Abstract
In the UK, approximately 151,000 people communicate using BSL and of those 8,700 BSL users are Deaf. Deaf with a capital ‘D’ refers to people who are deaf and see themselves as within the Deaf community. They are those who use sign language as their preferred language and identify with Deaf culture , which due to a lack of Deaf awareness can lead to access issues in many areas of their lives. Whereas deaf with a lowercase ‘d’ refers to people who have and auditory impairment but typically don’t use sign language and don’t identify with Deaf culture.
Nicola Claire Hood Memorial Award 