A mum upset at her family facing huge fees to learn to communicate with her little boy is backing Rose Ayling-Ellis in the fight for free British Sign Language classes.
Katie Littlejohns, whose son Alvie, two, has moderate deafness, has been lobbying MPs for funded lessons after being inspired when she saw Rose signing on her way to winning Strictly.
Former EastEnders actress Rose, who has been deaf since birth, last week opened up about her bid – which we are supporting – to ensure that all families of deaf children have access to BSL.
And NHS worker Katie, 37, has backed her, saying: “Communication with your child shouldn’t have a price tag.
“Seeing Rose sign was what made us decide to learn BSL and then we were shocked at how much the courses cost. That was what prompted my campaign.” Because neither the NHS or the Department for Education provides help, families face forking out up to £6,500 for private courses.
Katie, also mum to Leo, four, was able to get funding through work to study BSL. But the family could not afford the £400 fees for husband Joe to take the Level 1 course.
So Katie started a petition for free BSL classes for parents of deaf children, which has been signed by 26,671. She also reached out to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Steve Barclay and MPs including George Eustice and Kit Malthouse.
Earlier this year, Rose, 28, visited Katie at her home in Cornwall for the BBC documentary Signs For Change – and the meeting proved emotional.
Katie said: “She was so interested in what it’s been like for Alvie and my experiences of trying to access the courses. I told her that seeing her win [Strictly] was huge, because I felt she represented my child. I remember watching her, crying, as I was thinking, finally, ‘My son is going to be OK’.”
Rose also put Katie in touch with her own mum, Donna. Katie said: “She understood the guilt a parent can feel towards their deaf child but also for the time that takes away from their hearing child. Talking to her was really lovely.”
She added: “The NHS will provide cochlear implants or hearing aids but there will be times when my son will not hear – if the room is crowded, if he’s in bed, in water – so are we just supposed to accept he won’t communicate then? I don’t accept that when there is a language we can use.
“The impact of being excluded on a child’s mental health can be massive – and I don’t want that for Alvie.”
The Government response to the petition was that BSL lessons are available via adult education budget funding. But Katie, who is backed by the British Deaf Association and the National Deaf Children’s Society, said many families do not qualify or find courses full.
She added: “It is mostly for adults aged 19 to 24 or those on Universal Credit. So it is totally misleading.
“Hopefully, this campaign can finally make the politicians listen.”
- Signs For Change airs on Monday, 9pm, BBC One. For more information and to email your MP, visit campaigns.ndcs.org.uk
