Members only

What will you learn?

• Improve skills, knowledge and confidence when communicating with 1 in 5 people in the UK who are D/deaf or have hearing loss.
• Skills & Confidence: Using clear speech
• Using fingerspelling alphabet

Knowledge:

• How to recognise deafness and hearing loss
• What different levels of deafness can ‘sound’ like
• Communication methods – different people might prefer Technical equipment used by deaf or hard of hearing people
• How to set up a good listening environment.

Bespoke ‘add on’ options include:

• British Sign Language skills
• Recruiting, managing or working with a D/deaf colleagues.

Other topics are available, let us know your training needs.

Who should attend?

• Front line Teams
• Communications Team
• People working with a colleague with deafness/hearing loss.

Julie Ryder

In December 1991, I was an ACIB certified banker with nothing in the way of me and a successful career. The month is significant as it marked the start of a journey from normal hearing to profound deafness. Life would never be the same again.

The hearing aids were my first issue – ugly, uncomfortable and noticeable. Once my hearing deteriorated to a moderate loss, I began to miss out on conversation, responding incorrectly to other people and 2nd guessing what had been said. Enjoyment from music and socialising started to ebb away. Severe deafness brought a whole new set of problems, particularly at work, resulting in a significantly downgraded job role. My self confidence was dive bombing as quickly as my hearing. The final straw came once I was unable to hear even my own voice. Profound deafness had cut me off from others and I’d lost myself too.

With deafness now a permanent feature of my life, I had 2 options: give up or carry on. I started learning British Sign Language and then decided to learn to lip read too. With encouragement from Matt, my husband, I trained as a volunteer deaf awareness tutor with the UK charity ‘Hearing Concern’. This experience formed the precursor to the work we do today. The biggest breakthrough came in 2002 when I received a Cochlear Implant (CI) on my left side. For the first time in 11 years, I had stability. It was time to start living.

I felt energised and wanted to use my experiences positively. It was clear that employers and service providers needed more skills, knowledge and confidence to include deaf people (and other marginalised people too). Since 2002 I’ve been prolific in researching, developing and delivering training and whether the driver for the training is law or business, it’s important to me that people are at the heart of it.