British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a formal name for the language in 1960, the first usage of the term "British Sign Language" in an academic publication was likely by Aaron Cicourel. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on the 2011 Scottish Census, the British Deaf Association estimates there are 151,000 BSL users in the UK, of whom 87,000 are Deaf. By contrast, in the 2011 England and Wales Census 15,000 people living in England and Wales reported themselves using BSL as their main language. People who are not deaf may also use BSL, as hearing relatives of deaf people, sign language interpreters or as a result of other contact with the British Deaf community. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands, body, face and head.
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution, or a private chapel. The term chaplaincy refers to the chapel, facility or department in which one or more chaplains carry out their role.
The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), known as Action on Hearing Loss from 2011 to 2020, is a charitable organisation working on behalf of the UK's 9 million people who are deaf or have hearing loss.
The Mission to Seafarers is a Christian welfare charity serving merchant crews around the world. It operates through a global Mission 'family' network of chaplains, staff and volunteers and provides practical, emotional and spiritual support through ship visits, drop-in seafarers centres and a range of welfare and emergency support services.
The British Deaf Association (BDA) is a deaf-led British charity that campaigns and advocates for deaf people who use British Sign Language.
The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc (RID) is a non-profit organization founded on June 16, 1964, and incorporated in 1972, that seeks to uphold standards, ethics, and professionalism for American Sign Language interpreters. RID is currently a membership organization. The organization grants credentials earned by interpreters who have passed assessments for American Sign Language to English and English to American Sign Language interpretation and maintains their certificates by taking continuing education units. RID provides a Certification Maintenance Program (CMP) to certified members in support of skill-enhancing studies. The organization also provides the Ethical Practices System (EPS) for those who want to file grievances against members of RID. The organization also collaborated with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to develop the Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). The CPC Standard Practice Papers (SPP) are also available for professional interpreters to reference. RID is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) is the predominant sign language in the subcontinent of South Asia, used by at least 15 million deaf signers. As with many sign languages, it is difficult to estimate numbers with any certainty, as the Census of India does not list sign languages and most studies have focused on the north and urban areas. As of 2024, it is the most used sign language in the world, and Ethnologue ranks it as the 149th most "spoken" language in the world.
NextSense, formerly the Royal Institute for Deaf & Blind Children (RIDBC), in Sydney provides a range of educational services for students with vision and/or hearing impairment, including specialist schools for signing deaf students, oral deaf students, and students with sensory and intellectual disabilities.
The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering eight and half of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Guildford. Of the two provinces of the church, it is in the Province of Canterbury.
British industrial mission is a network of people who engage in christian ministry to people in economic life. This is often done by lay or ordained chaplains who build relationships with people in workplaces. They may also take part in support or campaigning roles for economic justice, such as for a living wage, protection for precarious workers or assisting people facing redundancy. In workplaces the chaplains may have a role in staff welfare, or facilitating faith provision. The intention of these faith actors (predominantly from Christian denominations), is to establish an engagement between the church and the world of work, money and employment. Chaplains form relationships with local employers and visit workplaces on a regular basis and also use their experience to help churches to understand and respond to the needs and issues. Their role is not to try to convert employees but to establish a dialogue between employers, employees and the church and provide a religious presence in the workplace. Chaplains are often independent of the business owners, and offer confidentiality.
The International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) is an ecumenical association of 26 Christian organisations, Protestant and Catholic, representing different churches and Christian communities actively engaged in welfare work for people who work at sea, including seafarers, fishers and the families of both. The Association is registered as a charity in the UK and, through its members, operates internationally.
Deaf Children Australia (DCA) is a national not-for-profit organisation that supports deaf and hard-of-hearing children and young people and their families in Australia.
Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People is a charity based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, that provides practical services to deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, blind and partially sighted people in the region. The charity has existed since 1866 and is one of the only charities of its kind in the country to provide services to those with both a hearing and/or visual impairment.
Francis Maginn (1861–1918) was a Church of Ireland missionary who worked to improve living standards for the deaf community by promoting sign language and was one of the co-founders of the British Deaf Association.
St Thomas Syriac Orthodox Cathedral Acton is a Syriac Orthodox Cathedral in Acton, London, England, formerly known as St Saviour's Centre for the Deaf Anglican church, which was a social centre for deaf people, and the first and only purpose-built church for deaf people as such. St Saviour's was the central location for the London Diocesan Chaplaincy among Deaf and Deafblind people. The church and social centre closed in 2014 following a loss of funding, and insufficient financial reserves to maintain the premises. The final church service was held on Wednesday 24 September 2014, at which the Bishop of Willesden officiated.
Richard Aslatt Pearce was the first deaf person to be ordained as an Anglican clergyman. He was educated via the sign language of his era, he became Chaplain to the Deaf and Dumb, and he fulfilled this duty in the Southampton area for the rest of his life. In 1885 he was introduced to Queen Victoria, who then ordered the Royal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb and Others of the United Kingdom, 1889.
Thomas Davidson RA was an English painter specialising in historical naval scenes.
In Ireland, 8% of adults are affected by deafness or severe hearing loss. In other words, 300,000 Irish require supports due to their hearing loss.
Deafness in Poland refers to the Deaf communities in Poland and education around their culture and language. Poland has a recorded history of DHH people, dating back to 1817. About 15.1% of Polish people in Poland say they have hearing loss. Polski Język Migowy is the main signed language in Poland.
Deafness in Thailand refers to the population and culture of Deaf Hard of Hearing people in Thailand. Deafness in Thailand includes language emergence, organizations, healthcare, employment, schooling, and civil rights.
