A visit from West Norfolk Deaf Association

Tonight 2nd Downham Market (St Edmund's) Guides had a visit from Sarah from the West Norfolk Deaf Association.  She came to tell us more about the work of the charity and the services they provide.  Those who are local to Downham will know that the WNDA have recently opened a book shop in Downham Market and are planning to open another of their charity shops very soon.  But what you might not know is that these shops also provide a service to the deaf community, particularly by servicing hearing aids.  The charity is a very local charity and survives on donations and funding bids - you can find out more here

Sarah gave us some tips for communicating with deaf people, including reminding us to speak normally and not exaggerate.  Exaggeration changes the way our lips and facial expressions look and can cause confusion.  She also said we should stand still when talking to a deaf person and make sure they have a clear view of our faces, we should be aware of the light and make sure we are not in silhouette.  Towards the end of the evening we learnt some British Sign Language, including how to finger spell our names and some commonly used signs - many of which can be found on YouTube.

Thank you to Sarah for coming along and we hope to see some of our readers supporting the WNDA shop x