Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Bil Aelod Arfaethedig – Mark Isherwood AS | Proposed Member Bill - Mark Isherwood MS
Datblygu'r Bil Iaith Arwyddion Prydain (BSL) (Cymru) | Development of the British Sign Language (BSL) (Wales) Bill
Ymateb gan: Unigolyn | Evidence from: Individual
This document provides a translation of the BSL response received from an Individual.
We need the BSL Act.
The reason being, is that it is very important for Wales for Deaf people and the surrounding communities. I am Deaf myself. All throughout my upbringing, there have been lots of barriers throughout Wales in terms of public services. There is a need for access to doctors and interpreters, no access to interpreters when dealing with nurses.
There's lots of barriers there, in terms of communication. Accessing is so important, we need to be able to take on the information to understand what is going.
Communication breakdowns are stressful, written information needs to be converted into BSL, my language. Every time, every day, I'm finding that there's no BSL for me. There are no translations available and I'm struggling learning English learning to understand what is going on. There is need for access at the police, hospital, doctors, opticians dentists, in the workplace. I need an interpreter, I need BSL, it is my language. It is my first language to understand what was going on growing up as a deaf person myself.
Throughout school, I had an interpreter there alongside me. Then stepping out into the world, meant that there was no BSL interpreters with me 24/7 and that meant I was alone. For example, in terms of train announcements, I couldn’t hear what is going on. Also understanding what's on screen isn’t easy. There was also problems with buses communicating with the driver and staff, what was going on. I have to keep my eyes peeled constantly.
In addition, if somebody knocked at the door or makes a call (I cannot answer the phone) I don't understand what's going. Also sometimes in terms of emails, I need to use a (VRS) video relay service to help me understand what is going. I need this in terms of accessing that information in sign language and it is important to me to have that access to information.
It is so valuable, as we don't have that full access throughout Wales. With regards to councils, we do not have a VRS at the moment. How do we contact the councils? How do I contact my local council in terms of discussing various payments such as rent and council tax? I'm unable to use the phone. How do I communicate with them? I am having to rely on my family who are hearing to explain what is going on. I'm an adult now. I want to be independent, and that means I need to learn how to make other payments myself and cope myself. It is important to have the BSL Act.