An inspiring visit and Q&A from Alumua, Sarah Adedeji

During Deaf Awareness Week, we welcomed back Alumna, Sarah Adedeji, who is one of only a small number of professionally qualified audiologists who are deaf, having worked in major NHS hospitals. Beyond her clinical career, Sarah is also an author, sign language singer, and dancer.

During her visit, Sarah toured the school and later spoke to our secondary students in assembly, sharing her journey into audiology, the challenges she faced
at university, and her fond memories of her time at Mary Hare. We caught up with Sarah to find out more about her journey so far:

You are one of the few professionally qualified audiologists who is also deaf. How did your personal experience shape your decision to enter this field?

My lived experience as a Deaf person is one of the driving forces behind the work I do as an audiologist because I, like many others, grew up in audiology
appointments and never came across a Deaf audiologist who would have made me feel much more seen and understood, as well as being a great fit into the team of professionals that my parents encountered in my journey through diagnosis, aiding, and education.

You are not only an audiologist but also a dancer and sign language singer. How do these creative outlets connect to your identity as a deaf person?

Being creative, as a Deaf person, makes so much sense, and it’s an escape from my full-time job. Not only that, but it also contributes to breaking barriers and stereotypes around Deaf people in music and dance. Growing up with hearing aids before being implanted with cochlear implants really changed how I experience music now that I stream it directly through my cochlear implants and enjoy it a lot better than I did growing up. Transitioning to Cochlear implants tested my identity and strengthened it when I relearned how to navigate the hearing world, education, and communication with loved ones. Now I’m able to have more
conversations with friends about music, I feel more confident attending concerts with BSL access, and it makes me a much better dancer. Even still, I’ve also
learnt how to enjoy music without my cochlear implants and how to move without hearing which has helped me in my career as a Deaf performer and Deaf
dancer.

How were you first approached by Stephen Iliffe to take part in the Portrait of Britain project?

Stephen Iliffe and I have known of each other for a few years now, and, if I remember correctly, I first met him at a Deaf Rave event he photographed while I performed. He reached out to me in the summer last year and invited me onto his Sign Language Stories project. It was at the end of the shoot, he asked for just a few more minutes of my time as I was heading into work straight after. He initially only wanted to include the photo in his existing collection, but then submitted it also for Portrait of Britain, and what do you know, we became one of the winners! It was a beautiful honour just to even be chosen to work with him amongst a few others for a new project, let alone do an impromptu photo
that ended winning Portrait of Britain amongst other beautiful work.

Sarah recently featured in Stephen Iliffe’s Deaf Mosaic project which went onto win Portrait of Britain, and during her time with us we took inspiration and recreated our own Group Portrait of Britain with two Mary Hare students.

As an author, how important is storytelling in changing perceptions about deafness and disability?

Storytelling about disability in general is so important for awareness, identity, and representation. However, our stories do not need to be embellished
or exaggerated. Deaf people and those adjacent to deafness, such as CODAs, prefer the authentic stories with accurate representation of the community and our history. These harvest much more genuine conversations and pure interest. As an author, I prefer the real stories that give room for vulnerability, humour, connection, and a better understanding of the community being spotlighted. There is so much richness in the Deaf community, culture, language, and such that deserves to be treated with dignity.