With one in seven people in the UK having to cope with some loss of hearing, there are calls for cities to become more accessible for deaf people. CLAIRE CARTER finds out what the position is in Nottingham and where they can go for help

CHILDREN of all ages get in on the act when it is nursery rhyme time at the Secret Garden day nursery in West Bridgford.

The pre-schoolers and toddlers sing their hearts out to the tunes.

And they love signing the words too.

Although there are no deaf youngsters at the nursery, it was the first in Notts to train all its staff – and now children – in sign language.

It means a future generation can at least make the effort to have basic communication with a deaf person.

But how do people with hearing problems get on throughout the rest of Nottingham?

Eating at a restaurant or going shopping can be both a frustrating and upsetting experience for a deaf person.

Dim lighting and people not making eye contact – things most people take for granted – can be a barrier to a deaf person being able to order food or can cause them to leave a shop in despair.

Alison Ash is deaf and works as a welfare rights officer at Notts Deaf Society. She said deaf people faced problems going about their ordinary lives, frequently struggling in shops because staff are unable to understand them.

She said: "If we want to ask for something staff often do not have patience. Often deaf people don't bother to ask because we know it is a waste of time due to the communication problem. It's very frustrating.

"What we need is all shops to do basic signs. I think all shops should do deaf awareness training."

Alison went to a deaf school in Nottingham from the age of three to 11 but said she struggled when she was sent to a mainstream secondary where she received little support from classroom assistants to help her with language.

The nearest deaf school to Nottingham is now in Derby.

Alison said: "They had me in a class of 30 hearing children. It was the worst experience of my life.

"I learned nothing. I could not follow or understand anything. What schools need is one classroom assistant for each child who is deaf to help them. There are some children who do not get this which is very sad.

"Lots of deaf people can do well at school – if they get the right support."

Sarah Shaw is not deaf but also works at the deaf society.

She said one of the main problems was people did not realise sign language was not a form of English but a completely different language, with its own colloquialisms and regional variations.

She said: "It has got its own grammar and structure, and that's what people aren't aware of.

"More people are getting interested in sign language now; we get a lot of phonecalls about it.

"But one of the issues is the cost of doing it. Classes used to be subsidised but this was phased out and the cost of courses went up a lot. Sadly this has put people off doing it."

Sarah said the society offered deaf people help with applying for jobs as this was often difficult.

She said: "We tend to find that deaf people will go into factory work and low-skilled jobs when they have the same abilities as us. Because of the structure of sign language the way deaf people read and write is different. Their language is British Sign Language (BSL) but they then have to try and read English, which isn't their first language.

"The first thing is communication. Simply asking a question puts up a barrier. People are faced with a deaf person and that barrier goes up.

"It is often simple things like people being aware that a person is deaf and the fact communication is based on face-to-face contact and so many people cover their mouths or turn away when they are speaking, unaware someone is trying to lip read."

But Sarah said facilities for deaf people in Nottingham had been improving during the last few years, with the Cornerhouse complex showing subtitled films for deaf people and Theatre Royal holding sign language interpreted performances. Every year, Nottingham Playhouse does a signed performance of the Christmas pantomime.

Sarah also said sign language interpreters at the society were in high demand over Christmas by schools that wanted to enable deaf parents to watch their children perform.

The society has also started a yoga class for deaf people, trying to make sport and exercise classes more accessible for them.

She added: "Deaf people generally find it difficult to join sports clubs. They tend to not do that kind of thing because of the barriers. It's things you don't think about, like going to the gym and not being able to learn how to use the equipment."

The society is also hoping to extend training to nightclubs and bars, making staff more aware of how to approach and deal with a deaf person who may appear aggressive when they are signing or trying to be understood.

claire.carter@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk