Signly

Greenwashing. You’ve almost certainly heard of it, but have you heard of Signwashing? A concept I heard recently at the British Deaf Association conference. Read my article to find out more about this growing concept.

Last Saturday, we were thrilled to take part in the Deaffest UK Deaf-led Arts and Film Festival in Wolverhampton. Our team set up stalls outside in the sunshine. It was a big hit! People got to see how Signly works firsthand, using their phones to scan QR codes and sign up for Signly. Many learned about Signly from the Limping Chicken webpage and were impressed. They were especially interested in how Signly adds sign language to websites without needing extra downloads and plugins. At Signly, we're always improving. If you want to learn more or get in touch, please email us at [email protected] or connect with me directly. I'm Tim, part of the Signly team. Thanks for your support! #Signly #Accessibility #DeaffestUK #Innovation #Tech

Now, for Tip 2, let's talk about 'Attention'.   'Attention'   There are several aspects of 'Attention' to consider, so I'll highlight a few key points:    People should approach me from the front and establish eye contact or make eye contact before asking me to come over.   Another method is for someone to tap on the shoulder to get my attention.   I'll look up and ask what's needs, then establish eye contact and follow their gesture.   If my name is displayed on an information screen, I'll notice and come over.   In the case of a fire alarm, I prefer to see flashing lights as a signal instead of relying solely on sound, so that I can evaluate the situation.    When I wear hearing aids, I may hear someone tapping on a table and look around, making eye contact.   If someone stamps on the floor, I may hear it with my hearing aids, but without them, it can be challenging for me to notice and pay my attention.   Lastly, let me share a challenging experience: skydiving.   I've had the opportunity to parachute on my own.   I rely on visual cues like green LED lights on the wall surface to signal when to depart.   These visual indicators provide the necessary guidance and confidence as I prepare to take the plunge into the open sky.   Visual cues, shoulder taps, eye contact, and flashing lights are helpful.   Other useful attention cues for Deaf people including flashing doorbell lights.   I hope this sheds light on the various ways attention can be communicated with Deaf individuals. 

Now, for Deaf Awareness Week Tip no. 3, let's discuss 'Inclusion'. What does inclusion mean? It's disheartening to hear phrases like 'nothing', 'doesn't matter', I will explain later', or nothing important', as they can undermine my confidence. Instead, true inclusion means discussing matters together. One of the challenges of inclusion is organising communication support needs, whether it's me or the services arranging interpreters, captioning or subtitles, remote captioning for meetings, or autocues provided by palantypists typing to follow conversations in conferences, events, or workshops.  Inclusion also means having human interpreters or sign language users on stage, or facilitating lip reading, providing visual cues for those who may not be able to hear, such as having information displayed on screens, sign language or lip reading.

Hello, my name is Tim and I work for Signly. I want to tell you about Deaf Awareness Week, which is celebrated in the UK from May 6th to May 13th, 2024. I'm going to explain the topic of 'Communication.' People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, have Hearing Loss, or are Hearing, all communicate differently. How do they do it? Some still use the traditional method of writing and pen communication. This can either be stressful or managed quite easily. With this method, communication is one-way, as the pen and paper are passed back and forth. Another method is using mobile phone apps that convert speech to text. This allows for group or individual conversations, where the speech is converted to text as it is spoken into the phone. I can then read the text transcript and respond accordingly. However, if someone asks me a question face-to-face, I may have to put my mobile phone down or use a mobile stand. In such situations, I use speak or sign language. When face-to-face communication becomes challenging for either party, they may seek help from someone else. This mutual support helps both parties. They may ask someone with interpreting skills, someone who knows sign language, or someone who is skilled in lip reading. Each individual's abilities and communication skills vary.

Deaf Awareness Week has been a milestone for our social enterprise ESquared. On Tuesday we launched www.signingbanks.uk. In 2021 ESquared became part of a partnership with partners from Italy, Bulgaria and Spain in an Erasmus project called SigningBanks. When the project ended in April 2023 we didn't feel that we had fully achieved what we had set out to do. We carried on working with Kathryn Townsend Rachel Vann Mark Applin and others who were striving to bridge the gap that exists between banks and their Deaf customers. And thanks to them and sponsorship from Nationwide Building Society we got to the point where we could launch www.signingbanks.uk And our journey isn't over yet. Thank you to Dr Tim Pascoe Alex Sloan Sanjida A. who have formed the SBUK team with me.

Happy #NationalBSLDay! ICYMI - Last month Nationwide Building Society announced its new service, Signly, offering British Sign Language (BSL) users the chance to read the website in BSL, rather than English. Take a look for yourself, just do a one time ‘toggle on’ via the Nationwide accessibility page: https://lnkd.in/egHeh6e7 This is in addition to the other services we offer for BSL users including face to face interpreters, and SignVideo by Sorenson Video Relay Services (VRS), live chat via our app, Relay UK (a full list of services is available via the link above). https://lnkd.in/et_6AiK4 #Deaf #Accessibility #Inclusion

Today sees ESquared launching SigningBanks UK, during #DeafAwarenessWeek Deaf Awareness Week 2024, embraces the theme of love and trust, transcending barriers, and uniting hearts in the spirit of understanding and compassion. SigningBanks UK is built on the belief that everyone, regardless of their hearing ability, deserves seamless access to financial resources, and services. Research over the last few years, has highlighted the difficulties the d/Deaf community has faced, in communicating with banks and #FinancialServices. Being a #CODA myself, and living between the hearing and #Deaf worlds, I personally have experienced and observed these barriers, over and over again. The frustration, stress and upset ever present. There’s no distinction between banks, there are overarching barriers, which are ever present. The Lending Standards Board report highlights, there is a lack of #DeafAwareness, communication is difficult, and the need for a tailored service, is often missed. Creating a sizeable opportunity, for researchers, charities, financial service providers, the Government Ambassador Kathryn Townsend and the d/Deaf community to come together. Through innovation, advocacy and collaboration, Signing Banks UK are determined to bridge the gap, between the financial services sector and their deaf customers. I am proud to be part of the advisory board, working with a great team, who are equally determined to support d/Deaf people navigate the financial services sector, and help financial services improve the experiences of deaf people, who are engaging with banks and lenders. There’s lots to do but it will not happen without involving the d/Deaf community so please do visit the SigningBanks UK website to find out more and how you can get involved too. I would personally like to congratulate all the collaborators and their allies, who have showed unwavering commitment, starting a journey to drive effective improvements across an industry committed to make positive change. Please do share with your communities and networks so that we can all continue on this journey together. The Lending Standards Board British Deaf Association , Deafax deafPLUS MyBnk Royal Association for Deaf people The Royal National Institute For Deaf People Signly Breda Leyne Dr Tim Pascoe James West Reg Cobb Matthew Johnston Sarah Prince Leigh Smyth FRSA Jemma Waters Rebecca Mansell MCIOF Craig Crowley MBE FRSA Jennifer Pratt Sophie Shields Sarah Barnett Tom Berry Victoria Williams Tara Rogers Lee Brown #Tech100Women Women in Finance Summit & Awards Series Sara Weller Debbie Forster MBE Andy Young Phillip Joe

Of the many millions of people who are Deaf, a significant proportion of these people will have learned one of 300 different sign languages as their first language.   However, many of these people might have a lower proficiency in English, making navigating the internet challenging and exclusionary.   Signly can quickly capture the text on a website and connect with a qualified sign language interpreter which can then be added to a website to make it more widely accessible, making the internet a more inclusive place for all. Learn more.

Happy National British Sign Language (BSL) Day (28th April) is a day dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness about British Sign Language, the primary language of the Deaf community in the United Kingdom. It's an opportunity to recognise the importance of BSL in facilitating communication and promoting inclusivity. The day often involves events, workshops, and activities aimed at educating the public about BSL and highlighting its cultural significance. #BSLDay #BritishSignLanguage #DeafCommunity #InclusionMatters #SignLanguage #DeafCulture #CommunicationForAll #BSLAwareness #DiversityandInclusion #CelebrateBSL www.signly.co/qr