Creative sign language brings stories to life
The importance of artistic creativity when using sign language brings stories to life for people suffering from hearing loss, according to an award-winning poet.
Performer, Zoe McWhinney, uses British Sign Language (BSL) and Visual Vernacular (VV) in storytelling workshops to show how adaptable and inclusive the specialist form of communication is.
Zoe, 27, from London, who has worked as an actor as well as alongside theatres, first became interested in poetry as a little girl, when reading bedtime stories and French comics, with her deaf family.
She said: “I liked playing with imagination with my brothers and deaf friends growing up.”
Last year, Zoe was awarded second place in the BSL Poet Laureate competition hosted by the British Deaf Association, for her poem about the history of BSL. It was the first-ever national competition celebrating BSL and VV poetry in the UK, which has returned this year after a successful run.
Zoe’s entry poem is a mixture of BSL and Visual Vernacular, or VV, which is a form of creative performance used predominantly by deaf artists which utilises BSL, mime, and physical theatre.
She said: “It’s much more cinematic and visceral, than written poetry.”
The history of sign language goes back to Dorothy (Dot) Miles, who is widely believed to be the pioneer of BSL poetry, and inspired many who followed in her footsteps.
Zoe, alongside, Pazbi Zavatzki, is a co-founder of BSL Slam, a grassroots slam poetry group which hosted the UK's first competition in 2017.
She said: "We wanted a poetry slam event to happen somehow, and formed a volunteer team from our close friends and family.”
Although there are no plans to hold another slam poetry event under the same name, Zoe is currently co-hosting Dancing Elephants, a series of performance events in Rotherhithe named after one of Dot Miles’s poems.
She said: “[The events] have similar premises of having open stage for a mixture of new and established literary and performing talents, be it stand-up comedy, or indeed poetry.”
Zoe regularly posts about her work and other creative involvements on Instagram, and her videos can also be found under the #BardOfBSL hashtag.
Mum-of-four shares spiking experience in Leeds
A victim of drink spiking has spoken up about her ‘terrifying’ experience after being spiked and falling down the stairs at a Leeds venue.
Sarah Horsley, 36, a behaviour support worker, went out for a meal with friends before continuing her night at a well-known bar in Leeds.
Describing her experience, Sarah said: “I felt different than I had ever felt before. I lost the feeling in my legs and fell down two flights of stairs.”
“I went from thinking ‘I do not feel well’ to being incapable of most things in the span of half an hour. I showed random, erratic behaviour that was almost psychotic.”
“My friends had seen me drunk before and this was nothing like it. We had only gone for a meal and then moved on to the bar and it was relatively early, around 9pm.”
Fortunately, the 36-year-old mum was with a trusted friend who made sure she was safe.
“You kind of think ‘not me’. We were just having a catch-up, it’s not like we were a group of kids. It took us by surprise. I guess what I took away from it is there is not a specific group or character - it can happen to anybody.”
It was about 9pm when the incident happened and, despite the venue being busy, Sarah said not many people helped her.
The mum-of-four said: “The bouncers were actually horrendous. We asked if we could have water but they said I was ridiculously drunk and had to be moved from the bar. They were pretty useless. I did not feel remotely safe.”
“I feel eternally grateful that I was with a very good friend and I was able to get out of that environment. I can’t even begin to imagine what the intention was if there was any.”
The incident has had an effect on Sarah's choice of a night out, a year since it happened.
She continued: “I haven’t been out with my friends since and I can’t envision I will. Not in that kind of dancing environment - I now always make sure I am seated at a table. It’s just not worth it.”
Barnsley count is underway
By Richard McLaughlin and David Hall
We will be reporting throughout the day, live from the Barnsley Metrodome where the count is underway.
After a quiet start this morning, the ballot papers are piling up. Labour are feeling confident after the party took Blackpool South from the Conservatives in the third largest swing to Labour vote in by-election history.
The Liberal Democrats and Reform UK are also feeling confident after the Tories have lost almost 100 local council seats this morning.
Councillors and hopeful candidates are beginning to make their way into the building and we are expecting the first results to come through some time after 1pm.
Tory Turmoil
Rishi Sunak must be sweating in Number 10, as the Conservative Party have already faced losses to Labour.
Labour has gained Avon & Somerset and Cumbria, which used to be held by the Conservative Party.
The Conservative Party manages to keep hold of Lincolnshire.
Will today's results give us some insight into the possible outcome of the General Election?
MP Paul Blomfield urges against ‘self-destructive’ review of graduate visas
Moves to reduce immigration, from the Home Office, will lead to fewer international students in Britain and will have a huge financial impact on UK cities and universities, says a Labour MP.
Sheffield Central MP, Paul Blomfield, has made a call against the government’s proposed review of the Graduate Visa Route, which will be published by 14 May, describing it as “lashing out on students”.
Changes to visa laws are expected to include a rise in salary expectations for international students looking to be sponsored for a Skilled Work Visa from £26,200 to £38,700.
Visa changes are expected to result in a fall in international student applications to UK universities after Universities UK (UUK) warned of a 33 per cent fall in the number of study visas being issued in the last year.
Mr Blomfield warned that a continued fall in international student applications would “come with consequences".
Research conducted last year by UUK, the Higher Education Policy Institute, Kaplan International Pathways and London Economics found that international students had contributed £41.9 billion to the UK economy overall.
Mr Blomfield therefore described the government’s rapid review agenda as, “lashing out in all directions, no matter what the cost".
Mr Blomfield said the review and the fall in numbers of international students would have a huge impact on his constituency, as Sheffield Central has the largest number of students in the country.
He emphasised the possible consequences for Sheffield's wider economy, with reports showing that the city's 2021/22 cohort of international students have created a £273 million net impact for the city.
According to Mr Blomfield, a further 10,000 jobs within Sheffield may also be dependent upon international students, and the loss of these would cause a "significant impact on the city".
The impact, he anticipates, will particularly stretch to universities themselves, both in Sheffield and other UK cities, due to their reliance upon international student fees.
Although Mr Blomfield thinks both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam could withstand a significant drop in international student numbers, he said both would be damaged by such an outcome.
Alongside the financial implication of the review, Mr Blomfield also emphasised the “cultural enrichment” that international students bring to Sheffield.
He said: “There are huge benefits for UK students at both of our universities to be studying alongside students from different countries.
After advocating for students and being voted the Guardian Inspiring Education Leader in 2015, Mr Blomfield is continuing to support the needs of students within Sheffield as he has done in previous years.
Following this, he emphasised a message of welcome to all international students considering studying in Sheffield but said "we need policies to match."
From this he indicated that a Labour government would also follow these sentiments and would continue to work to eradicate negative narratives that surround the image of international students.
While Mr Blomfield is standing down at the General Election, after 14 years as MP, he said: "We would reframe the public discourse around these issues and we would, as we always have, recognise the value of international students."
When can we expect results?
There are no guarantees as to when we can expect overall results but the count is in full swing in both Sheffield and Rotherham. Press Association have estimated that overall results will come through at 1.30pm in Sheffield and 3pm in Barnsley, but many outlets - including the BBC - are still estimating that first results will start arriving from 11.30am this morning. Stay tuned.
And in Sheffield…
We have Ollie Potts and Peter Spriggs bringing you the latest results as they break.
Tackling drink spiking ‘almost impossible’ according to experts
New data has revealed only a fractional amount of spiking reports in the UK lead to a conviction, as experts warn tackling the wave of drink spiking is “almost impossible”.
Between May 2022 and April 2023 police received 6,732 reports of needle and drink spiking, but only 61 people were convicted for spiking related offences last year.
Professor Nicole Westmarland, Director of the Durham Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse, says a single law will only be effective if other issues such as testing are addressed.
Professor Nicole Westmarland has advised police and the government on spiking. Credit: Durham University
She said: “I think at the moment it would only make a small difference. We already have laws against poisoning people which is what spiking is.
“Until we know the motivations behind spiking we really are operating in the dark in terms of how we identify suspects, how we build evidence against them and what we do for crime prevention. It’s one part of the jigsaw, but if it’s introduced without improvements in drug testing it’s not going to get us very far.”
A study carried out by the American Psychological Association found the most common reason for spiking someone’s drink was ‘for a laugh’, but no such study has been done in the UK, and without knowing why people carry out spiking, effective action is impossible to implement.
She said: “It is the million dollar question and we don’t know the answer to that. Just identifying those perpetrators is incredibly difficult and therefore studying the motivations is incredibly difficult.
“Is it a small number of perpetrators that are going around spiking lots of people, or are lots of people spiking? There’s very basic questions we don’t have answers to, which means designing effective intervention is almost impossible because we’re doing it without any knowledge of the motivations.”
Another issue facing police is a lack of evidence, as tests for spiking carried out in hospitals are not admissible as evidence in court, and by the time people do get tested any drugs may have left their system.
Professor Westmarland said: “There’s a period of time that passes before somebody thinks maybe they were spiked and they need to go to the police, so there’s a big gap in evidence, and a big gap in the victim’s knowing what has been put in their body. The drug testing we have is very limited in what it’s able to pick up.
“But even tests that are sent away for forensics can only show what drugs someone hasn’t been spiked with. It still doesn't mean someone hasn’t been spiked with over-the-counter drugs, additional alcohol and a whole range of other things.”
Alcohol is the most common substance used to spike someone’s drink, but it is not an offence to add additional alcohol to a drink already containing alcohol without consent.
Dawn Dines, CEO of Stamp Out Spiking, a charity which offers training to bar staff and police to deal with spiking, has called on the government to make spiking a single offence to improve the low conviction rate.
She has been campaigning to raise awareness about spiking since 2004 and appeared as an expert witness at parliament during a public inquiry into spiking in 2022.
Dawn Dines founded Stamp Out Spiking in 2019. Credit: Stamp Out Spiking
She said: “I realised that after speaking to people from all over the UK there’s a problem with the system. I campaigned to get the antiquated act updated to make sure that spiking was put into the wording. It really does need a specific offence code.
“I understand there’s a lot of issues going on but at the end of the day we still have men and women getting raped and robbed and humiliated and being put in a dreadful position and that’s still happening every week.”
Other campaign groups such as The Egalitarian, which offers a space for victims to share their experiences anonymously, and Spike Aware who support victims who feel uncomfortable going to the police, have also called for a single law to cover spiking.
As well as issues with testing, a lack of coordination between health services and the police, proper training for bar staff, and 97% of cases going unreported, all make addressing spiking extremely difficult.
Last year the Home Secretary James Cleverly announced more funding would be given to train bar staff and police and improve testing, but no change in the law was on the table. Cleverly was heavily criticised after joking about spiking his own wife at a reception, but Ms Dines wants to keep the focus purely on the law.
She said: “I am sure if he (Cleverly) knew what rohypnol does to a person he wouldn’t be joking about it, it just reiterates the need for urgent education across the whole forum.
“I had to make a decision to not make a big thing over it to make sure I was staying focussed on the mission at hand and to stop men and women getting robbed and being abused.”
Keir Starmer pledged to make spiking a single offence should Labour win the next general election, yet without additional measures spiking is likely to remain under-reported and easy to get away with.
A cycle of failure has led to spiking becoming a normalised crime, and until the cycle is broken and effective measures are implemented, it will continue to happen and perpetrators will continue to evade justice.
Our Barnsley reporters are gearing up for a busy day
Sheffield Wire reporters Jack Hunter, Richard McLaughlin and David Hall are on the ground in Barnsley, where the count is set to get underway shortly.
“My brother was diagnosed with autism at 15 but I had to wait until I was 33”
A woman has spoken out in frustration after her family were left to fall between the cracks as she waited 18 years longer than her brother to be diagnosed with autism.
Rachel Vernon's son, who is also autistic, has now been out of school for 10 months, while he waits for suitable educational provision.
She says: "The system is in crisis. There are thousands of kids without school, many like Josh that don't fit the stereotype.
"He feels so dejected because it seems no school wants him, now he's worrying about everything and gets upset. His mental health is shocking."
The long battle for Rachel's condition to be recognised left her struggling with severe bouts of anxiety, leaving her unable to carry out the simplest of tasks.
The mum-of-one only received her diagnosis when she was 33, despite showing traits as a toddler. Her brother, Wes, was officially told he had Asperger Syndrome, now recognised as autism, when he was 15.
It was only after Rachel had her son, Josh, now 12, that she sought private healthcare and finally received her diagnosis.
"After I was diagnosed, it was like the cogs suddenly fit," says Rachel. "It helped me understand how I felt and allowed me to be kinder to myself.”
But the delay in recognising Rachel's condition has caused her decades of mental health concerns. She was initially diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder at 17, a common misdiagnosis among autistic women. “I didn’t know who I was," she says. "I always tried to fit in, and I didn’t like showing I was different to anybody else.
“On the surface of things, I was functioning. I had a job, I wasn’t problematic, it was just my internal anxiety. It’s absolutely exhausting. Not physically, but it’s a mental exhaustion. I come home and just want to lie down in a dark room because it’s been too much for me having to present myself in a different way for different people.
“People with autism are social chameleons so you change your approach and who you are depending on who you’re dealing with. It’s very taxing."
Rachel's brother, Wes, 37, was diagnosed after years of bullying, isolation and being misunderstood by teachers and peers alike. He said: “Professionals didn’t even entertain it initially. I got a lot of excuses like he’s just excitable or it’s because he’s got a boring home life. Other kids humiliated me in front of the class. They would get a guitar out and start singing about how thick I was.”
When their mother, Val Vernon, expressed concern about her son's health, she was labelled 'a hysterical mother' by teachers who blamed his ‘bad behaviour’ on the fact she worked too much.
Unlike Wes, whose autism was very visible, Rachel tried her hardest to hide her traits, a tactic known as masking, which is common in autistic girls.
Cathy Wassel, CEO of Autistic Girls Network said: “Masking is essentially a survival technique. A girl who is masking is probably working really hard to figure out what is going on around them. It’s not always a conscious thing but there is a stigma attached to being autistic. It’s a way of your brain protecting you.”
Signs of masking include mirroring others’ facial expressions, making eye contact which often feels difficult to an autistic person, and adjusting opinions and personality traits.
Most characteristics of autism are modelled from male behaviour, which makes it more challenging to identify in women. 80 per cent of autistic girls remain unrecognised by the age of 18, according to the National Autistic Society.
Val along with Wesley Vernon, their father, explained their children’s autistic traits were completely different, which made it harder to identify in Rachel, despite her being 18 months older than her brother. He said: “We missed Rachel completely. We never even thought about it. There was no information about girls, it was all about boys.
“We were so hung up on the male characteristics because boys are so different. They’re more out there and we just assumed that’s what autism looked like, and it made it so hard to see in Rachel.”
Rachel doesn't blame her parents. "They just had to focus on keeping my brother alive," she said.
According to the National Autistic Society, the ratio of boys to girls diagnosed with autism is still 3:1.
As Wes’ experience in school started to deteriorate, including a suicide attempt outside his primary school, Val and Wesley tried to protect Rachel, who was still very young, from distressing situations involving her brother.
“We tried to protect Rachel from the more distressing things happening with Wes, we just didn’t want to upset her” said Wesley.
Wes and Rachel moved to a secondary school in Congleton, Cheshire, where a drama teacher worked with Val suggested they undergo an autism assessment for Wes. The school had smaller classes and provided more support for Wes, but Rachel, who was still masking, deteriorated in her teens.
At 18, she was admitted to hospital after a serious self-harming incident, which alerted her parents that something was brewing underneath the surface of her fiercely independent exterior.
Wesley said: “As a parent you feel guilt about not spotting it, but when you reflect, she was so good at masking, we didn’t have a chance in hell."
It was only as the family became more knowledgeable on the subject, that Val realised she too was autistic herself, and was diagnosed in her 50s.
The family agree more support is needed for adults and help must be put in place to stop autistic girls slipping through the cracks. “The infrastructure of health services needs to change," said Rachel. There is still no support for people once they hit adulthood, which for women who have gone without a diagnosis in childhood, makes it so much more difficult.”
The family are now pooling together to support Josh, who was diagnosed with autism when he was six, as he struggles to make the transition from primary to secondary school.
Val who has been heavily involved in the education system is "absolutely astounded that in 30 years nothing has changed, if anything it's getting worse."
Rachel says: "I know what happens when a school system fails a child because I've seen my brother go through it."
Her father, Wesley, added: "We wouldn't swap [our children] for anything. What we would change is the world around them, to help them understand."
For advice and support visit Samaritans and The National Autistic Society.