Latest news with #deaf
BBC News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
'Deaf learner drivers need more support'
Deaf campaigners have called on the government to help make learning to drive more inclusive, as figures reveal there are no British Sign Language (BSL) qualified driving examiners anywhere across figures showed in 2023-2024 that 38.71% of profoundly deaf learners passed their practical test first time, compared with almost 50% of those who could Ahmed, from Birmingham, who is deaf, passed his test in 2019, but said communication could be major barrier when benefited from a scheme run by the charity Deaf World, an organisation that supports young deaf people in the West Midlands. Its road safety project 1st Gear helps learners get up to 25 hours of driving experience under the guidance of qualified BSL Ahmed followed that up by booking extra driving lessons with a standard instructor, but he said it had not always been a smooth ride. "It really is [difficult]. The driving instructors are hearing, so the main barrier we face is communication," he said."If I want to learn in-depth knowledge or specific areas of driving, I'm limited to basic gestures. So it really is quite frustrating."'There is a lot of deaf people who don't have their driving licence, they feel quite isolated because of that."Mr Ahmed now works for Deaf World as a youth officer, supporting the work of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People said learning to drive could be crucial for many of those it worked Devine from the charity said: "Deaf people are the same as everyone else. They want to go out and do things that they enjoy and want to be involved. "For deaf people, the biggest barrier is lack of access. It's society that disables a person." For the theory test, the DVSA makes BSL interpreters available for candidates to book. And in recent weeks, a BSL translation tool has been introduced to the booking website in what it said was a government permanently deaf adults have low literacy levels, as reading is based on spoken language, meaning they rely almost entirely on DVSA said extra support had been provided in 1,128,178 theory tests taken between April 2024 and March 2025,Of this, 1,832 were taken with BSL on-screen and 363 were taken with a BSL practical test is more of a challenge. At the moment, many learners rely on an interpreter who they are allowed to bring with them in the vehicle as well as the examiner, but communication can still be difficult. For Mr Ahmed, learning to drive has allowed him to meet his friends and take part in cricket sessions."In my free time I can come here [to the cricket nets], that's why being able to drive is so important," he said."The deaf community experience an increased percentage of isolation, with deaf people more likely to stay at home. "It's helped me by giving me options of places to go - without being able to drive, it would be so much more difficult. "The idea of public transport is not enough for the deaf community."In a statement, the DVSA said anyone who met the required standard could pass the driving test regardless of disability and it encouraged people to disclose their needs so reasonable adjustments could be DVSA added that if a candidate needed to pay a fee for an interpreter in the practical test, it would reimburse the cost. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
This K-Pop Band Is Making Waves With Sign Language
Like other K-pop sensations, Big Ocean sings, raps, dances and attracts swooning fans. But this new group's meteoric rise is fueled by a skill no other boy band boasts: signing. The band members — Lee Chan-yeon, 27, Park Hyun-jin, 25, and Kim Ji-seok, 22 — are all deaf or hard of hearing. They use the latest audio technology to help make their music, coordinate their choreography with flashing metronomes and vibrating watches, and incorporate Korean Sign Language into videos and performances. 'Just like divers rely on signs to communicate underwater, we use sign language to convey meaning where sound alone might fall short,' Mr. Lee said. 'For us, KSL is not just an element — it's the heart of our performance.' The group released their debut single, 'Glow,' last year, on Korea's Day of People with Disabilities, and did their first televised performance incorporating KSL, generating local buzz that reverberated beyond national borders. Soon after, they followed up with 'Blow,' a single heavy on English lyrics and American Sign Language. In September, they were named Billboard's rookies of the month, and recently they made the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Entertainment & Sports List. This month, the band performed at an anime festival in Brazil and at a United Nations tech event in Switzerland, before touring Europe for the second time since spring. Their first American tour starts in late July. Big Ocean now has 995,000 followers on Instagram and more than 696,000 on TikTok. Fans, who call themselves 'Pados' after the Korean word for wave, are devoted, and many are learning sign languages from the band, which makes numerous tutorials. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Telling stories through sign language: A Quiet Love
Photo: A Quiet Love Three deaf couples navigate love, parenting, and identity in the deeply personal documentary A Quiet Love . The film follows a decades-long forbidden romance across a religious divide, an LGBTQI+ couple navigating parenthood with deaf and hearing children, and a deaf boxer and his hearing partner facing a life-altering choice. Director Garry Keane speaks with Mihingarangi about making Ireland's first feature documentary in Irish Sign Language. A Quiet Love shows in Wellington and Christchurch tonight and is streaming as part of the Doc Edge festival.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Deaf Edinburgh woman makes urgent plea to cyclists after a few 'near-misses'
An Edinburgh woman has issued a plea to cyclists in the city, urging them to be more 'considerate'. The resident, who is deaf, took to the capital's community forum on Reddit to "ask a favour" after she encountered a few "near-misses" while out walking her dog, reports the Daily Record. In a post on the site, she wrote: "Just wanted to ask people who are cyclists to maybe be a little more considerate of other individuals when using a shared path. READ MORE: Edinburgh Castle concert-goer slams 'disrespectful and disappointing' audience READ MORE: Edinburgh passengers 'left at platform' as 'packed' train arrives with two carriages "I walk to work with my dog through Holyrood Park/Arthur's Seat and I've experienced a few times near-misses with cyclists as they are zooming up behind me. I am deaf and cannot hear anything behind me, especially when it is windy." She went onto explain that while she does her best to stick to one side of the path to allow bikes to pass by her with ease, she "had at least 3 occasions where a cyclist swooped past me" on one particular morning. "They may have rang their bell, but I cannot hear that. I had thought about putting some sort of badge on my bag to say I am deaf but then that makes me a bit more vulnerable" she added. "Just asking please to slow down when you are going to overtake people. That's all I can ask for. Thank you." Sympathising with the woman's predicament, one Reddit user responded: "Cyclists should be used to non-responsive pedestrians, the way people respond to a bell is painfully diverse and you never know what they will do. I'm sorry you've been frightened, it's not okay to buzz people out of frustration." A second person clearly understood the woman's frustrations, as they added: "The crossroads bit at the bottom of Middle Meadow Walk is hell for this. All directions have 'give way' signs for cyclists, and I don't think I've ever seen a cyclist bother to do so." While a third was also apologetic, penning: "There's no excuse, and I'm sorry that's happened to you. Shared paths should make everyone who uses them more considerate, but that doesn't always happen. I cycle; I ring my bell to let walkers know I'm there (lots of folks don't respond to that), and will slow down, unless the path is wide enough for me to pass at a decent distance on the other side of the path. "There's idiots on legs as well as any number of wheels, but there's decent folk there too." "Thanks all for the comments and insights, really helpful!" she said. "Not intending to diss cyclists or anything; I know people have opinions of them. "My post genuinely was just asking for a bit of respect/shared responsibility although some people don't seem to get that my being deaf, they seem to think it's somehow my fault for nearly getting spooked by someone coming behind me." The City of Edinburgh Council has a page devoted to "paths for everyone", meanwhile. Its guidance for cyclists is as follows: Use your bell to let people know you are there well in advance, especially at blind corners Give others space Don't pass at speed At night - avoid dazzling others with your lights: dip, dim, don't strobe Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Washington Post
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
A stirring profile of a groundbreaking actress
There are a lot of surprises in 'Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,' an American Masters documentary making the rounds of movie theaters before settling in on PBS, but the most charming of them is that Matlin and Henry Winkler are lifelong friends. They met when the actress was 12 and performing in a Chicago children's theater for the deaf and Winkler was making public appearances as Fonzie from 'Happy Days.' Later, in the tumultuous period after her best actress Oscar win for 'Children of a Lesser God' (1986) — at 21, she was and still is the youngest to have won the category — Matlin lived with Winkler and his wife for two years and later married her husband in the actor's backyard. In new footage from Shoshannah Stern's documentary, we see the two old friends warmly reminisce, and Winkler recalls Matlin's mother asking him to dissuade her young daughter from pursuing an acting career. 'I told her, 'You've got the wrong guy,'' he says. We're lucky he did. That's the sunnier part of this engrossing, illuminating and often moving film. When Matlin became the first deaf Oscar winner in history, expectations were high and misunderstandings were many from both the hearing media and the deaf community. To watch the TV pundits and chat-show hosts of the mid-1980s talk about deafness in general and Matlin in particular is to undergo a series of cringes: interviewers pressing the actress on her 'struggle' and critics shrugging off Matlin's Oscar as a sentimental choice. (Rex Reed: '[Academy voters] love to see someone who's handicapped win.') Such language and attitudes have changed, and Matlin is a very visible part of the reason. 'Not Alone Anymore' is unique in that its director, Stern, is deaf and that many of the talking heads are, in fact, signing heads, using American Sign Language to discuss Matlin's career and meaning. These include childhood friends, younger actors like Lauren Ridloff (the first deaf actor to play a Marvel superhero) for whom Matlin blazed a path, and Matlin's longtime interpreter and friend Jack Jason. Matlin herself is front and center, signing in thoughtful and loquacious conversation with the director as she looks back on her career. Revelations of her physical abuse at the hands of her 'Children of a Lesser God' co-star and then-boyfriend William Hurt are not new (Matlin discussed them in her 2009 autobiography 'I'll Scream Later'), but Stern brings out fresh details and observations. Matlin — who was 19 to Hurt's 35 when they met — talks about how the concept of and even the words 'domestic abuse' were unknown to her at the time, stressing the 'language deprivation' that often comes with being deaf. And the footage of her accepting her Oscar from Hurt turns newly dark with her confession that 'I was afraid as I walked up the stairs … because I knew in my gut that he wasn't happy.' (Hurt issued a statement of apology after Matlin's book came out; the actress is seen finding it less than convincing during an appearance on 'The View.') She also discusses the challenges of representation that come with being 'the first' — including how Hollywood thought Matlin was the only deaf actor on the planet while the deaf activist community was in an uproar over her decision to speak, rather than sign, the nominees at the Oscar ceremonies the year after her win. 'I'm not the president of the deaf community — I can't be,' Matlin recalls realizing early on. 'Not Alone Anymore' covers almost too much ground, folding in Matlin's rebellious youth, classic Hollywood's well-intentioned but benighted approach to deafness (think Jane Wyman in 'Johnny Belinda' and Patty Duke in 'The Miracle Worker'), the 1988 'Deaf President Now' protests at Gallaudet University (Matlin went on national TV in support of the students), and the difficulties of getting a hidebound film industry to see through a performer's uniqueness to their talent (or, rather, how the uniqueness is inextricable from the talent). But the star is so engaging and her story so compelling that this well-edited profile easily hangs together. Clips late in the documentary serve as a reminder of just how hard Matlin has worked in the nearly 40 years since 'Children of a Lesser God.' Much of that work has been in TV: Laura the lip-reader on 'Seinfeld' (an Emmy-nominated performance), Laurie Bey on 'Picket Fences' (another Emmy nomination), political consultant Joey Lucas on 'The West Wing,' a gay sculptor on 'The L Word,' appearances on 'The Practice' and 'Law & Order: SVU' (more Emmy nominations). With Matlin's performance as the mother to a hearing daughter in the best picture winner 'CODA' (2021), a sense of closure and accomplishment could be felt. The actress wasn't nominated, but her deaf co-star Troy Kotsur was, and his win meant many things, one of which was that Matlin was right to insist that her character's husband be played by a deaf actor rather than a better-known hearing performer. More than that, as Matlin signed on Oscar night and Jason interpreted in a voice on the verge of tears, was the knowledge that after 35 years, she 'wasn't alone anymore.' When the academy audience waved its applause for Kotsur's win, the gesture — and the distance traveled to get there — was for her, too. Unrated. At the AFI Silver Theatre, Avalon Theatre, Cinema Arts Theatre and Greenbelt Cinema. Contains brief language, discussions of domestic violence and sexual abuse. 97 minutes. Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr's Watch List at
