Deaf Parenting UK were delighted to recieve an award from The Mumpreneur UK.

The Mumpreneur Award judging panel have evaluated Deaf Parenting UK website for its content, easy navigation, informative resources of our products and services and awarded us with Bronze Website Award with logo (see left).

Asif Iqbal, Project Manager said: “We are delighted with the result from The Mumpreneur UK as it was highly competitive. Also it is an opportunity for us to promote our website as a central resources to Deaf parents and parents to be.”

Asif Iqbal MBE – Queen’s Birthday Honour List 2011

Asif was named to be awarded with MBE on the Queen’s Birthday Honour List. Describing his reaction on receipt of the letter, Asif exclaimed: “I was very shocked when I got the letter. I thought it was something relating to my Government work as public appointment and realised that I was honoured with MBE on the Queen’s Birthday Honour list for my work over the years providing services to Deaf and Disabled people. It hasn’t occurred to me and thought it was sent to me by mistake. Reality hit me and I felt humbled and honoured.

I’m delighted that Her Majesty The Queen and Prime Minister have recognised my work and want to thank everyone and organisations that I have worked with, including the public bodies, charity work, voluntary sector, government officials, Ambassadors, and people that I have been in contact with and worked with in my role with Deaf Parenting UK and my other roles as Public Appointment as well as the public for all their support.”

Asif added: “Also many thanks to all well-wishers who have sends me emails, Facebook messages and SMS of congratulations which are so heart-warming and overwhelming! Thanks for your continued support and will keep in touch!”

Harrow Asian Deaf Club & Deaf Parenting UK’s joint celebration

Deaf Parenting UK is celebrating their 10years anniversary by joining force with Harrow Deaf Club to have a fantastic family BBQ.

When:  2^nd July 2011

Where: Bentley Day Centre, 94 Uxbridge Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA3 6DH

Time: 2pm-9pm 

It’s a FAMILY DAY OUT!! EVERYONE are welcome, you can invite whoever you want to come, anyone can join the fun day out!

It includes BBQ, Bouncy Castle, Pinata, Egg and Spoon Race, Sack Race, Apple Bobbing, Art, Lucky Dip, Prizes and so so so so much more!!!

Entry Prices:
- Adults: £5
- Children (aged 7-15) : £2.50
- Family (2 adults and 2 childs) : £12
- Kids (6 or under): Free

Any Questions: Please contact the HADC team,
SMS/Text: 07907445619  Please don’t forget to add your name in the text message so we know who you are.
Email: hadc@hotmail.co.uk



DPUK Family Day Trip to Thorpe Park

THORPE PARK is the place to get your adrenaline pumping!

Must Travel by coach, courtesy of DPUK

FREE Tickets inclusive of coach and theme park entrance:

Children under 1 metre – FREE

(Maximum ticket requests – 4 people per family)

When: Saturday 23^rd July 2011

Where: Opposite London’s Dungeon at London Bridge BR Station

Time: 8.30AM SHARP

Return to London Bridge at 7.30pm

Places will be given on first come first serve basis for Deaf Families living in South West, West, North, North West, and East London Regions only

Limited TICKETS – book quickly to avoid disappointment!

DEADLINE FOR TICKET BOOKING & APPLICATION REQUESTS: FRIDAY 17^th JUNE 2011

Email: info@deafparent.org.uk

Fax: 0871 264 3323

SMS: 07928 842529

The Guardian, Saturday 14 May 2011

‘Sign language is part of our identity’

Charlie Swinbourne and his partner are deaf. Their two children have full hearing but signing has bought them all closer together

Charlie Swinbourne with his partner, Jo, and their daughters Edie, six months, and Martha, two. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

One day last summer, I was playing hide and seek in the park with Martha, my 18-month-old daughter and hid behind a tree. Wondering where I was, she turned to Jo, her mother, and asked, “Where’s Daddy?” With Jo’s reply – “Daddy’s behind the tree” – Martha found me and ran, giggling into my arms. A typical family scene, you might think, except that Jo was 30 metres away, and they communicated without making a sound, in sign language.

Nowadays, the idea of parents signing with their babies isn’t unusual – you only have to type the words “baby signing” into Google to see just how popular the classes have become. However, for us, signing wasn’t something we needed to be taught – because Jo and I are deaf.

We both wear hearing aids, and with amplification I can just about use the phone, while Jo is a little more deaf and can’t (as a result, I get to book all the doctor’s appointments). We both have immediate family members who are deaf – Jo’s sister, and my parents and two brothers – so there was a possibility that Martha might be born deaf too. But this didn’t worry us – deaf culture and sign language is part of our identity – something we feel positive about.

On the day Martha was born, we turned down the newborn hearing test, preferring to enjoy her as a baby before discovering how much she could hear. We soon found out, when we indulged the noisy deaf habits we’d never had to question before. She woke every time we flushed the toilet at night, watched television with the volume turned up, or trampled clumsily across our floorboards. Her six-week hearing test confirmed it: she was hearing – or deaf-impaired, as some of our deaf friends like to describe it. Once we knew for sure, we stepped up our efforts to talk and sing to her (poor thing: we’re tone deaf as well).

Although she could hear, we were determined to sign with her too. As soon as Martha held our gaze, we signed basic words – “nappy”, “milk” and “sleep”. At 10 months old, she responded for the first time. During her evening bath, as Jo signed “duck” (signed by opening and closing your hand like a duck’s beak), Martha’s hand responded with a virtuoso quack of her own. Within a few weeks, she was signing “duck” all the way up the stairs to the bathroom.

Soon, she learned more words – “light”, “octopus” (another bathroom toy), and, most important, “Mummy”. She loved signing her favourite person’s name so much that I had to reassure our childminder that Martha periodically tapping the side of her head with the palm of her hand wasn’t a physical tic, but simply how “Mummy” is signed. At 15 months old, she began to say “Mmmm” each time she made the sign, and before long, “Mummy” became her first spoken word.

Like a mini superhero, Martha gained new powers as she added to her repertoire. With the sign “again” she could ask us to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the sixth time in a row. Consequently, Eric Carle’s classic story of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly by way of extreme gluttony is now burned into my memory for life. Meanwhile, with the word “more” Martha could demand second helpings of yogurt, grapes and milk – and snow. One day, I carried her out into the garden to show her thick snowflakes falling from the sky. “More!” she signed, insistently. I didn’t have the heart to tell her there was a limit to my powers.

Signing also taught her new concepts. A few months later, I was standing at the supermarket checkout with a trolley full of food, when Martha started excitedly banging her fist against her chest, as if imitating Tarzan. I had to explain to the bemused elderly man next to me in the queue that she was signing “mine” – which was her way of claiming ownership of the chocolate buttons I’d placed on the conveyor belt. She didn’t stop there – she went on to claim that our house, car and even my socks were all “mine”.

We also used signs to help Martha identify relatives and friends – through sign names – which are a common feature of the deaf world. For example, when she says “Grandad” Martha puts a hand to her ear, because he once gave her a toy phone. For “Nanny” her hands track the outline of her grandmother’s necklaces. And for her friend “Cate” she taps her cheek with her forefinger – as if giving herself Cate’s dimples.

Communicating visually also taught Martha how to adapt to our deafness. If we don’t hear her call us, she’ll tap us on the shoulder (which occasionally becomes a game of tag) or wave her hand. Signing has also encouraged her to maintain eye contact, which became more important as her speech developed, because both Jo and I lip read to help us understand what she is saying.

Now nearly two and a half, Martha still signs but speech has become her primary form of communication. Where once she signed to herself as she sat in her pram – drawing inquisitive stares from bus passengers all over London – she is now more likely to try to give them orders in a language they can understand. The six-month window when Martha was too young to speak, but old enough to learn sign language, is a stage we’re now looking forward to experiencing again. Our second daughter, Edie, was born in November, and Martha has christened her with her own sign name – tapping her ear every time she says it (our guess is that she thinks Edie sounds a bit like “ear”).

Edie is as sound-sensitive as Martha, so we’re continuing to tiptoe across our floorboards, leave the toilet unflushed (at night, at least) and watch television quietly. We can’t wait to see her discover language by creating shapes in the air with her tiny hands and fingers, just as her sister did.

The Royal Collection and the Wallace Collection:

Wednesday 29 June, 18:00 – 19:30 at The Queen’s Gallery

Saturday 2 July, 16:30 – 18:00 at the Wallace Collection

(The talk will be delivered between 16:45 and 16:00 and refreshments will be served at the beginning and end of the talk)

Outside In: Exploring depictions of Dutch Life at the Royal Collection and the Wallace Collection

This event will explore the themes of war and peace, and mood and morals in seventeenth-century Dutch paintings. A number of paintings in the Dutch Landscapes exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery will be compared with interior scenes at the Wallace Collection.

At The Queen’s Gallery the talk will be delivered in English with BSL Interpretation provided by Tracey Tyer and Lipspeaking support from Linda Croton.

At the Wallace Collection the talk will be delivered in SSE (voice and sign) by Serena Cant. Notes and a loop will be available.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/14/deaf-signing-hearing-children

Special Senses Day at Colchester Zoo

On the 2nd July Colchester Zoo will be holding its annual Special Senses Day, a great day out that has been designed to make the zoo fun and accessible for all abilities.

This is a fantastic opportunity for visitors with a range of disabilities to get more involved with activities at the zoo and there will be special encounter sessions for anyone that is registered disabled and a sensory awareness zone with touch and sniff activities, live animals and crafts.

Highlights of the day will include the ‘Special Senses Show’ at the Wild about Animal’s Theatre and the assistance dog team demonstration at the Displays Arena. The ‘Special Senses Show’ will explain all about how animals use their senses for survival and the assistance dog team demonstration will give visitors an insight into the expert training that the specialist hearing dogs receive.

Families with deaf children are invited to visit the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Listening Bus, the UK’s only touring information centre for deaf children and over the course of the day there will also be British Sign Language Interpreted feeds and displays for hearing impaired visitors throughout the zoo.

Start/Finish times: 9.30am – 6.30pm (last admissions to zoo grounds at 5.30pm)

Ticket costs:
Adult rate – £16.99
Child rate – £10.50
Senior (over 60) rate – £13.99

Disabled rate – £8.50

Carers – 1 Carer may also enter at the same rate as the season appropriate Disabled rate
Please note verification of disability status will be required to qualify for the concessionary rate. e.g Blue Badge, letter etc.

Please check out the website on www.colchester-zoo.com for more information and for

enquiries, please telephone: 01206 331292

Next CODA/HMFD Workshop is planned for Sunday 26th June 2011.

These workshops are aimed at the hearing children of Deaf parents.

The morning workshops are a safe place for the children to express themselves and their feelings. Parents are not judged. The workshops are about the children feeling free to talk about their shared experiences with their peers.

We, as a group, have all agreed that what we talk about, in the workshops, stays in the workshops and is not discussed away from the workshops, with anyone!

The afternoon activities are decided by the children and are their opportunity to have fun and be carefree.

Workshop Facilitators, Angie Poole and George T. Taylor, encourage the children to take pride in their bi-culturalism and bi-lingualism. Angie and George are both adult HMFDs, fully accredited workshop facilitators and CRB checked.

CODA = Children of Deaf Adults (English)

HMFD = “hearing (me) – Mother – Father – Deaf” (BSL)

Next CODA/HMFD Workshop is planned for Sunday 26th June 2011.

10:15 – 10:30, meet at Arboretum Hall/Cafe (parents and children).

10:30 – 12:30, WORKSHOP (children age 8-16 only).

12:30 – 13:00, Lunch.

13:00 – 16:00, Afternoon activity (to be announced).

16:30, parents collect children from Arboretum Hall/Cafe.

Please e-mail, address below, to confirm you child’s attendance. This is necessary because numbers are limited.

BSL Talking Hands
Angie Poole & George T. Taylor

• British Sign Language/English Interpreters & Translators
• Workshop Facilitators & Trainers (CODA/HMFD & ‘Parenting Matters’)
• Columnists
• Consultants (Health & Safety, Technical Aids, Access to Work)
• Advocacy (Mental Health)

DPUK Awards on SignTube & BSL now live on DPUK Awards website

Sabina Iqbal, Chair/ Founder of Deaf Parenting UK have been interviewed by SignTube about Deaf Parenting UK and our upcoming Awards, check it out on: http://www.sign-tube.com/media/2305/Deaf_Parenting_UK/

Furthermore, BSL version of Deaf Parenting UK Awards is now live on www.deafparent.org.uk/awards2011 so please spread the word and get nominating and to buy your tickets online.

Deaf Parenting UK and our work have been featured in WFD Newsletter May 2011 which aims to share information and good practices with other countries around the world. The Newsletter also have News and fantastic ranges of information from across the world, to read more, click WFD Newsletter May 2011.