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 …….
Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/renfrewshire/paisley-men-mission-teach-others-27612318