Ken wants people to know more about the Deaf community

When Ken O’Neill walks through the doors of Social Security Scotland he’s not just walking into his workplace, he’s entering a different world.

The government statistician was born profoundly deaf in both ears but grew up in a hearing family. His personal life plays out in a completely different space from his professional one.

He goes from signing British Sign Language (BSL) to socialise with friends and family to using an interpreter for meetings at work, an experience which he likens to living in two worlds.

He said: “I know it sounds strange but essentially, I do feel like I’m living in two worlds and that I’m going through both doors. I am working in the hearing world and my personal life is much more in the Deaf community.

“I play Sunday football which is the only hearing activity I’m involved in. Everything else is related to the Deaf community such as Deaf sports events, Deaf friends but I've never worked for a Deaf organisation. I went to university, got my degree and I wanted to do a job that was relevant to my degree in Maths.

“It’s good for me to be honest because it does help me to expose myself to both those cultures and enhance my skills, my experiences and understanding.”

Ken has worked for the Scottish Government for 14 years and with Social Security Scotland since January 2022. He currently works with interpreters two days of the week to facilitate any face-to-face meetings he has.

He believes the use of Microsoft Teams, which developed during the Covid pandemic and the move to hybrid working, has helped to make his professional life more accessible.

Ken said: “My team and other colleagues across Scottish Government obviously know that I'm Deaf. I've worked with them a long time so if there's something that they want to discuss face to face, then they know that on Tuesday and on Thursday, I already have interpreters booked.

“Before Covid we relied a lot on email. Obviously, we could go back and forth that way but then when we started to get MS Teams it really opened it up, because then you could interact with people face to face, although not in the same physical room. That really helped if there was anything to discuss. It meant it was a bit easier to see someone.

“When I think about what it was like before the pandemic, sometimes people needed to contact me for information and obviously they couldn't because they were thinking, right, how do I phone Ken? If I had an interpreter there that day fine but if they had left for the day, that was it for me.

“Group chats would have happened on the office floor and I obviously wasn't part of that, whereas now, when there's a group chat on Teams I can contribute my thoughts and my ideas. Before, that was much more difficult.”

Deaf visibility has also started to improve in recent years with actress Rose Ayling-Ellis winning Strictly Come Dancing with a performance which included a ‘silent dance’. She’s recently presented a documentary teaching BSL to the elderly residents of a care home and is starring in new BBC drama, Reunion, which was written by a Deaf writer, stars Deaf actors and combines English and BSL.

Ken is a fan of the show and hopes it will have a positive impact on the use of BSL, which is already part of our work at Social Security Scotland. We proactively translate all our benefit factsheets and Our Charter into BSL, as well as translating other marketing materials on request.

If deaf people need extra support to apply for Scottish benefits, they can also get support from the Independent Advocacy Service, delivered by VoiceAbility.

He said: “We certainly have seen more role models of Deaf people in society but we still need more. Fingers crossed that will happen and we see some change.

“One ambitious request I have is for more people to learn BSL. That would be nice. I'm bilingual as such in that I know BSL and English and there are many advantages of being bilingual. However, I recognise it's not always easy for hearing people to find time, money and resources for training, and sometimes that's just the way the world is unfortunately. While I completely understand that that cannot happen overnight, I would strongly encourage more people to learn BSL and about the Deaf community even a little.”

Deaf Awareness Week 2025 runs until May 11.