George Chapman: The importance of socialising for the deaf community and BSL (BSL)

My name is George Chapman and I became Deaf at the age of 2. I wear hearing aids and when I take my hearing aids out I cant hear anything. I use British Sign Language and a bit of SSE (signed supported english.)  I can also lip read as well as use spoken English.

I went to a mainstream school growing up. There I wore radio aids and had a communicator support worker (CSW.) The lessons were good and most of the communciation staff were helpful in school. In lessons I would have extra time to explain more about any topics or help me with homework.

When I attended college I struggled for the first two years as I didnt find my CSW helpful. When I later saw my Teacher of the Deaf and explained this, she thankfully gave me a better CSW and things improved.

During my time at school I made a good group of Deaf friends and most of us went to Deaf clubs and birthdays parties together. It was great! Now I still see one of my friends from school and I do try and keep in touch with the others regularly as I think it is so important to keep connected.

When I moved to college, I didn’t have any Deaf friends at first.This was very hard and lasted for two years. Later on I made new friends who were also deaf but I sadly don’t see them now.

I have a few friends who are hearing and a couple of them have started to learn BSL! This is very useful for me and it also helps us to communicate when we are in a busy environment.

I think my deaf identity has grown from having sign language skills and using my hearing aids – both of these things help me with communicating with others.

About three years ago I saw on instagram an account called Deaf Identity. It’s a clothing range and I felt so happy and excited that I could finally wear things to celebrate who I am. So I bought some items from there as I thought it was a great way to promote Deaf awareness and encourage others to learn British Sign Language.

As a deaf person who likes to sign to music, there are quite a few challenges. I remember back during lockdown when I did a signed service for a church on Zoom. It was really hard to follow the music then as you don’t know when to start signing or when the slide changes in time.

To get around this I asked someone to help me by letting me know when to start or by pointing to the words on the screen. I also make sure I have plenty of time to practise beforehand. There are always solutions if you look for them.

Despite the increase of using Zoom, I think social events are really important for the Deaf community because going out and socialising means you avoid becoming lonely, and it’s an opportunity to make new friends. It also means you are not stuck in the house all the time. I would really like to keep these clubs going.

I would like to continue making new friends with people who are Deaf or hearing. When hearing people learn sign language it makes me feel so much more involved.

For one of my hobbies, I enjoy attending the Sunday service at my local church to do some signing with a team. We work together to translate the hymns, readings and the sermons into BSL for any Deaf, Hard of hearing people in the audience.

I was wondering if there is anyone reading this based near Milton Keynes who may also be interested in joining our team?

We meet at Cross and Stable church at Downs Barn every first Sunday of the month, the service starting at 11am and it usually finishes by 12.

We usually get an email from the vicar a few days before the service. He lets us know the hymns and readings he is leading so that we can practice for the next signed service. We also have a Christmas Signed Carol every December, one day in the evening. It’s lots of fun and great for the community.

Another event I like to do during my free time is going to the MK BSL Social pub evening.  We meet every second Saturday of every other month at Wetherspoons Midsummer Blvd from 7pm onwards. This is a perfect opportunity for people who would like to learn BSL and meet new people who are Deaf, Hard of hearing or just other BSL users.

Since 2020 the group seems to have gotten smaller and we would love new members to join us.

I am one of the organisers for the event and I send out the reminders before the event takes place too. Would you like to come along? Let’s keep the deaf commnity alive with more in-person meet ups and share our love for BSL!

by George Chapman

For more information about these events please contact me on Facebook and Instagram at ‘MK BSL Social Pub.’

Edited by Rebecca A Withey – if you would like to share a story or experience with us, please email rebecca@rawithey.com