thisplace.com.au - The Queensland Deaf Society

The Queensland Deaf Society (QDS) provides professional and social services for deaf and hearing impaired people throughout Queensland.

The QDS offers an excellent range of services. Below is a summary of these services and you can click here for a complete and detailed listing:

Auslan Interpreting Services:
Available to deaf and hearing impaired people as well as to the wider community. Interpreters are accredited and for deaf consumers this service is free of charge for essential services. Please do not hesitate to make contact with QDS to obtain further information on interpreting or an information sheet ( Ph: 07 3892 8500, TTY: 07 3892 8501, Fax: 07 3392 8511, Email: qds@qds.org.au )
Community Services:
Provides accommodation support for deaf or hard of hearing consumers. This involves: Facilitating access to general services; Promoting awareness to service providers and government agencies on deafness; Identifies service gaps and advocated for the development of appropriate programs for Deaf consumers (community development); and Provides a walk in service for Deaf consumers. For more information contact QDS on email qds@qds.org.au or via the internet http://www.qds.org.au
Aged Care:
Queensland Deaf Society works closely with Community Health Services throughout the South East Corner of Queensland to ensure Aged Deaf people receive appropriate support services that best meet their individual needs. For more information contact QDS on email qds@qds.org.au or via the internet http://www.qds.org.au
Employment Services:
This free-of-charge service helps find work for deaf and hearing impaired people, matching people seeking work with registered employers. It is available throughout the Brisbane metropolitan area (including as far north as Caboolture), south to Beenleigh, west to Ipswich and east to the Bay area. On-the-job training is provided for as long as is required. For more information contact QDS Simon Cooper 3391 5677 (Ph) or 3391 8403 (TTY) or your regional centre.
Lifestyle Support Services:
Lifestyle Support Services aims to assist Deaf people with disabilities to live in the community as independently as possible. To achieve this staff work assisting people to access appropriate community based services that will enable them to stay at home and enjoy a quality lifestyle for as long as possible. For more information contact QDS on email qds@qds.org.au or via the internet http://www.qds.org.au
Community Education:
QDS provides education workshops for the Deaf community to enable people to develop skills and access information. All workshops are fully interpreted in Auslan. If you have ideas for workshops, please contact the Co-ordinator of Community Education and Networks: Ph: 07 3892 8500, TTY: 07 3892 8501, Fax: 07 3392 8511, Email: qds@qds.org.au
Deafness Awareness Training:
Deafness Awareness Training (DAT) workshops aim to equip participants with effective communication strategies, greater understanding and improved confidence when dealing with people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. For more information contact QDS on email qds@qds.org.au or via the internet http://www.qds.org.au
Sign Language Courses:
The Queensland Deaf Society conducts Deafness Awareness Training and Education throughout schools in Queensland. QDS aims to provide an increased understanding of deafness and the deaf community, and an introduction to Auslan. Throughout each year, Queensland Deaf Society provides Sign Language Classes. For more information contact QDS on email qds@qds.org.au or via the internet http://www.qds.org.au
Discovery Club:
A support group for hearing-impaired people who are looking to resolve the issues of deafness. The club provides a safe, informative environment for people to gather for friendship, fun and to share common experiences. Social outings are held once per month and are determined by popular choice. Past outings have included captioned movies, pizza/video nights, bowling and skating. The group also meets twice monthly at a coffee shop for Chat Nights. The club provides deafness workshops and information sessions for it's members. Members receive a quarterly newsletter containing information relating to deafness and a calendar of club events.
For more information contact the Facilitator: Wayne Reynolds 07 3892 8500 (Ph) or 07 3892 8501 (TTY) or visit the club's website at: discoveryclub.editthispage.com

The QDS website additionally provides consumers with News & Views, a Newsletter, links to Helpful Sites, as well as an after-hours interpreting service. Go to the website for all the details.

To contact the Queensland Deaf Society, click here for contact details or e-mail QDS.