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 | You and YoursÌý- Transcript ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 4 |
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| TX: 20.02.04 – INITIATIVE AIMS TO BOOST IT SKILLS OF DEAF PEOPLE PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON |
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| THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. ROBINSON If computers and the world of work are pretty much inseparable then it's nigh on impossible to have a thriving career unless you are computer literate.Ìý Hearing impaired people face even more problems than most when acquiring IT skills because few conventional courses offer the special support they need.Ìý It's one reason why, according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, that 19% of hearing impaired people are out of work compared with 5% of the general population and computer skills are also helpful outside of work.Ìý To help counter this problem Barclays Bank have found £1.4 million to join up with the RNID on a project that's created a thousand IT training placements for deaf people.Ìý We spoke to two people in Northern Ireland who've benefited from it. BAILEY I'm Bobby Bailey and I'm 58 and I live in Lisbon.Ìý Looking back over the last number of years there's been no access to any form of education for me, going to any sort of further education colleges, if I wanted to apply for a course there'd be no sort of communications support there, you're very much reliant on watching the tutors and trying to lip read but when they turn away - writing on the blackboard or whatever - it can be very difficult. GREENHAM My name is Theresa Greenham and I live in Strabane in County Tyrone. I've been profoundly deaf since I was five and a half years old.Ìý Technology seemed to be improving and more and more people were using computers, so I decided that it was about time that I started to learn.Ìý The fact that it would be a deaf group studying together was an excellent opportunity for me and that was my biggest motivation in terms of participating in the course. BAILEY Well initially it was how to actually use the computer, use the mouse etc., and then we used various applications like Word and Internet Explorer and so on and accessing your e-mails.Ìý Previous to that whenever I was in the office I would ask my colleagues has their been any e-mails for me because I was never able to access it myself.Ìý And the very first time being on the course I was actually able to learn how to use the internet - it sort of opened up a whole new world that way. GREENHAM The tutor was aware of my needs and could use sign language and plus there was interpreters there which made all the difference.Ìý The support in the classroom was both Irish sign language and British sign language as this is a bilingual area for the deaf community. BAILEY Quite a number of my friends from school were on the course as well and we're able to converse now through sort of e-mail rather than drive a number of miles up the road, you can send an e-mail and converse with your friends that way.Ìý So it's benefited everybody an awful lot. GREENHAM Since the course I have bought a computer and I have one in my own home.Ìý It is fantastic for me because I can contact my friends all over the world.Ìý It's opened up a whole host of opportunities for me that would not have been there previous to that because of my deafness.Ìý It really has changed my life and I have to say it makes me feel on a par with society, which is a first. BAILEY My sort of hobbies are metal detecting, something that's caused an awful lot of humour around the office and with my friends about me going out with a metal detector and the headphones on.Ìý But accessing the internet has opened a whole new world of information on metal detecting and I can actually ask people questions and so on because it's very difficult for me to talk to people on the phone. GREENHAM I graduated last May and I was awarded a certificate entitled ECDL, which is the European Computer Driving Licence.Ìý After the graduation I was still unsure whether I had actually passed the exam, it hadn't quite hit me that I had graduated and got this certificate but I had to ask some people to make sure that it was really true and it seems it is, so it's been wonderful, it's a great achievement for me. ROBINSON Theresa Greenham and Bobby Bailey celebrating their achievements.Ìý Well Paddy Turner is disability support manager at Sheffield Hallam University, he's an expert on deaf students experience of education.Ìý Why do hearing impaired people have such difficulty using just an ordinary mainstream further education or higher education IT course? TURNER Well I think IT course specifically but generally it's a communication issue and it was explained quite clearly in those interviews you just had that the materials and the delivery of those materials are designed specifically for hearing people and there isn't enough consideration or awareness of the needs of deaf people.Ìý So there's a lack of support for their needs.Ìý And if you're talking about providing sign language support or note taking support there's just not enough trained people out there to provide that support in the appropriate environments. ROBINSON Now there's new legislation trying to make sure that students with disabilities are included, I think that's the Special Education Needs and Disability Act.Ìý Is it making any difference? TURNER Oh absolutely yes, it's making a huge difference.Ìý I mean I've been working in the field for quite some time now and prior to the act we were knocking on doors desperately trying to raise awareness, improve the situation for disabled people generally but deaf and hearing impaired people particularly.Ìý And the change is now that there's much more pro-activity coming from individual staff as their awareness is raised, senior management in the institutions are aware that there is the potential for litigation if they don't provide the support and that it is students' rights.Ìý So that tends to provide an atmosphere of cooperation rather than fear of change, I think that's the biggest thing. ROBINSON And yet this act is meant to work in such a way that a college does not wait until somebody comes along and demands support, that is meant to be laid on in advance, is that really happening? TURNER It depends where you go, I mean it is happening in many places - the anticipatory duty element of the act, which is what I think you're referring to.Ìý I mean in Sheffield Hallam University we were already very well set up for supporting deaf students and I think there are a lot of universities now that are trying very hard to make sure that they can access the support and bring it in if a deaf person applies, yeah very much so. ¸é°¿µþ±õ±·³§°¿±·Ìý Paddy Turner thank you. Ìý Back to the You and Yours homepage The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is not responsible for external websites |
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