Deaf Awareness Week runs from 14-20 May 2018. Promoted by the UK Council on Deafness, this week long campaign provides a much needed opportunity to raise awareness that one in six people in the UK have some form of hearing loss; and to celebrate the year-round projects, activities and support that makes a difference to deaf people’s lives on a daily basis.

As the national charity that supports and encourages deaf and hard of hearing people take part in sport and physical activity, UK Deaf Sport is proud to support Deaf Awareness Week 2018.

Our vision is ‘Every deaf person active and inspired by sport’. Our mission is to create more accessible opportunities for deaf people to enjoy an active lifestyle and have fun taking part in sport.

Action on Hearing Loss reports that around 11 million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, and this number is expected to rise to 15.6 million by 2035.

According to Sport England’s Active Lives Survey (November 2015/16), people who are deaf or hard of hearing are most likely to be inactive. Almost three in five (57%) deaf or hard of hearing people do less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week, compared with two in five disabled people in general and one in five (21%) non-disabled people.

At UK Deaf Sport, our work to improve participation levels focuses on encouraging more deaf children, young people and adults to start, stay and support sport and physical activity. We are committed to ensuring our work connects the sport and physical activity sector together with members of the Deaf community to share expert knowledge and promote better practice in order to deliver change.

This week, to celebrate Deaf Awareness Week we’ll be sharing stories from deaf individuals about why they enjoy being active and updates from groups and organisations about the work they’re doing to improve their activities for deaf people. Plus, we’ll share some simple tips about how we can all make sporting activities more accessible and deaf-friendly.

Understanding the motivations and barriers towards sport and physical activity for deaf people is vital to our work. Please get in touch with us if you would like to share your experiences of being active, or if you would like more information and guidance on how to make your activities more inclusive for deaf people.

Email us at: participation@ukds.org.uk

Join us in celebrating Deaf Awareness Week on Twitter, follow us @DeafSport and use hashtag #DAW2018.