and attended a similar music group for a long while but I felt BSL may be more useful. It is hard to keep it up but it is rewarding when I can pick up the just of conversation when I see someone signing on a TV The most hilarious being when I caught a bit of Jeremy Vile on +1 all the signs were easy to read as they were mainly about anger and emotions!

Am I doing the right thing for my minded children, I hope so, because they may be able to make a child feel more inclusive if they happen to have a signing child in their nursery or school class. It’s fun and they enjoy it.

I was immensely proud of my own son many years back, aged 8,he came home from cubs and said I need to learn some BSL as a new boy in my Six is deaf. He achieved his Cub Scout Deaf awareness badge and was promptly made a sixer,

I found the film very emotional but rewarding in that I could read all of the signs, signing can make such a difference to being able to communicate, deaf or not.

Witchend · 31/03/2018 01:57

@TRALALALALALALALALAAA
We have been to Church events where everything is signed, and I'm sure you can do courses especially for such things. Try contacting New Wine or Spring Harvest and asking, as I'm sure that they will know of them.
I know a number of signs from various things, but I'm quite well up in things like Jesus, trust, praise etc from going to these events and particularly with the songs.

But it isn't just needing to be accessible for the deaf community. When you start looking at doing that, you should also be looking at having an audio commentary for the visually impaired. Don't let's focus on one disability as it's accessibility for all-has the Silent Child done an audio commentary?

We saw a integrated circus Weighting which had sign language throughout and an audio commentary as well as making sure that wheelchairs had access etc. One of the characters is profoundly deaf, and one of the aerial artists is visually impaired as well as various other disabilities, so they felt it was very important for all disabilities to be catered for to the best of their abilities.

Let's fight for awareness for all, not just focus on one disability.

ohfourfoxache · 31/03/2018 02:25

OMFG I’m in bits after watching this - so, so sad

And the worst thing is that this is reality for some children, the isolation, the loneliness

Thought it was extremely well done, no wonder it won an Oscar

Stillgameforalaugh · 31/03/2018 02:34

I know a profoundly deaf guy whose parents never bothered to learn bsl. Thankfully he was taught at school. The ridiculous thing is his parents use mime when 'speaking' to him.... they're almost using their own language

Broken11Girl · 31/03/2018 03:18

For those who are interested, the book Seeing Voices by Oliver Sacks really explains why sign language is vital. It's fascinating.
There was a good episode of Casualty not that long ago that had a deaf teen girl who had a cochlear implant but hated it, the mum was sold on the don't sign, they need to speak thing.
It makes me angry - reasonable adjustments for deaf people seem way behind those for a lot of other disabilities. Communication and language are so fundamental. To be deprived of language and unable to communicate or even learn and develop intellectually (as Sacks explains, we need language for that)
and to be unable to communicate with your own parents / DC is so cruel

Tessliketrees · 31/03/2018 03:36

The ridiculous thing is his parents use mime when 'speaking' to him.... they're almost using their own language

That's really common and isn't at all ridiculous if you think about it.

Mrswho · 31/03/2018 05:57

Google ‘home sign’ its really common. It’s also interesting how it can develop into a language.

HPFA · 31/03/2018 06:38

Maisie was amazing but The film highlights that there are issues around deaf children but was very simplified and couldn't show the full story in such a short film. I have really mixed feelings about it but at least it should get people talking.

I agree with this. Maisie was amazing but I thought the script was pretty poor - seemed like something teenagers would produce to "illustrate" an issue. Why couldn't the parents have been shown to have genuine doubts about what was best for their child rather than being selfish?

sashh · 31/03/2018 06:45

Surely the first thing you do when you have a deaf child is learn sign language!

Parents get advice, and up until very recently that was DO NOT SIGN.

Shropshire council has a an oral only policy. Mary Hare Grammar School, the only grammar for deaf children has a 'no signing in lessons' policy.

OP If you want a good book to read have a look at "A Language for Ben" www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Ben-Deaf-Childs-Right/dp/0285650319?tag=mumsnetforum-21

It's a few years old but it is the story of a mother trying to do the best for her deaf child.

A good film to watch is "the sound and the fury", it's american but it is about whether children should have cochlear implants.

sashh · 31/03/2018 06:53

It is very difficult to immerse yourself in BSL because there are so few speakers in the first place

If you go to a deaf club you will find people who sign. Central Lancashire, Wolverhampton and Bristol Universities all have Deaf Studies departments so attract both Deaf students and students learning BSL.

There are pockets of communities like this. Then there are national events lie Deafest and a Blackpool weekend where there are more people signing than not.

turnipfarmers · 31/03/2018 06:58

I was hoping to use it to translate in church to the hearing impaired. I think that's one ambition that will remain unfulfilled.

There is at least one Deaf vicar/member of the clergy who does this; fairly easily found n YouTube.

Ilove · 31/03/2018 07:13

I’m a nanny, and one of my charges is profoundly deaf. She’s been fortunate enough to have CI’s two years ago, and is one of the brightest children I know.

I already knew a little sign language, but BECAUSE of her, I’m now doing my Level 2 BSL having passed level 1 last year. I fully intend to do L3 next year, and hopefully get as far as L6.

But it is HARD work. I work 70-80 hours a week, have Uni one night a week for the BSL, and then have to try and fit in practice etc. It is also expensive.

But. As far as I’m concerned, it is essential. I need to be able to communicate fully with her, and if for any reason her “magic ears” are not working, or the batteries go flat, or aren’t charged, she deserves to be understood and to understand her caregivers.

I watched it, and again now on catchup. Made me cry.

tortelliniforever · 31/03/2018 07:23

My children are being brought up bilingual and you wouldn't believe how many people have told me that learning two languages will slow down their development - I can well believe that parents of deaf children are sometimes told the same thing. There is an infant school near me where half of their intake is deaf children and the rest hearing and all the children learn and practise signing together which I think is a great idea.

ButchyRestingFace · 31/03/2018 07:25

If you go to a deaf club you will find people who sign. Central Lancashire, Wolverhampton and Bristol Universities all have Deaf Studies departments so attract both Deaf students and students learning BSL.

Those are three areas. People who don’t live near those areas are unlikely to make the journey on a regular basis. Deaf clubs all over the country have shut down, or are far less frequently attended than they used to be.

Even if you manage to find one nearby, deaf club/pub etc is what, once a week at best? Going to deaf events and making deaf friends is great, but it’s still not truly the immersive experience that going to live in a foreign country would be. One can’t go and live in Deafland for a year.

Two people I know attended a local deaf pub event and no-one would have a bar of them because they were hearing (they were level 6). Someone else I know of, a CODA (!), went to a deaf event and was told on the door she wasn’t welcome because she was hearing.

And then there’s the issue about what the people you meet are signing - in my area, particularly amongst younger people, it’s increasingly SSE, not BSL. But in order to pass the exams on BSL courses, especially at the higher levels, you need to be signing BSL.

It’s a minefield.

Tidy2018 · 31/03/2018 07:29

My understanding from years ago is that the powers that be do not consider BSL to be a complete language on a par with other Modern European Languages taught in schools, and therefore it could not be a exam qualification on a par with French, German, etc.

When I was learning very basic BSL many years ago, the class started with a hearing teacher who was very good at explaining everything and yherefore there was a lot of talking in the class. Later I took a class taught by a profoundly Deaf woman for whom BSL was her mother tongue. I was anxious at first, because I was so used to being told everything I had to know. But this new class was of necessity total immersion, and a revelation to me. I felt I was within the language, that it suddenly had a music of its own, and I started really learning.

That Deaf teacher told me that she was paid less than the hearing teachers because she couldn't teach signs as fast as the speaking teachers.

Am I correct in thinking that Deafness is no longer seen as a disability because of all the assistive technology?

purpleme12 · 31/03/2018 07:30

What's see?

ButchyRestingFace · 31/03/2018 07:36

Am I correct in thinking that Deafness is no longer seen as a disability because of all the assistive technology?

It depends on who you’re talking about. Severe to profound deafness would be viewed as a disability under the Equality Act and deaf people would be entitled to reasonable adjustments at work, Access to Work funding, and benefits such as PIP.

BSL users (“Deaf”) tend to view themselves as being part of a cultural and linguistic minority, rather than disabled.

What's see?

Do you mean Sign Support English (SSE)? See my earlier post upthread about grammar/syntax and word order.