Case study 2: Barry

Scenario

Barry is Deaf and a BSL user. Sentence structure in early draft chapters is inconsistent and it is difficult for you to understand his arguments. His grasp of the subject terminology is poor. Working through his BSL/English interpreter, it is clear that his thinking, ideas and proposal are sound. He gained a first in his degree at another university.

Suggested actions

• Ask Barry about the type and range of support he received when he was studying for his first degree. What did he find particularly helpful - both from support and academic staff?
• Is that type of support available at your institution? Is he tapping into that source of help? Is it appropriate support?
• Find out from the Disability Service what can be provided. If there is language support, discuss whether it would be more appropriate for the language support staff to proof read all first drafts. That would leave supervisors free to concentrate on content and structure of the whole rather than wording and sentence structure
• Make sure that other supervisors know about the language support issues
• Provide a glossary of essential subject terminology and general research terms. Signpost him to BSL signed subject glossaries for engineering, science, art and design and general terms.