Award-winning deafness issues campaigner student to launch new project

A Birkenhead Sixth Form College student and award-winning campaigner is set to launch a new project, aimed at getting British Sign Language taught in all UK schools.

Bethany Eason, who studies on the College’s Nails & Beauty course for adult learners, has put the wheels in motion for the campaign, which is the latest in her long and proud list of ventures to thrust issues surrounding deafness into the spotlight.

"If English is a staple subject in schools, why can’t a different form of our own English language not be taught as well, just because it’s not spoken?" - Bethany Eason, student & campaigner

Bethany herself is profoundly deaf and has a cochlear implant to help her hear, which has enabled her to pursue a passion in dance. She began her life of campaigning seven years ago at the age of just 12, which has led to her winning the Rotary Young Citizen Award in 2014, the Princess Diana Trust Award in 2015 and a nomination for Cheshire Woman of the Year earlier in 2016.

 

Bethany said: “I was bullied at school all my life because I was deaf - because I was different and wore something on my ear that people could see, so I was judged. I was looking up anti-bullying tips when I was 12 and came across the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), and managed to get a place on their Youth Advisory Board – a group of 17 deaf young people who would travel the country and campaign.”

Through her activity with the NDCS, Bethany launched a campaign called ‘Stolen Futures’, which focused on the issue of spending cuts leading to deaf young people’s education being affected. A further campaign came to the attention of the Channel 4 News, after Bethany had met long-time anchorman, Jon Snow, and spoken to him about a governmental policy change which altered deaf people’s rights.

Bethany said: “Jon Snow was lovely, and after meeting him, I wrote to him about the benefit cuts that were happening to deaf young people, and asked if they would be interested in doing a feature on the Disability Living Allowance being transitioned to the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP). He said yes, and suggested I do it with them, so I was on TV.

“I have to travel to Manchester every couple of months to get my cochlear implant checked and make sure everything’s ok, and that’s what I was using the DLA (Disability Living Allowance) for. I put in a PIP (Personal Independence Payment) assessment and they essentially told me that I wasn’t disabled enough to receive the payment.

“There’s a lot of judgement about deafness because it’s a hidden disability. It’s ‘only’ a sensory disability and there’s not a lot of acknowledgement or consideration for it.”

 

Having made several TV appearances and garnered plenty of press coverage for her work, Bethany has tirelessly continued to campaign about issues affecting young deaf people, and getting British Sign Language taught in all schools in her latest goal.

She said: “I’ve been in contact with the National Deaf Children’s Society and a local MP who is investigating the issue with exam boards. It’s all well and good going to night classes to be taught sign language, but if English is a staple subject in schools, and other languages can be taught as standard, why can’t a different form of our own English language not be taught as well, just because it’s not spoken?

“I want everyone to even just know the basics. It can be fun, it’s something new and you can use it at any time of your life.”

Now 19-years-old, the work that Bethany began at the age of 12 shows no signs of abating, and she believes she is, even now and having accomplished so much, at the start of her journey of ‘making sure that deaf young people are included in society’:

“This is something that I’ll continue doing for my whole life. I want to continue campaigning worldwide, in less developed countries as well, and make sure that there’s more awareness of deafness and that people are equipped with the knowledge they need.”