A Different Mask This Halloween !!
Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands a peer to peer support group and activity group has been based at Deaf Hub (Wales) previously known as Cardiff Deaf Centre for three years.
The group was the vision of Siobhan Darian, Stuart Parkinson and playworker Lucy Williams and is based at the cultural and social home of Deaf people in Cardiff and the surrounding area.
Siobhan is mum to Nathaniel (5) who was born Deaf, Stuart Parkinson is also Deaf and trustee at Deaf Hub (Wales) and youth worker supporting Deaf young people , Lucy is a 21 year old , Deaf young person and qualified playworker. Building on their own personal experiences , they came together to develop Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands in order to provide support for Deaf & Hard of Hearing children and their families ( Around 92% of deaf children are born to hearing parents (Mitchell & Karchmer, 2004; Cole & Flexer, 2015)
The group meet monthly and are supporting children from newborn to age 12. Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands supports parents, professionals and of course the children , regularly offering events, education and learning opportunities but importantly offer that opportunity for the children to be with their peers , with other children like them - that are Deaf and may wear hearing aids or cochlear implants .
Mainstream schooling can mean a Deaf child is left feeling, lonely, isolated, different as they may be the only Deaf person in the class or the school. This together with communication barriers, lack of easy access to British Sign Language (BSL) and suitably qualified school staff , parents having to pay to learn BSL can impact the young persons confidence and mental health in childhood and in later life.
Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands welcomes all, a rich selection of Deaf role models, reinforce that with the right support Deaf children and young people can achieve ‘anything they want too’ !! And promote a strong aspirational future for all.
Sadly COVID 19 has impacted the group and the Deaf community in many ways , and for the young people that attend the group , this has meant that they have not been able to spend valuable time with their friends.
Lucy commented - ‘we have run many virtual sessions to help everyone to keep in touch , we have run art sessions and BSL sessions but we are really conscious that everyone will miss our Halloween party this year . We are proud of our event days and Halloween being such a visual event is usually attended by about 80 people’
She continued ‘Thanks to funding we have been able to provide activity packs to the family on a regular basis over the last few months and so in keeping with supporting our families - we are sending them ‘face masks’ with a difference this Halloween’
‘As a deaf person myself, the use of face masks and coverings has an impact. It makes communication much harder. I can’t lip read, even if people use sign language with me, I won’t be able to understand their facial expressions and this is the same for all Deaf people. Lack of being able to read lips and facial expressions is increasing anxiety, loneliness and impacting the mental health of many’
For deaf children and young people, it’s going to be especially challenging and may leave many feeling even more isolated than they do already.
Face masks are being used to protect people and face coverings are an integral part of the fight against COVID 19 , it’s really important that everyone – think about the communication needs of deaf children and young people, in fact all Deaf people.
We can’t have a situation where deaf young people miss out on feeling safe and welcome, miss out on information, miss out on education. Miss out on communication opportunities and miss out on the warmth of a smile. Masks and face coverings are important for health, especially with COVID 19 but we ask everyone to consider using clear or clear panel masks, so fundamental communication cues such as lips movement and facial expressions are not missed.
Lucy added
‘Communication is so much more than speech and hearing - it’s a whole-body activity’
‘Families will receive a Halloween Gift pack per child but we can only provide panelled one mask per family, we would love to do more but as a small community group our funds are so limited’
‘We would welcome any support that individuals or organisations may be able to help. So that we can continue to support our families. Whilst we cannot offer our normal Halloween Fun Party - we are proud to continue to support the wellbeing and mental health of our children and young people by offering these panelled mask and Halloween activity packs’. We are also bringing people together with our Virtual Halloween Rock Trail ‘
COV1D 19 impact on children’s education has been well documented and discussion is continuing but as with many things the impact for the Deaf community is not being raised or discussed at the level it should be.
The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) surveyed more than 500 parents and found 27% of deaf children were being taught by teachers wearing masks, with the figures rising to 49% for students in sixth form or college, and 34% in secondary school.
The UK’s 50,000 deaf children are part of that next generation and the need for face masks and coverings must not be at the expense at their education, life chances, life opportunities and overall mental health and wellbeing.
Research is reporting Deaf children as behind their hearing peers, we must break this trend and not allow the impact of COVID 19 to disenfranchise our future generations of Deaf people further .
About Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands
Cardiff Deaf Creative Hands is a peer to peer support group and activity group for families of Deaf/HOH children.
We hold monthly meetings the last saturday of every month at Deaf Hub Wales. Thanks to the support of our funders and community group, we are able to offer parents, carers and professionals the opportunity to join us for a collection of FREE ...BSL sessions and education seminars.
All activity and sessions look at how to improve your day to day communication with children & young people that are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
See :www.cardiffdch.co.uk
Contact : siobhan.darian@gmail.com
Tel: 07494049876
Further information about A DEAF HUB (WALES)
Deaf Hub (Wales) formerly Cardiff Deaf Centre is the cultural and social home of Cardiff’s
Deaf people and those within the surrounding areas. For over 40 years many generations of
Deaf people and their families from all walks of life have made use of the Hub at 163
Newport Road, for social events, training, information, peer support groups, consultations,
spiritual guidance and much more.
The building has fallen into disrepair over the years and was at risk of closure following the
economic crisis of 2008. In 2013 knowing the loss of this ‘safe space’ would have a
devastating impact on the Deaf community, several members of the community sprang into
action to rescue the Centre. The Trustees – the majority of whom are Deaf – have been
working on a full programme of development of the building and improvement of services
to Deaf people: we need to raise £750,000 to develop the building of Deaf Hub Wales! At
the Hub, ‘All are Welcome’ regardless of their background.
To find out more information about the Hub see the website www.deafhub.wales.
Fundraising Support
If you can support Deaf Hub ( Wales) and any of the work undertaken to support the Deaf community and their families .
Please contact
Tracey Bancroft
Email :Fundraiser@deafhub.wales
Tel:07706945529