Two paisley men have made it their mission to teach others the art of British Sign Language (BSL) with their classes.
David O’Rorke and Graham Dow realised there were not many options for those wanting to reach out and learn sign language within the area.
The duo are running numerous classes throughout Renfrewshire and surrounding areas in the hope that more people will learn an essential skill.
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Graham Dow, 30 from Seedhill and a deaf BSL tutor, signed: “I was born deaf and I grew up in the Paisley area. My family has a genetic thing that makes us deaf. Things like going shopping and regular everyday things could be really difficult as not a lot of people knew sign growing up in the area.
“I realised that BSL courses were really expensive and difficult to access for them. They could not really afford the courses and some people want to learn it as a hobby - they don’t really want the qualifications, but there are loads of different reasons to start the classes.”
David O’Rorke’s background is theatre but decided that he wanted to learn BSL after teaching at school where half the pupils were deaf and the other half were not.
David, who grew up in Foxbar and is a communication support worker, said: “We were working with a specialised school and half of the children were deaf and the other half were hearing.
“At the time, I thought the teacher was an interrupter but they weren’t. So, I was asking the class to do things and one half of the class was doing one thing and the others were doing something completely different. The communication was just not there.
“I have always wanted to try BSL so I started my level one course and it just kind of went from there.”
The pair first started a lunchtime club at the Paisley Arts Centre to give it a try where people could bring their lunch and learn a little sign language as well.
The club went really well and they decided to start the classes to reach a wider audience.
The classes are meant to be a fun and friendly environment to encourage better learning as many find it difficult to learn if the lessons are too formal.
Graham added: “The classes were absolutely mobbed, 128 people showed up. The queue was out and up the road.”
David also added: “We had to break it up into different classes, there were just so many people that were interested. It was fantastic.”
The classes are for all levels and teach basic sign language such as where you live and your favourite colour and then move onto different topics each week.
The classes are starting back fairly soon and if you are looking to learn sign language, book here https://renfrewshireboxoffice.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows .
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