1. Many people don't fully appreciate that British Sign Language is a proper language in its own right. It has its own vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure, just like any other language. It is definitely not a signed form of spoken or written English. So never assume that an alternative way of communicating is by writing notes on a pad. Someone whose language is British Sign Language may not be able to understand written English.
2. In the early part of the 20th century, signing was banned in many deaf schools. There was a misguided belief that all deaf children and young people should learn to get by as best they could in the hearing world. That meant learning to lip-read and making the most of residual hearing. This denied young people the chance of full self-expression in their own language. Times have changed. Sign language is used regularly at conferences, theatre performances and inset on television programmes.
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