Last night, I watched Rose Ayling-Ellis’s (of Strictly Come Dancing 2021 and Eastenders fame) documentary, Signs for Change, on BBC iPlayer. The documentary covers Rose’s experiences as a Deaf actress (and her life thus far) and whether attitudes towards deaf people are changing.
Eleven years ago, I remember watching a program about a hearing mother bringing up her deaf daughter (Rita Simons: My daughter, deafness, and me), and being struck by how audist things still were (and are) in the world of diagnosis. It was a surprisingly shocking thing for me to see that deaf children were still not offered support that was appropriate for them in education, health settings, and in their social development. In fact, it looked as if certain things had regressed.
The lack of BSL (British Sign Language) was stark, and the framing of the Deaf community as offputting and extreme in their views of cochlear implantation and other technology was discriminatory.
The truth is, there is a breadth of experience and views within the Deaf community itself. It’s not a monolith, and is made up of people who are from varied backgrounds. Of course there are people who are native signers, who have been signing from day one, but there are also people who have cochlear implants and sign, people who come from hearing families, people who learnt BSL later in life, and people who don’t know much BSL at all.
In short, I would argue that all deaf people are part of the deaf community. It’s just that some people are more visible or involved than others.
Of course there are still politics or differing opinions (and social media doesn’t provide much nuance) and it’s not all roses and rainbows – there are of course kind, welcoming people, but also not so nice people, but that’s the same in any diverse community or group of individuals.
Rose’s documentary was an emotional watch. I realised, belatedly, that she has had a profound effect on me and other deaf people. Her Strictly freestyle dance was beautiful and an example of how creativity can express identity. An expression of the vibrant talent within the deaf community.
But her visibility means she is under a lot of pressure and that pressure is unfair – she can’t represent all deaf people and neither should she have to. It’s similar to the pressure you might feel if you’re the first deaf person someone has come into contact with – you feel you have to embody and be an ambassador for other deaf people when every single one of us is different. The commonalities are to do with access, communication, and barriers.
My story is different to Rose’s – I have a deaf younger sister and we were diagnosed at the same time (me at 6 and her at 2 years old in 1991), and our Mum learnt BSL level 1 at college, though we didn’t choose to take up sign language until we were a little older. We mixed with other deaf people through our local NDCS (National Deaf Children’s Society) chapter, and I had some adult deaf role models.
My deaf identity was a little disjointed – being mainstreamed at school was hard, and I was referred to as ‘hearing impaired’ up until I was 14/15 and decided I no longer wanted that label, instead claiming ‘deaf’, at odds with some of my deaf peers (there was an HIU at secondary, a Hearing Impaired Unit with teachers of the deaf and support teachers) at the time.
Knowing that I’m now autistic with ADHD has helped me a lot to understand a part of my story – my hyperlexia and love for words and reading – that meant perhaps my deafness wasn’t picked up early because I could mask, and my linguistic development was different to most profoundly deaf children.
Newborn hearing screening tests were also not widely available until perhaps the mid-nineties in the UK. I had much more hearing as a young child than I have now – progressive hearing loss meant that I had some severe drops in hearing as a young teenager. My and my sister’s deafness is also a genetic thing and not due to illness or structural differences.
What I loved about the documentary was also that it touched upon the disconnect between how people who grow up with cochlear implants completely in the hearing world with no contact with the deaf world, are being denied the choice to connect with a rich history, language, and culture. Disconnection from deaf identity means you might end up feeling a sense of isolation and disconnect from yourself.
Just because technology means your brain can pick up sound and speech doesn’t then follow that you’re not deaf. The technology can be switched off, the processor isn’t always on – and then, there is no sound. Being around other deaf people, whether they had implants, hearing aids, neither, communicated with BSL or English or both, meant that I felt less alone, less at sea in a hearing world.
Deaf identity is not just about language. It’s accepting yourself, seeing yourself mirrored in other people, and understanding that you are a whole person, not ‘broken’ or needing to be ‘cured’. I am proud to be a part of the story of deaf people, of deaf personhood and culture, even if I’m not a native signer. BSL is a part of my internal landscape even if I struggle with the productive aspect of it at times (my receptive skills are better).
Rose Ayling-Ellis is also calling for free access to sign language lessons for parents and their deaf children. It would be an excellent step for the government and councils to be able to support deaf children and their families in acquiring language early on in their lives, rather than struggling and having to pay for expensive BSL courses. In an ideal world, I feel that BSL courses should be subsidised for deaf children and deaf adults. Especially since it can reduce isolation, broaden career prospects, and promote self confidence and esteem.
As you can see, the documentary brought up a lot of thoughts for me!
I’d recommend watching the documentary if you can, and also reading this interview of Rose by Emily Howlett: ‘I want to let the hearing audience know what it’s like to be deaf…‘
Signs for Change is also directed by Ted Evans (a Deaf director), and produced by Cathy Heffernan (a Deaf producer).
I interviewed Cathy Heffernan some years ago if interested in her interview about being a writer!
Cats and Chocolate 