New charity AdaptNI to boost inclusiveness in the workplace

Newtownabbey woman Alex Leslie (52) and Laura Murphy-Sloan (36), from Belfast, knew that with the RNID withdrawal from Supported Employment Solutions (SES) Consortium they needed to provide employment support for deaf people, people with hearing loss and tinnitus and AdaptNI was born.

“When we knew of the changes which were quickly approaching the communities we were supporting in Northern Ireland, we knew we had to do something,” said Laura.

“We felt we were the underdogs and at first we weren’t sure we would be able to make it work, but our commitment to the people we support pushed us forward.”

The RNID decision to no longer provide employment support from July 1 this year AdaptNI became an important feature within the SES Consortium, which included seven disability organisations, partnered with Workable NI with funding from the Department for Communities.

Laura’s experience managing the Workable NI programme and Alex’s more than two decades with the RNID’s employment programme gave the two women the combined knowledge to understand what needed to be put in place.

“Having both worked for such a long time within this service, we knew the effect this would have on the deaf and hearing loss communities we worked with,” explained Laura.

“We had seen the difference in individuals as their confidence and skills levels grew with our support, in turn so did their self-worth and self-confidence and they no longer felt isolated. How could we just walk away knowing the need was still going to be there?”

From Christmas 2021 the pair’s effort became more of a reality.

"We already possessed the skills, knowledge and experience to support people in relation to equality and employment and while we could have gone to another disability organisation or similar, we strongly felt that we should endeavour to try and do something for our' friends' within the deaf & Hard of hearing communities,” Alex said.

“We went from chatting amongst ourselves about 'how can this be happening?'.... to 'we should do something about it'.... to 'could we do something about it?... and then suddenly we were setting up our own Not for Profit Community Interest Company at the same time as winding up our projects with RNID.”

The new company, AdaptNI, received support from the Antrim and Newtownabbey council firstly via the Go For It programme for their business plan, and then via the OPTIMAL programme for their website.

AdaptNI was then able to pick up where the RNID left off, replacing them as a member of the SES Consortium and ensuring support continued after July 1. The continued service has been invaluable for both clients and employers.

Its continued aim is to support more people throughout Northern Ireland, bring about further change in the workplace to ensure the communities they support are not limited in what they are able to achieve.

This involves giving clients the skills and confidence to request reasonable adjustments and to make them more aware of what their rights are. Likewise, AdaptNI also aims to increase the awareness of employers and see the implementation of measures such as basic sign language and communication support.

The Workable NI scheme is one of the current methods of support offered by AdaptNI. It provides one-to-one help to employees from a job coach, extra training for employers and disability awareness training for colleagues.

“People on Workable suddenly feel like they aren't on their own anymore and that through AdaptNI they could talk to and receive support from people who understood exactly what they were going through and what could be put in place to assist them in their day-to-day work,” explained Alex.

The imperative to create AdaptNI also became apparent as the RNID programme was winding up.

“Covid shone a light on hearing loss,” said Laura.

“Masks created a barrier for so many people as the opportunity to lipread was removed for those with diagnosed hearing loss but also for people who never realised they relied on reading people's lips.

“It is important to keep the momentum and not lose sight of all the knowledge and awareness achieved so far.

“People are retiring early, experiencing mental health problems with isolation, detrimental effects on their confidence and as a result for some, career progression not happening.

“Generational experience has shown that those with disabilities, hearing loss/deafness included, have placed highly competent, hardworking and academic people into roles below their abilities – we want to work to change this. Someone finishing school with hearing loss should be on par with their hearing peer to ensure an effective transition into either further education or employment.”

To date AdaptNI have identified six key misconceptions and truths surrounding deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus to help employers make their workplace more inclusive.

These are that being deaf does not mean someone is not intelligent or successful, they can use technology to communicate, including using a telephone, and that sign language is the same, with British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) both being used in Northern Ireland.

Others include how people should understand that sign language is in English and lip reading and writing things down are alternatives. Speaking slowly and clearly at regular volume and writing in plain English can still help. Also, hearing aids fix hearing loss as they don’t give perfect hearing but will improve what a person is able to hear.

And, that there is currently no cure for tinnitus but it can be managed through strategies like counselling and sound techniques.

At present AdaptNI are only providing support for people already in employment but are looking to secure further funding to be able to provide support to those who are unemployed.

And, both Laura and Alex agree that will be a key part of moving forward.

“This is a hidden disability, the only things a person cannot do is hear, yet still in 2022, someone with hearing loss is less likely to get a job over their hearing peers, or feel confident to approach their manager for reasonable adjustments,” Alex said.

Further information can be found on the AdaptNI website at adaptni.org.uk