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The Henry

Henry Beaufort celebrates Deaf Awareness Week

This week The Henry Beaufort School is celebrating Deaf Awareness Week which runs from 15th- 21st May 2017.

Deaf Awareness is about ‘promoting the positive aspects of deafness’, to ‘promote social inclusion’ and to raise awareness to everyone that may not know what this means. Most importantly it’s about learning strategies to communicate with people that are deaf.

Some people communicate through spoken speech. Some people communicate through sign language. Some of them wear cochlear implants or hearing aids. These are aids to help them hear but it is not a cure for becoming ‘hearing’. Radio aids can help some students to hear teachers clearly.

Henry Beaufort students have been invited to learn key signs throughout the week. They have also played myth busters quizzes at tutor time, where they have learnt if myths about deaf people are true or false!

Here are some of them, can you answer them?

1.       Deaf people can go to university

2.       Deaf people cannot hear on the phone

3.       Deaf people cannot drive

4.       Deaf people are different

Answers; 1. False, 2. False. 3. False. 4. True.


Below are some useful strategies for you to remember when communicating with a deaf person.


1.       Don’t panic and pretend to nod if you didn’t understand. Ask them to repeat it again. It’s ok!

2.       Stand in a quiet area and talk one at a time if a deaf person is in your group.

3.       Speak normally – not too fast or too slow. Place the context where possible.

4.       Never say ‘it doesn’t matter’, or ‘never mind’. These phases can really frustrate some deaf people.


Some students are undertaking a British Sign Language Qualification in an after school club. If you are interested in joining, we have places available for October 2017 - just let the HIU know.