The bear just like myself and just like Polly
as well is wearing hearing aids.
The first time I wore hearing aids
stepping out of St Bartholomew's Hospital.
Can Bears Ski?
Dad Bear has a hard time waking me up in the morning.
One - the radiator shakes.
Two - the bed rumbles like a large empty tummy.
Three - the windows by the bed tremble. Four - Dad Bear takes one heavy step forward.
The ceiling cracks. Five.
The idea for Can Bear Ski? Was a kind of an autobiographical one.
In that my parents didn't know I was deaf until I was around six or seven years old.
Put your hands up if you like drawing.
I was brought up with a deaf mother,
so deafness has been there from the word go for me.
From the other side, I am now a deaf mother and I have children who might inherit it.
Can the bear sign?
If the bear was me, living me,
the bear wouldn't be able to sign until he was 11 years old.
Can I ask you which school that was? That you went to?
What?
That's the school where we are now!
No way!
That's the same school.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
So how did that make you feel when you found out that he went to the same school
as you?
It made me shocked, or happy.
Oh look.
My old teacher.
Less of the old.
Do you think you would like to write a book like this in the future?
Yes.
Why?
Because I can't find a book that has deaf characters in it because they are so
hard to find it.
Because it is actually fun to read deaf things. If there's writing with no deaf character it makes
me feel a little bit bored but if I see like a deaf book I just,
straight away, take it and read straight away.
I eat the last of my porridge. Time for school.
Dad Bear talks a lot on our way to school.
There have been historically too many stories in which disability is shown as this thing
which is very tragic.
Suddenly maybe the disabled child or someone with a disfigurement is
suddenly cured or healed and that is meant as this kind of sentimental, feel good moment.
And actually that is a huge disservice to the reality of what it is to live with a disability.
Come closer. Wow. That's brilliant.
To even know what these little robot mice in my ears, I have a three-year-old
and a six-year-old and they're like: 'Why do you squeak, when I cuddle you mum?'
And I'm just like: 'My hearing aids.'
To be doing, to be making a book with them there watching me do the pictures
has sort of showed it to them in a very normal way.
My six-year-old couldn't wait to get to see the audiologist.
So I can't wait to think it will be in waiting rooms, you know when they are about to go in,
and they have the books there, it needs to be there so the parent can look through
with them, yeah, that would be wonderful.
Shall we say our goodbyes now?