My New Skill

Hey everyone!

Today has been the start of something new and quite exciting. I have decide to try and learn something during this lockdown, to make the most of my time. I have decided to take a online course on British Sign Language. When I was in primary school, I joined a signing choir where we used to do sign language to songs but when I left nearly 6 years ago, I forgot most of the things that I had learnt. It was something that I had loved for so long and when I left primary school, I missed the 2 sessions a week I used to have with the choir. My primary school had an amazing hearing impaired unit and i was fortunate enough to have two deaf kids in my class. It was such an amazing experience to be able to communicate with them in a way that suited them.

Last night (11/4/2020) on Britain's Got Talent, there was an 18 year old girl who had set up an online course for people to learn British Sign Language which she had learnt to help communicate with her brother. When I watched the group perform, it brought back memories of being in primary school. It is something that I will appreciate forever. I honestly teared up at the sight at people coming together to learn a skill that can bring people together.

1 in 6 people are deaf in the UK. In the UK, people in the deaf community are accepted widely by many people. However, in America, that isn't always the case. A few weeks ago, my mum read that most medical professionals in America tell parents to just treat their kids who are deaf exactly the same as everyone else and not use sign language. They advise to talk to them and use lip syncing instead. While this is also a method that is used to communicate with people who are deaf, not everyone can understand it. I think that this is so upsetting that parents are not taking the time to learn how to do sign language in order to talk to their kids. I would do anything to communicate with someone I love if they were deaf; not being selfish and refusing.

This is my new skill that I have decided that I want to accomplish during the lockdown. When I started the course today, I felt all the things I had forgot 6 years ago coming back to me. Learning about people who are hearing impaired opens your eyes to how grateful we should be to have the ability to hear what each other are saying. There are so many charities and organisations that are out there to help those who are hearing impaired find their feet in society. We should never take anything for granted because one day we may lose it; an example is the lockdown, having our freedom taken away from us. I want everyone to be able to leave lockdown having learnt a new skill' mine is going to be Sign Language. I will be posting more ideas soon.

Until next time,

Daniella x