So, although Paddy had been developing the concept(s) of Deafhood for years before that, you could say it’s 10 years of Deafhood in the sense that the book put it into the wider public domain in a very specific way.
To call Paddy’s book a landmark publication would be almost to underestimate its importance, as shown by the way the concept has been taken up across the world – unfortunately more so, it seems, in some other countries than in the UK. But the book is worth returning to, re-applying – and turning into ACTION – again and again, and in many ways has had even greater beneficial repercussions than the ‘recognition’ (without legislation) of BSL by the UK Government. In the battle to turn that ‘recognition’ into more concrete achievements through legislation, Paddy’s book should be one of the most powerful tools and sources of inspiration for all who toil.
By and large the 10th anniversary of ‘recognition’, while ‘recognised’ and marked, has not been made enough of. But by comparison, the lack of celebration and true recognition of what Paddy did and the ten years of positive developments that have come out of it, is actually quite shameful.
I’m sure you and many others who know the man and his work would agree, and I hope we may see more proper recognition, discussion and promotion of Deafhood as well as BSL in years to come.