The Royal National Institute for Deaf People, which prefers to be referred to as RNID, seeks to represent all deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

RNID's headquarters are in Islington, in Central London (19-23 Featherstone Street, LONDON EC1Y 8SL). Its President is Lord Ashley of Stoke. Its Chief Executive is John Low. The chairman of its trustees is James Strachan. Its Patron is the Duke of Edinburgh. Islington Town Hall. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke, CH PC (born 6 December 1922), is a Labour member of the House of Lords. ... The Duke of Edinburgh The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Philip Mountbatten, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark) (born 10 June 1921) is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. ...

In the financial year 2003/2004 it had an net income of £38.5 million and expenditure of £41.5 million. RNID is the largest charity representing deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK and even in Europe.

Activities

RNID represents deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK by:

• campaigning and lobbying to change laws and government policies;

• providing information and raising awareness of deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus;

• operating care services for deaf and hard of hearing people with additional needs;

• providing training courses and consultancy on deafness and disability;

• operating communication services, including sign language interpreters;

• training interpreters, lipspeakers and speech-to-text operators;

• seeking change in education for deaf children and young people;

• providing employment programmes to help deaf people into work;

• operating RNID Typetalk, funded by BT, the national telephone relay service for deaf and hard of hearing people;

• making equipment and products for deaf and hard of hearing people available;

• conducting social, medical and technical research.

Tinnitus is a phenomenon of the nervous system connected to the ear, characterised by perception of a ringing or beating sound (often perceived as sinusoidal) with no external source. ... A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speakers thoughts. ... An interpreter is a practitioner of interpreting, an activity that consists of establishing, either simultaneously or consecutively, oral or gestural communications between two or more speakers who are not speaking (or signing) the same language. ... BT Group plc (formerly known as British Telecommunications) which trades as BT (and previously as British Telecom) is the privatised former UK state telecommunications operator . ...

History

RNID was founded as the National Bureau for Promoting the General Welfare of the Deaf in 1911 by Leo Bonn, a deaf merchant banker. It was reorganised as the National Institute for the Deaf in 1924. Alongside its role in influencing public policy in favour of people with a hearing impairment in the UK, it also developed a role as a provider of care to deaf and hard of hearing people with additional needs during the late 1920s and early 1930s. 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... // Events and trends A public speach by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ...

During the 1940s, with the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) to the UK, it successfully campaigned for the provision of free hearing aids through the new welfare state system. The 1950s and 1960s saw its increasing influence marked by Royal recognition: in 1958 the Duke of Edinburgh became the Patron of the Institute; and in 1961 the Queen of the United Kingdom approved the addition of the "Royal" prefix, creating the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID). // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... The logo of the NHS for England. ... Behind the ear aid Hearing Aid is the title of a track from They Might Be Giants 1990 album, Flood A hearing aid is a device used to help the hard-of-hearing hear sounds better. ... There are three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state: the provision of welfare services by the state. ... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda...

The Institute expanded into medical and technological research during the 1960s and 1970s, being a key player in the development of NHS provided behind-the-ear hearing aids. During the 1980s it developed the Telephone Exchange for the Deaf, a pioneering relay service allowing telephone users and deaf "textphone" users to communicate with each other using a third-party operator to relay voice and text communication. This became the service known as Typetalk in 1991, funded by BT but operated on their behalf by RNID to this day. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... A telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) is an electronic device used for telephone communications by deaf persons and those with other hearing difficulties. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1992 the Institute changed its name to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People but kept the acronym RNID. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

In more recent years, RNID has achieved a very high profile for its work together with the UK government on modernisation of the UK's audiology services available via the NHS, which has seen the introduction of superior digital hearing aids free of charge to the end users. RNID Health Director Philippa Palmer has been responsible for this programme.

RNID has also emerged as a major player in technology research and development, in particular through its work in the area of Information and Communication Technology. These activities are headed up by Guido Gybels, their Director of New Technologies. His group won a Computing Award for Excellence for their work on a mobile textphone. More recently, he has been working on a Video Relay service for sign language users. He also wrote a paper on web accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people. Guido Gybels, Clement Louis, (born 12 October 1968), is a Belgian researcher. ...

External links

• RNID Website
• RNID New Technology Website