Thread by @martinemonks

@RoseAylingEllis being on @bbcstrictly is so important for raising Deaf Awareness, but more importantly for #BSL . So many parents focus on speech (understandably) when they find out their baby is deaf 1/

They suddenly think, how will my deaf child communicate with the world? The world is hearing, not deaf. If they use #BSL they will never fit in the “real world” and it will “close” opportunities to them, they only remain in the “Deaf world”. 2/

But the truth is, using #BSL from the beginning (as @RoseAylingEllis family did) only increases opportunities & opens up doors for her, makes it possible to live in both worlds. I can’t imagine being on @bbcstrictly trying to follow what is going on WITHOUT a #BSL interpreter 3/

The pressure to hear (& most importantly, understand) in a noisy (but fun) background with music, clapping, laughing, cheering etc is immense. I can imagine Anton DeBuke cracking a joke in the middle of a discussion or conversation being missed. Rose’s real personality 4/

wud be missed cos she would be so laser focused on trying to follow and keep up. We didn’t see that at all with Rose because she had her #BSL interpreter which meant she could focus on the dance show itself, respond with thought, jokes & with sparkle. 5/

We ALL, deaf and hearing, got to see Rose’s real sparkling & fun personality. This is so important for families to see. Yes, speech is important, but #BSL even more so. Families using and encouraging #BSL throughout a deaf child’s life sets them up for life. Yes, amplification 6/

useful, but that’s all it is, useful. It doesn’t repeat or tell you what jokes you have missed, and it doesn’t perform that well in noisy backgrounds. You have to work harder in those situations (listening & cognitive fatigue!). Hearing is not the same as understanding. 7/

The biggest misconception about deafness is people think “turn it up”, problem solved, but it really isn’t. Amplification works with what you have left. Rose perfectly exemplifies a deaf person having BOTH amplification & #BSL. It shouldn’t be a choice. Deaf children & their 8/

families need and deserve both. Think about this when you think about deaf children in educational mainstream settings. Are they really understanding everything around them? Are they just doing the “deaf nod”, pretending to understand as so not to draw attention to themselves? 9/

The impact this has for them missing out on so many incidental learning opportunities across language, education, social and emotional situations when we only focus on their listening abilities & dismiss #BSL is immense. You only need to look to 10/

GCSE results between deaf & hearing children. Deaf schools, Deaf resource bases are SO important & the decreasing number of peripatetic ToDs working across mainstream settings is reaching crisis point. I worry we won’t see more “Roses”. The world needs more people like Rose. 11/