Lipspeaker UK

27/08/2026

Over the next couple of weeks, students across the UK will be heading back to university for the start of a new academic year.

For deaf students, that also means making sure communication access is in place from the very beginning.

DSA can be incredibly important for deaf students. But it isn’t a magic wand.

In this reel, Seb, a deaf university student, talks about the role Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) can play in communication access at university, and why responsibility for access doesn’t stop there.

DSA may fund communication professionals, but universities still need to make sure their own systems and processes enable them to do their job effectively.

That can mean making teaching materials available in advance so they can be shared with communication professionals for preparation, rather than expecting access to simply happen once someone has been booked.

Effective communication access needs both.

DSA can provide important resources. Universities still have a responsibility to make sure their teaching and processes are accessible.

Video Description: Seb, a young man with short brown hair wearing a denim shirt, sits in a library in front of a bookcase. He speaks to camera about DSA and universities’ responsibilities for communication access for deaf students.

26/08/2026

A gentle reminder that our office will be closed from 5pm on Thursday 27th August, reopening at 9am on Tuesday 1st September.

If you have any bookings you need to make or arrange with us, please get in touch before we close on Thursday so our team can help.

We’ll be back as usual from Tuesday morning.

25/08/2026

Lipreading Awareness Week is coming! 👄

7–11 September 2027

Lipreading is an important part of communication for many deaf and hard of hearing people, but it is often misunderstood.

Lipreading Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness of lipreading, the people who rely on it, and the things we can all do to make communication easier.

Help spread the word by sharing this post and putting the date in your diary.

24/08/2026

Why might someone choose a Lipspeaker?

For someone who lipreads, communication access can be about much more than knowing the words that were spoken.

A Lipspeaker can provide access to emotion, tone and intent. They can retain emphasis, rhythm and changes in delivery, as well as helping someone follow incidental comments, reactions and what is happening around them.

Crucially, lipspeaking also allows someone to access spoken language through lipreading, rather than converting that communication into written text.

That distinction matters.

Different deaf people access communication in different ways. For some, lipspeaking provides access to more of the whole communication experience.

Find out more about lipspeaking and what a Lipspeaker does on our website.

Video Description: Black and white image of a person with a deeply concentrated expression. The title reads, “Why might someone choose a Lipspeaker?” Text pop-ups highlight different reasons, including access to emotion, tone, incidental information and the wider communication experience.

20/08/2026

A deaf woman went to her GP surgery for a flu vaccination. She left having been given a Covid vaccine she had not consented to.

Samantha’s first language is BSL. No BSL interpreter was provided. Despite showing staff a note on her phone saying “flu jab only”, the wrong vaccine was administered.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found that the practice had failed to identify and act on her communication needs.

It is a shocking story, and one that deserves to be heard in its own right.

It also demonstrates just how serious the consequences of inaccessible healthcare communication can be.

For Samantha, the communication access she needed was BSL. For another deaf person, it could be a lipspeaker, speech-to-text, accessible written information or another form of communication.

Not all deaf people use BSL. There is no single adjustment that makes healthcare accessible to every deaf person.

That is why the Accessible Information Standard matters.

Healthcare services should identify, record, flag, share and meet an individual’s communication needs. When that does not happen, the consequences are not simply inconvenience or a poor patient experience.

People can be left without the information they need to understand their healthcare and make informed decisions about it.

Samantha’s experience shows just how serious that can become.

Full BBC News article below.

An ombudsman report says disabled people are being let down by a lack of accessible communication methods.

19/08/2026

We’re delighted to be supporting Deaf Women’s Day 2027, hosted by Deaf-initely Women!

Taking place on Saturday 6 March 2027 at Derby Conference Centre, the event will bring deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing women together for a day of connection, information and celebration.

We’re really looking forward to being part of it and joining Deaf-initely Women and everyone attending on the day.

Tickets will be released later this year, so keep your eyes peeled for more information. We’ll be sharing details as soon as they’re available!

18/08/2026

A little advance notice for our clients and colleagues.

Our office will be closed on Friday 28 August, reopening on Tuesday 1 September.

If you need to make a booking or arrange communication support around this time, please contact us in advance so we can make sure everything is in place before the office closes.

And the reason for the closure is a very happy one! 💍

We’ll be celebrating the wedding of our General Manager, Jay, and Fede.

We’re very much looking forward to celebrating with them and wish them both a wonderful wedding day. ❤️

Alt text: Jay and Fede pose playfully on a cobbled square in front of a large ornate cathedral with domed green roofs. Jay wears a dark navy suit, white shirt, green tie and sunglasses, and points towards Fede. Fede wears a long sage green wrap-style dress and poses with one arm raised. The sky behind them is bright blue.

17/08/2026

Why does the Deaf Flag matter?

The Deaf Flag is more than a symbol. It represents identity, community, sign languages and a shared sense of belonging across deaf communities around the world.

Designed by French deafblind artist Arnaud Balard, the flag was officially approved by the World Federation of the Deaf in 2023.

Its design is full of meaning. The open hands represent the deaf community and sign languages, while the fingers reach beyond the borders of the flag to represent connection across the world.

The colours have meaning too. Turquoise represents the deaf community, sign language, pride and unity. Yellow represents light and life, while dark blue represents humanity and the Earth.

Perhaps most importantly, the flag creates something visible: a symbol created from within the deaf community that celebrates deaf identity as part of human diversity.

14/08/2026

How much energy should someone have to spend just to get access?

Self-advocacy can be empowering. Being able to communicate your own needs, preferences and rights matters.

But repeatedly having to explain what you need, request adjustments, check arrangements, correct assumptions and find another way when access isn't there can become exhausting.

This is access fatigue.

For deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people, it can include repeatedly explaining communication preferences, asking for captions or speech to text, checking that communication access has been arranged, or explaining the role that lipreading plays in communication.

Access fatigue can also sit alongside listening fatigue, meaning someone may have already used considerable energy arranging access before the conversation has even begun.

Our latest article looks at the hidden work behind access and asks an important question:

How much self-advocacy should good access actually require?

Read the full article.

What is access fatigue? Explore the hidden impact of repeatedly self-advocating for disability access and communication needs.

13/08/2026

We came across this article from The Limping Chicken that raised a really interesting question about recruitment and a question we get asked a lot too.

Should deaf people mention that they’re deaf on a job application, or should the application simply focus on their skills and experience?

For some deaf people, being open from the beginning is important. For others, there can be a very real concern about what assumptions might be made before they’ve even had the opportunity to get through the door.

In this piece, Rebecca A Withey shares her own experiences alongside the very different views of other deaf people. There isn’t one right answer, and that’s exactly what makes it worth reading.

Read the full article from The Limping Chicken, written by Rebecca A Withey.

When I was in my late teens, I applied for a job with the National Trust. I’d passed the online tests and felt quietly optimistic. A few days later, however, I received an email saying they h…