VIDEO: We Spoke To Manx Deaf Society’s CEO Ahead of International Day of Sign Languages

In honor of International Day of Sign Languages today, we visited the Manx Deaf Society to find out a little bit more about what they do.

Founded in the late 1920’s, this society has been serving the Manx people for nearly 100 years.

The CEO of the foundation, Lucy Buxton, enlightened us (and hopefully now you) about its mission and how the public can better support residents affected by hearing loss.

Originally set up with the intention of helping those who are profoundly deaf and use sign language, the society has widened its scope in recent years.

It now offers services to a range of different people with different capabilities of hearing.

One of its staple activities is teaching sign language to anyone wanting to learn and hosts a sign language club that meets once a week.

It also arranges a range of other activities for its members such as calligraphy workshops, bowling and socialising events each month.

Lucy teaches lip reading at three different venues across the island.

The skill is taught to adults with hearing loss to enable them to become more confident in following conversations.

Lucy said: ‘It becomes more of a support group, more than a class. The people in there really do support each other and look out for each other, as we all have some degree of hearing loss. We all understand what it is like to cope in the world when there is a lot of noise and sound. It is learning to navigate and advocate for yourself.’

The Manx Deaf Society also have an equipment library, with items they can lend out to people free of charge to borrow.

This includes specialized alarm clocks, telephones, amplifiers and even sound bars that work with the TV. These are items are all specifically designed with the purpose of aiding someone with hearing loss, one way or another.

Ahead of International Sign Language Day, we asked Lucy what little things people can do to help support people with hearing loss.

She said: ‘Be accommodating, don’t get frustrated. We are very good at picking up on body language and social cues. All it takes is a little bit of an eye roll and it makes us not want to engage with you anymore.

‘You can miss out on so many wonderful things and conversations.

‘You never know when someone has hearing loss, it is not always that obvious.’