SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION
OF SIGN LANGUAGE
INTERPRETERSCreating Linguistic Access for Deaf and
Deafblind People:A STRATEGY FOR
SCOTLANDTraining Strategy Group Report
Creating Linguistic Access 2002 iPrepared by the Training Strategy Group under the auspices of the Scottish
Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Membership of the Group
Dr. Mary Brennan, Reader, Faculty of Education,University of Edinburgh (Chair)
Liz Scott Gibson, Convenor, Scottish Council on Deafness
Andy Irvine, Scottish Development Officer, Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People
Doreen Mair, Director, Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters
Acknowledgements
The Training Strategy Group would like to thank all those organisations and individuals who have contributed to the content of this Report, commented on draft versions and helped with its production. SASLI acknowledges support from the Social Work Services of the Scottish Executive in the production of this Report.
SASLI wishes to thank Standard Life for printing the report.Preamble
Current international and national legislation and guidelines require Scottish national and local government to ensure that deaf people have full access to equal opportunities. Such instruments as the Human Rights Act 1998 which incorporates the European Convention of Human Right, the Children (Scotland) Act, 1995, the Disability Discrimination Act, The Special Educational Needs Disability and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, enshrine the rights of deaf and deafblind children and adults to equal opportunities. However, the personnel, resources and mechanisms to ensure equality and inclusion are not currently in place within Scotland. This Report provides an indication of how lack of linguistic access is resulting in inequality and social exclusion for many deaf and deafblind people across many areas of Scottish life. The proposals described and elaborated within this Report will enable the concept of equality to be transformed into a practical reality for thousands of deaf and deafblind people in Scotland.Contents
Section One: Executive Summary
1 4
5 16
17 - 50
51 - 74
75 - 84
85 88
Last updated 06.Mar.03
Scottish Sensory Centre
Moray House Institute of Education University of Edinburgh Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AQ