'Representing the Deafblind Community in Victoria'

Posts tagged ‘auslan’

30 years of the Disability Discrimination Act – a Deafblind perspective

2022 marks the 30-year anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). To commemorate this occasion, and to reflect on the successes and failures of the DDA, the City of Melbourne put on a forum at the Melbourne Town Hall on 24th Nov. This forum included a presentation by Heather Lawson from Deafblind Victoria on a panel discussion titled 1992 – 2022: What’s Changed?

Heather presented the history of Deafblind Victoria as a self-advocacy group run by Deafblind people, and the gap between grass-roots self-advocacy and laws and regulations. Despite experiencing discrimination almost every day, in all areas of life, Deafblind people are mostly unaware of the DDA and do not use it. We typically have low English literacy, little knowledge of the law, and lack of support to engage with legal processes. This can be addressed by building knowledge and confidence for Deafblind people to become self-advocates, by strengthening the Deafblind community as a place of mutual aid and support, and by including Deafblind people when developing laws and regulations. This other work can make the DDA more effective.

Click for video and transcript of presentation

DBV AGM & Xmas Celebration announcement

“Hello, its Michelle speaking. I would like to welcome you all to our combined AGM & Christmas celebration. This will be held at Richmond Rowing Club on Wednesday 30th Nov 12pm to 4pm. The AGM will run for one hour. We welcome you to join us! Maybe we will have a visit from Father Christmas?”

Craft group – card making and beanie making

Kathy and Rodney learn to make beanies

On Wednesday 13th of April, DBV had our monthly craft activity day. DBV members Debbie and Kathy taught the group how to make beautiful art cards.

We also had art therapist Kim visiting from Camberwell Community Centre to show the group how to knit their own beanies.

Enjoy the gallery of photos below. We look forward to seeing you all at the next DBV craft day on May 11th when DBV visit ArtVo.

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Recreation program – Luna Park

DBV members on the roller coaster at Luna Park

On Saturday the 26th of March, DBV members went for an exciting trip to Luna Park. It was a great day. Thanks Alex for coordinating the activity, and to all support people for helping make it a great day.

Enjoy the gallery of pics below. Photos taken by DBV member Robert. We hope to see you at the next DBV recreation activity! Check the what’s on page for updates.

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New resource – learn the Auslan alphabet from text

There are many styles of communication in the Deafblind community. Some deafblind people grew up using spoken English and now want to learn Auslan. However, most resources for learning Auslan are visual. DBV has produced a new resource for blind and deafblind people, with a text description of the the Auslan alphabet showing each letter’s handshape, position and movement. This resource can be accessed in braille, through a screen reader, or in large print.

There are three versions: the Auslan alphabet for right-handed people, the Auslan alphabet for left-handed people, and Deafblind palm fingerspelling. This resource was developed by our wonderful volunteer KJ who continues to support DBV from home while we are in lockdown. We welcome feedback! Let us know if you found this guide useful, or if we can improve it in any way. You can download the resource by clicking on the links below for your preferred version:

Tech Talk – iOS 15 accessibility features

Deafblind Victoria attended the Lunch and Learn online workshop held by Guide Dogs Victoria on Tuesday the 7th of September, 2021.

Presenter Glen Morrow discussed the new Apple iOS15 for iPhones and iPads, as well as various accessibility settings like individual app settings for high-contrast, dark background with white large text, adding descriptions to photos as well as using dictation on Samsung smart phones.

Every month, Guide Dogs Victoria will have regular half-hour workshops covering many different topics relating to accessibility and technology for people with low vision needs.

Here is a short video of Deafblind Victoria member Andrew Howard talking about the assistive technology workshop he attended in Auslan.

Translation of video :

“Hello DBV!

They explained about AT (assistive technology) on mobile phones and iPads, and using apps on them. If the app’s background is white, it can be hard to read. You can change the background to black. That’s good! You can set it for any app.

The second thing was photos. There is a VoiceOver description for photos. It connects to braille so you can read it in braille too. That works for any app.

The third thing is… ummm…. dogs, shopping, technology… [Andrew tries to remember]

iOS 15 will be released soon – some time in the next few weeks. That’s all. Bye!”

International day of People with Disability – Dec 3

December 3 is the United Nations’ International Day for People with Disability (IDPwD), a day to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability. To celebrate IDPwD, the ABC has a wonderful project to tell stories by and about people with disability across ABC Online, Radio, TV and iView.

One of the stories told was about DBV’s Joe Monteleone. Here is a short video produced for social media where Joe signs in Auslan and shows his art (transcript below):

Hi my name is Joe. I’m a husband and I’m a father of two. I’m currently a student as a visual artist. I’m doing a diploma and I’m a fourth-year student. I particularly love print making and lino cuts.

I’m deaf and I have Usher syndrome type 1. That means I see a really tiny space in front of me, like a tunnel, and all around that tunnel is black. So during the day, I have tunnel vision and I can only see pinpricks when I’m getting around, but at nighttime I don’t have any vision at all.

From my experience I’ve developed a dream that people in the community can become more aware about people who are deafblind. Please don’t see us as people who are limited and who face many barriers. You know, I’ve been successful enough to complete the kokoda trail and the trek. And many people over the years have always told me that I can’t. I can’t complete things. I can’t do this, I can’t do that. But you know what? I’m really determined to overcome all those barriers that I face, and I really don’t like people saying “no, that’s not possible”. Deafblind people can achieve whatever they want.

Tech talk – Speech to text

Hi everyone! For those who may not know me, my name is Michelle Stevens. I am the Policy and Grants Officer for DBV. Each month I hope to write an article on adaptive technology and answer your questions. I have used adaptive technology for many years. On my computer I use JAWS screen reader for Windows and a Focus 40 braille display. I also use an iPhone with a Focus 14 braille display.

Speech to text (STT) software is a computer program that converts words that are spoken aloud to text. SST is also known as dictation, or speech recognition. STT lets someone speak into your phone and shows their words as text. You can read the text as large print or braille.

It is easy to set up. One of the things I really like is that you can braille or type your response back to the shop keeper, or ask questions just like a conversation. You can save the conversation for later, which is a great way to take notes.

It is not possible to always have a commguide or interpreter with you. I have used STT on my phone in some short appointments. It does not replace an interpreter but can get you out of tricky situations.

Email for more information: dbvmichelle@gmail.com

Video of Michelle signing in Auslan about Speech to Text phone app

Deafblind tips 1 – Bananas

DBV’s Heather Lawson has some useful suggestions for living as a Deafblind person. You can read her regular section in the DBV newsletter. Here is the first tip, in English and Auslan:

Hello, I would love to share one of many tips with you all to learn of my tricks. I have my commguides or friends assist me for food shopping. I usually buy seven bananas for a week. As I am deafblind, I cannot see the colours of green or yellow bananas. So how do I know the different colours? My supporters tell me the colours then I usually have a way to know the colour difference. The four yellow bananas I pull them off the bunch so they are individual bananas. Then I keep the three green bananas in a bunch for later use. I put all bananas in the fruit bowl.  Every morning I feel and pick one yellow banana and eat it. Yummy! When yellow ones are gone then I break the green ones off the bunch that turn yellow later in the week.  One thing I never found the “bananas in pyjamas” named B1 and B2. They probably hide from me, scared if I accidentally take them home! 

Heather Lawson’s Deafblind Tip #1 in Auslan