A West Lothian man says he is “thrilled” to have received a medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for his outstanding work in helping people with hearing loss.
Donald Richards was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to People with Hearing Impairments.
The 71 year old is a board member on Alliance, the deaf equality and accessibility forum and convenor of the deafscotland charity and currently working as a part-time British Sign Language BSL lecturer at West Lothian College.
Donald, who stays in Livingston, was born deaf to hearing parents and growing up attended a school for deaf and hearing impaired students which focused on oral learning.
He said: “I am surprised and thrilled to receive the BEM and am thankful and grateful to my family and many others who have supported me throughout my British Sign Language (BSL) teaching career.”
Donald was first introduced to British Sign Language (BSL) when he started playing football for a club for deaf
players in London. This gave him the freedom to embrace life without barriers.
He was inspired to develop his skills in BSL to share his knowledge with deaf and hearing people and was asked to teach BSL at evening classes, something not available at that time.
He had no teaching materials or qualifications but devised his own lesson and from there the demand for classes grew, which saw him travel to remote areas of Scotland to help people learn BSL.
Donald was a key contributor to the development of BSL interpreting services and deaf awareness in the Highlands.
He taught sign language for almost three decades while working full-time as a draughtsman and raising his family.
As BSL became more widely understood, he taught voluntarily at many groups, such as Scouts, equipping young people with a skill they could use in their everyday lives.
He went on to study and qualify for a certificate as a sign language tutor, the first of its kind at the time. Continuing with his studies, he achieved the advanced Diploma in Sign Language Studies, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education.
This paved the way for a new career in teaching as Head of Deaf Studies at the prestigious Donaldson’s College for the Deaf in Edinburgh.
When Donaldson’s relocated to a more modern facility, he collected and archived data, papers and memorabilia relating to the history and culture of the deaf.
He continues to teach sign language at universities and in workplaces, assessing and marking exams.
Donald, who is married with two grown-up children, added: “I hope to continue to raise awareness of BSL and the provision of mainstream services to people with hearing loss.”
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