Today I learnt how to sign my name – Kate – using British Sign Language (BSL).
I made little linocut stamps of hands signing each letter, which I pressed into pigment ink pads to create a stamp on each letter. My stamps were too small, my tools too cheap, and my skills too burgeoning for them to be overly clear, but I tried and if I keep practising I’m sure I will achieve a clear stamp sooner or later.
For a clearer look at what Kate is meant to look like in BSL , see the alphabet postcard above by NDCS, the National Deaf Children’s Society.
Some info about hearing loss and deafness:
- There are more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, or one in six of the population.
- At 31 March 2010, 56,400 people were recorded on the deaf register, and more join the register each year.
- Over half (53%) of people on the deaf register were aged 18-64.