top of page
1 - 7 MAY 2023
DEAF AWARENESS WEEK
Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated each year in May and is run by the UK Council on Deafness to highlight the impact of hearing loss on everyday life, importance of mental health in Deaf, increase visibility and inclusion of under represented groups amongst Deaf, and raise pertinent issues of deafness being overlooked within education and the workplace.
This year's Deaf Awareness Week will run from 1st to 7th May 2023 and the theme is Access to Communication.
About
Because deafness is not a visible condition, deaf and hard of hearing individuals can feel misunderstood, unseen, invisible and isolated.
Facts
FACTS
☞ Deafness is the 2nd largest disability in the UK after those associated with mobility.
☞ About 800,000 people are severely or profoundly deaf and around 2 million use hearing aids.
☞ 1 in 6 people in the UK are affected by hearing loss.
☞ There are 50,000 children with hearing loss in the UK.
☞ Deaf people are twice as likely to experience mental health problems due to inequality.
☞ There are at least 24,000 people across the UK who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their main language.
☞ BSL is a different language from English, with its own structure and grammar.
This year’s Deaf Awareness Week will focus on raising awareness of the communication needs of the deaf community and advocating for greater access to communication tools and services.
Articles
Downloads
EDUCATIONAL POSTERS TO DOWNLOAD
We have designed these easy to read posters for you to download and to display in your workplace, classrooms, staff rooms, office...
This is a fantastic way to help raise awareness about deafness and British Sign Language and to encourage people to learn more about the Deaf community.
Please, feel free to download, print, and share widely!
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH A DEAF PERSON
A video with practical and eye opening examples of the best ways to communicate with a Deaf person.
Video - How to communicate
Quick Deaf Awareness Session
IMPROVE YOUR DEAF AWARENESS IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES!
If you are on public transport, or you are waiting for someone, or you have a few spare minutes, then join our "Express Deaf Awareness Session". It cannot hope to replace a full Deaf Awareness Training Course, but it is be a good start to create a more diverse, inclusive and open society.
BSL Lessons
BSL LESSONS
Useful and basic British Sign Language (BSL) vocabulary to help the inclusion for Deaf community.