No one knew I was deaf until I was six years old

that platform,” says Raymond, who lives near Watford, Herts, with his wife Tabitha and their baby son.

“It made me feel that seeing a story signed like this was what I needed when I was a kid.

“I genuinely feel my life would have been different if I’d experienced something similar because I wouldn’t have spent years trying to hide my deafness from others.”

Only in his thirties has he become more open about his deafness.

“I still sometimes go into echoey schools which are hard to hear inside or have to ask someone to repeat something I don’t hear because they aren’t facing me,” he says.

“People often forget I’m deaf. I now don’t feel the same shame as before, but I still wish society was more deaf aware.”

May 1-7 is Deaf Awareness Week

First gain the attention of an employee with hearing issues before you start speaking to them. Even if they wear a hearing aid, ask if they need to lip-read you. Turn towards the person you are speaking lip to so they can see your movements, ideally with good lighting and limited background noise. Speak more slowly, but not so slow it distorts your natural lip movement in shaping words. make the Don’t ramble on, but instead hand point clearly using additional if it will help gestures or facial expressions convey the message better. turn away or Don’t cover your mouth, leave the room when speaking.

Be patient and do not shout as this can also make lip reading harder as the mouth is in a different position.

Stop and check to see if what you are saying is being understood.

Try rephrasing what you are saying if it is not understood. Lip-reading can be tiring, so take some breaks if there is a lot of information you need to pass on this way.

When a colleague loss, is open about their hearing do to ask them what you can support them. feel Encourage them not to you, as awkward about reminding slip up. it’s common to sometimes