A deaf teenager who won a legal challenge to have an interpreter in her classroom has welcomed the passing of a bill that will legally recognise students and teachers who use British Sign Language (BSL).
STV News reported that Niamdh Braid took legal action against Fife Council after being denied access to an interpreter in her classes, despite attending Auchmuty High School, which is designated as a base for deaf support services.
Niamdh, 16, has been deaf since birth and has hearing aids, but her first choice of language is BSL. Her dad told STV the lack of support had “denied her full access to learning for her whole school career.”
The tribunal ruled in Niamdh’s favour, finding she had been placed at a “substantial disadvantage” without BSL interpretation.
Reflecting on her experience, Niamdh told STV News: “I’ve been so tired from having to focus on lip reading, piecing bits of sentences together that I’ve missed, and then having to write stuff down while trying to lip read.
“Then if I’m writing something down, I’m then missing what the teacher’s saying at that point. But if I don’t write it down, then I’m going to miss what they’re saying because I don’t have it written down, so I don’t have those notes.”
MSPs voted to pass reforms to Scotland’s Education system by 69 votes to 47 and Niamdh said the new Bill will help deaf people ‘navigate life in a hearing world’
The Education Scotland Bill will see the creation of a new authority, Qualifications Scotland, abolishing the current SQA model, and a new chief inspector of Education of Scotland.
George McGowan of the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) said the new legislation is a huge milestone for BSL learners.
He said: “We feel this is a massive move forward for young deaf children’s rights here in Scotland. BSL is a vibrant language which gives deaf children and young people access to a rich culture, heritage and identity.
“We’re keen to see more people learn British Sign Language to remove the barriers that exist between deaf and hearing people. In addition, it helps us educate the hearing community about both the deaf community and deaf culture.”
Niamdh said she hopes the move can help remove stigma and improve support for younger deaf children.
She said: “At the end of the day, we’re in a world that isn’t built for us; we’re in a world that was built for and by hearing people. We just need that little bit of support to be able to navigate life in a hearing world.”