About Us

Ayesha Communications was created in 2010 in response to many enquiries about private tuition in British Sign Language and Deaf Awareness for individuals and small groups and we are a registered and approved centre with Signature, the awarding body in Sign Language qualifications.

As many as 1 in 6 of the UK population are affected by some degree of hearing loss (RNID 2005), and many of these people face difficulties in their day to day lives due to communication breakdowns which inevitably happen, and which many people do not understand how to repair.

My name is Ayesha Gavin, and I am a profoundly deaf native user of British Sign Language. I am also able to use English fluently and to a high level. I hold a BA (Hons) degree in Experience of Writing and Film & Television Studies (1998), a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (2004) and a level 6 NVQ in BSL. I have 10 years experience in delivering courses in deaf issues and BSL.

As someone who has been deaf since birth and has worked with a wide range of people from all backgrounds, I can use my insight and experience to offer you a greater understanding of all aspects of deafness, from communication and the technology used, to the social impact of a hearing difficulty and, futhermore, how to minimise this for the people you meet.

I now offer courses in deaf awareness and British Sign Language levels 1 and 2, as well as tailored packages in both deaf awareness and BSL for out of school clubs, home education networks, colleges and corporate clients.

From 2008 I have also worked as a teacher of D/deaf at Huddersfield University, specialising in BSL/academic English translation to degree level, in a range of disciplines from philosophy, sport sciences, architecture and human computer interaction.

2015 saw the start of our school sign language workshops which is a rapidly expanding part of our services. We deliver a run of 4 one hour workshops in BSL basics for KS1 or KS2 children as well as offering the opportunity to work towards the BSL 101 certificate, which is the first part of the Level 1 certificate in BSL.

Our deaf awareness seminars launched in 2015, and we are delighted to work with organisations to enable them to fulfil their obligations under the Equality Act.

I work with individuals and small groups to achieve realistic and effective aims, and look forward to working with you in the near future!

Testimonials

“The course has made me much more aware of deafness in the community and the issues deaf people face daily. It has given me the confidence to assist when needed.”

Customer services staff - Manchester Airport

“You have inspired me... I was not studying but living this course. It was a story of the world without sound and you have introduced me to that world. Thank you”

Security support staff - Manchester Airport

"Ayesha has worked for me on two projects. She has done a weekly session of sign through nursery rhymes for the toddler group I ran and this was so successful that when I later ran a group for older children she came to give a sign language lesson there on a monthly basis. Ayesha is very friendly and patient, always calm and smiley, putting people at ease and being encouraging. The children (both the toddlers and the older children) soon felt confident in their abilities and learned quickly through Ayesha's fun lessons. I would and have recommended her to other professionals and friends alike."

M Bridge - Rossendale Mums Connection and local Home Education network

"I have enjoyed learning BSL stage one with Ayesha's support. Ayesha is so patient, encouraging and is very perceptive of individual learning needs. I am pleased to say that I passed the level one exam first time and I am moving up to level two now. I am really looking forward to the new challenge and to learning from Ayesha's extensive knowledge of sign language. Working on a one to one basis is perfect for me and I feel that I have progressed more quickly than I would have done so in a class room situation - so thank you Ayesha :0)"

N L Pollard

"I found out about Ayesha Communications through a leaflet at a local cafe. Although the course she was running had already started, Ayesha was more than happy to come to see me and my daughter Amy to discuss one to one tuition to BSL Level 1. Ayesha was very thorough and professional and made the learning fun for my autistic daughter who passed the course easily and is now considering taking BSL Level 2. I would be more than happy to recommend Ayesha to anyone considering tuition for British Sign Language."

J Rooney

"Ayesha was very flexible and gave tuition in the comfort of my own home. At first I was embarrassed about signing in front of someone, but Ayesha was so friendly that I soon became comfortable, even if I got it wrong. Assessments were low pressure and felt more like a practice"

S Whittle

"I worked alongside Ayesha in the past - all I can say about her as herself, as a tutor, as a co-worker - Inspirational!!"

K Brierley - teacher for the deaf/deaf role model, Lancashire County Council

"200/10 – magical, fantastic sign language!"

School sign language workshop attendee, aged 8

"I can't remember having so much fun learning a new language! The first signs we learned were to do with names, "thank you" and "toilet"! Ayesha is a true edutainer. I can't recommend her highly enough! "

N. Nicholson

"Fantastic teacher. Ayesha goes over and above to teach students about deaf awareness and deaf culture, and makes lessons great fun!"

C. McCann

"Ayesha is a brilliant communicator and teacher for adults and children of all ages. She was wonderful with my hard of hearing child and gave her the confidence to sign. In my adults BSL class she is fun, encouraging and super knowledgeable about her subject. 10 / 10 would recommend Ayesha Communications to anyone interested in learning more about BSL or to expand their own communication skills. Ayesha- you're an inspiration."

J. Caine

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