Hello, I'm Antony, a long-standing member of the RiDC consumer panel.
I am Deaf and a British Sign Language (BSL) user.
For ten years, I worked with Action on Hearing Loss in their technology and research team. We assessed product prototypes produced by technology companies, getting feedback from the Deaf community as a product test programme.
A ground-breaking piece of research was creating virtual human avatars using BSL which, as a prototype, was displayed at the Science Museum and tested within the Post Office and BBC. I also filmed professional deaf translators and edited online BSL videos.
In this century, I am absolutely thrilled to see so many mainstream products, for example mobile phones and video calls, which both Deaf and hearing people can use.
For the last seven years I've been working as a part-time Deaf instructor teaching BSL and Deaf Studies at a secondary school in Barking. I also work at City Lit College for Adults in Covent Garden, teaching BSL, and I provide BSL sessions and Deaf awareness for a wide variety of private companies.
I've been an active member of the RIDC consumer panel for eight years and I always look forward to attending RiDC events and giving my opinions and feedback at workshops.
