My Life: Nairi Gallant, 19, Droitwich

I am severely deaf, which means I can’t hear certain sounds, for instance what actors say in a movie. But I can hear the piano and loud music. I speak and sign when communicating with others, which works well when people are aware of my needs. However, lots of teenagers have misconceptions about communicating with deaf people.

If you can’t understand or follow conversations or videos, it makes you feel left out and even stupid. Deaf people are not stupid – we just need a little awareness to help us to be able to talk to others or access public places.

There were times I felt isolated and left out of conversations at school. I found group discussions very difficult to contribute to, because I couldn’t follow what others were saying. These experiences knocked my confidence and made me shy about speaking out in front of people.

I’m a member of the National Deaf Children’s Society’s (NDCS) Young People’s Advisory Board. Our job is to advise NDCS on issues important to deaf young people. Helping other people to better understand deafness was the most important issue for us – and this month NDCS has launched the Look, Smile, Chat campaign.

It aims to tell young people about the simple steps they can take to include deaf young people. NDCS has created posters, videos and lesson plans, all made with a huge amount of input from deaf young people.

Parents, teachers, youth workers and young people can download and share the free films, tips and resources at www.buzz.org.uk/looksmilechat.