17 June 2023 , 16:44
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Rose Ayling-Ellis is calling for the families of deaf children to get free sign language lessons on the NHS.
The actor and Strictly winner, 28, who is deaf herself, has launched a campaign – backed by this newspaper – pushing for “real political change”.
She says struggling parents are forced to fork out thousands of pounds for British Sign Language lessons – or face being unable to communicate with their children.
Rose, who was the first deaf actor to star in BBC soap EastEnders, said: “We really need to look at how we as a society treat deaf people in this country. Hearing aids and cochlear implants are free on the NHS but learning sign language isn’t.
Ava (centre), who is deaf, with her sisters (Reach Commissioned/Steve Bainbridge)“Thirty years ago my mum learned sign language and she had to pay – and I meet up with parents of deaf children today and they still have to pay thousands of pounds to communicate with their children in sign language, because the training simply isn’t available on the NHS. How can that be fair?”
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Rose – who fronts BBC documentary Signs for Change airing next week – said there was disparity in the system that needed sorting out.
She said: “Deaf people will go for treatment, and they’ll be given a hearing aid and a cochlear implant and told, ‘There you go, you’re done, you’re fine. You don’t need to learn sign language.’ This 100% has to change and I’m pushing for real political change.
“Why pay out all that money for cochlear implants... when the benefits of sign language are huge? It is so important. It helps with language. I can speak because of sign language.”
Rose said she met a deaf girl recently who asked her what she should do when she was in a really noisy room, because she couldn’t hear people or communicate in that environment.
The star said: “If she had been given the chance to learn sign language she wouldn’t have had to worry.”
Rose, who with pro partner Giovanni Pernice took the Strictly crown in 2021, and who has been cast in ITV drama Code of Silence, is hoping her documentary will act as a catalyst for deaf people’s rights in the UK.
The actor admitted she found it frustrating that people she meets have to learn “the most basic things” about deafness from her, rather than such knowledge being more widely taught.
Ava, who was born profoundly deaf and autistic, with her sisters Ella and Flora (Reach Commissioned/Steve Bainbridge)She is excited about the screening of Signs for Change, adding: “I’m hoping it will blow people’s minds, because every single person who worked on the documentary and who is appearing [in it] loves what I do – and their minds are starting to think about deafness in a different way. I can’t wait to see – hopefully – the documentary have the same impact on the general public, too.”
Rose said the one-off show was different as it was a deaf person presenting a programme about deaf people “and we don’t usually see that”. She added: “We always see hearing people telling our stories for us.
“But this film tells deaf people’s stories from their perspective, and I think it’s going to make people realise how complicated it is and how difficult it is to have all these choices.”
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Lillian Greenwood, the Labour MP for Nottingham South, backed the campaign, saying: “We know accessing healthcare can be a problem for those who are deaf, and especially BSL users, so I think this is really important. We certainly want to ensure that BSL users can access healthcare in the same way as everyone else.”
Signs for Change, BBC1, Monday, June 26
Rose and Giovanni won Strictly Come Dancing 2021 (BBC/Guy Levy)
Ava McDermott has a cochlear implant but still needs BSL to communicate (Reach Commissioned/Steve Bainbridge)
'We could only afford for me to learn'
Mum Victoria McDermott is backing our campaign for free sign language on the NHS as the cost of a course is equivalent to “months of food”.
Victoria, 37, whose daughter Ava, four, is profoundly deaf and autistic, had to pay £350 for a British Sign Language course.
She said: “When Ava was diagnosed my husband Tim and I wanted to learn to sign, so I did a BSL Level 1 course. We paid for just me to do it, because for two of us to do it would have been £700.
“Ava is profoundly deaf and has implants, but she is also autistic, so sign language has played a big part in her development.
“£350 is not a small amount of mo ney to pay – it could be a few months of food for a family.” Victoria said she would love to see an NHS package for teaching even the basic signs.
Victoria McDermott with her husband Tim and their daughters (Reach Commissioned/Steve Bainbridge)
Rose wants political change (BBC/Rogan Productions/Louise Haywood-Schiefer) She said: “It’s really sad that we are growing up in a society so forward – and yet people who have one of their senses missing can miss out
on so much.”
Victoria, from Coggeshall, Essex, who is also mum to Ella, five, and Flora, two, added: “The idea was that I would use what I learned on the course to teach Tim BSL.
“But we also have two other girls, we have extended family. They all want to be able to sign to talk to Ava.
“I would love to see more provided on the NHS – but also to see BSL taught in schools, because at the moment it isn’t really recognised.”