Joanne Woodhouse-Roberts: How Rose Ayling-Ellis is breaking barriers!

If you haven’t come across the name Rose Ayling-Ellis, then I ask where have you been?! The media have warmed to Rose – to her infectious smile, amazing sense of humour, her brilliant dancing skills and her drive to promote Deafness and Sign Language, as well as her wonderful partnership and choreography with Giovanni.

Rose has created something amazing, something no one could ever predict and quite honestly no one has ever done such a thing before. This is history in the making.

Rose has captured people’s hearts and is encouraging people to sign. As a result Signature has had a surge of an additional 58,000 people in one month looking up BSL courses. Who else has done that?

There is absolutely no doubt that Rose has used her platform on Strictly so beautifully and smartly.

Rose hoped from the start she would be a Deaf role model. She wanted to use her platform to raise awareness, and my goodness she’s achieving it! Just look at what’s happening! Rose is setting an amazing example for breaking down barriers. She can dance, she looks like a dancer and makes it look so easy.

Yet in my opinion Rose’s achievements go much deeper and bigger than demonstrating her dancing abilities. She is showing what can be done with the right support. She is showing the world, our history has been wrong about Deafness in so many ways and succeeded where many audiologists, medical professionals, teachers would never have dreamt?

She is showing society they need to believe in Deaf children and Deaf adults

The Deaf Community have been marginalised by society for years, and ignored as we’ve been poorly understood as a language minority group, consequently this has prevented the Deaf community and individuals from flourishing.

Today Deaf people encounter barriers in getting information, either via subtitles, interpreters, in the Performing Arts, in doctors surgeries, hospitals. Hearing people struggle to communicate with Deaf people and Deaf people struggle in booking interpreters and often encounter the famous question of, ‘who is paying for the interpreter’ for example?!

We only have to look at our own Government who still haven’t made any ‘adjustments’ to their COVID briefings by providing a BSL interpreter alongside Boris Johnson, in spite of losing a legal challenge earlier this year.

So why is Rose succeeding on Strictly?

Strictly and Rose have achieved what was thought impossible. Strictly have embraced and accepted Rose and shown what is possible with the right support. That is the KEY!

Rose has interpreters, the audience have adopted the Deaf applause, the celebrities are trying to sign and Giovanni works with Rose’s Deafness, his attitude and understanding is phenomenal, he accepts and works with Rose’s abilities.

Rose really is an equal player in the show. She isn’t at a disadvantage, no one has asked Rose to change who she is. Strictly have listened to Rose and provided her with what she needs to access and compete.

This has shown the correct support and the right attitude has allowed Rose to flourish. She has proved on the dance floor she can do exactly what a hearing person can. She may learn her dance routine differently to the hearing contestant – she does it her way with Giovanni – but it works and arguably in some ways her performance is better than the others!

Let’s suppose everyone in the UK learns to sign, everyone has Giovanni’s positive attitude, let’s dream that society becomes accepting and embraces Deaf people, their language and takes on board what Deaf people need and the government makes BSL an official language and introduced BSL in all educational settings. Supposing schools were rich in language in all forms meeting children’s needs and BSL interpreters are available when needed.

What I have described above is a ‘perfect’ world.

Would Deaf people flourish and achieve in exactly the same way as Rose is doing today in Strictly?! Would Deaf people in the UK be better placed academically, emotionally, mentally? We only have to look across the globe to America who are years ahead of us with their attitudes and acceptance. ASL is widely recognised and ASL is taught in schools, colleges/Universities across at least 35 states for example.

So, what am I saying?

The fact that Rose has the access, the correct attitude from the Strictly cast, the BBC and Giovanni, it has created some amazing magic, which is plain for us all to see. Rose needed the cast to embrace her and accept her for what she is. She needed the access in order for her to perform and create that magic. In fact she is the only one standing in front of the camera on Strictly who is using two languages at once!

In short, Rose has shown with equality she CAN.

If Strictly can do it, surely we can do it in real world? Let’s learn from this series, let’s apply Strictly in the real world, let’s not go back, but learn what is really possible when we do it right, onwards and upwards.

Finally, there is speculation as to why Rose used the phrase ‘it’s a joy to be Deaf’, yet everyone has their own personal experience and views on their own deafness. Many Deaf people are happy being who they are, they don’t have a problem with being Deaf and wouldn’t change anything about themselves. I am one of those, but I along with many in the Deaf community do have a problem with the way society views and treats us.

Rose has shown and continues to show the world that Deaf people are fine, it’s society that creates the problem!

Here’s hoping Rose continues to do what we all believe she can – and lift that glitterball!

Joanne Woodhouse-Roberts 

Photo credit: Guy Levy