Our Deaf Awareness & Communication Tactics courses can be delivered as:

certificated course (Signature) – normally 1 day
non-certificated course – from half-day to 2 or 3 hour sessions
Why not include an introduction to BSL (British Sign Language) – half or full day
Online Deaf Awareness – suitable for front-line staff who cannot attend ‘off-site’ training
Courses delivered to suit your organisation. We work around your business and people needs. ‘contact us’ to discuss your requirements.

Deaf Awareness & Communication Tactics

Who is this for?

Developing Awareness and Communication with Deaf & Deafblind People is primarily aimed at everyone who is in contact with the general public. Especially those who are in front-line public services.

What is included in the course?
With around 1-in-6 of the adult population being deaf to some extent and experience communication barriers in everyday life we have a number of solutions to your training needs.

This course provides an introduction to, and a basic knowledge of, the whole range of D/deaf and deafblind people (i.e. deaf, deafened, deafblind, hard of hearing, Deaf BSL users, Deaf visually impaired, blind hearing impaired and people with congenital deafblindness). It assumes no previous experience or knowledge.

Further information

By the end of the course candidates should be able to:

Deaf and Deafblind Awareness
Describe types of deafness and deafblindness
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Deaf and deafblind people’s preferred communication methods • List acceptable terminology • Meaning of discrimination
How to avoid difficulties that affect deaf and deafblind people’s access to communication
Describe the range, benefits and limitations of Technical Aids to Communication (TAC’s)
Identify and using appropriate Language Service Professionals (LSPs)
The national organisations working with deaf and deafblind people.
Assessment: Externally assessed multiple-choice paper

Communication Tactics with Deaf and Deafblind People
Basic skills for communicating with deaf or deafblind people
Understanding of how and when a range of tactics can be used to communicate with deaf and deafblind people.
Assessment: Internally assessed practical skills

This course is aimed front-line personnel who, in their everyday duties, may come into contact with people who may be *deaf or deafblind. The course provides an overview of the main communication issues that are faced by deaf people in everyday lives and focuses on communication and the social and environmental issues of deafness rather than the medical model.

The course is delivered by a mixture of tutor-led activities, group work and practical exercises.

The course is for anyone who wishes to become familiar with the issues faced by deaf people. Be able to identify when and where communication can breakdown and how to repair them by using appropriate communication tactics.

*The term ‘deaf’ covers those who have a profound/sever hearing loss, deafened, hard of hearing and those who may use sign language as their preferred means to communication.

Deaf Awareness, Communication Tactics with Introduction to British Sign Language (BSL)

Who’s it for and what’s it about?

This course is aimed housing officers, housing assistants, maintenance staff and other front-line personnel who may, in their everyday duties, come into contact with people who may be *deaf. This course is designed to provide participants with the basic ability to communicate with Deaf people in British Sign Language (BSL) about familiar, day-to-day topics and activities within the given domain.

The course is delivered by a mixture of tutor-led activities, group work and practical exercises.
*The term ‘deaf people’ covers those who have a profound/severe hearing loss, deafened, hard of hearing and those who may use sign language as their preferred means to communication.

Terminology and statistics
What is deafness – truths and myths
How deafness can affect speech & language
Hearing Aids – benefits & limitations
Communication Tactics – ‘tool box’
Fingerspelling
Introduction to British Sign Language (BSL) – work
based signs.

Further information

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course participants will:

Have a basic understanding of the social model of deafness
Understand the affects deafness has on communication
Be aware of the benefits & limitations of hearing aids
Be able to identify and use appropriate communication tactics
Be able to use finger spelling within appropriate situations
Express themselves in BSL sufficiently well to:
- Address, greet and take leave of a Deaf sign language user.
- Identify and use a range of simple, commonly used question forms.
- Provide information appropriate to the context.
- Use sign language clearly enough so that a sympathetic native user of the language would understand their questions and contributions.

British Sign Language (BSL) Awareness

We can provide courses that satisfy the requirement under the BSL (Scotland) Act – National and Local BSL Plans for staff working within the public sector to become aware of BSL as a language and promote its use within their service delivery and working environment.

Half-day or full-day options.

Contents include (not exhaustive):

What is a visual-gestural language
Why use sign language
Sign Language in practice
Tactile methods of communication
Deaf Culture and communication
How to ensure BSL users can access your services

In discussion with our trainers and yourselves, we can provide you with a course that suits your needs.

Courses to suit your needs